U.S. allies should rethink their allegiance to an aggressive but declining superpower
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Sunday, July 9, 2023
Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, United States Congress, International, Violence, Anglo-French Wars, Politics, Leadership, Culture, Nevertheless, Policy, Fear, Woman, Attitude, Congress, Population, Refugee, Brown University, Terror, Bush, International law, Demonization, Hunting, Gasoline, Drug, Arms industry, Shipbuilding, Renewable energy, Airline, Management
According to the Watson Institute at Brown University, the conflicts connected to the war on terror have killed about 4.6 million people since 2001.
Key Points:
- According to the Watson Institute at Brown University, the conflicts connected to the war on terror have killed about 4.6 million people since 2001.
- That conflict defines 21st century world politics, far more than the war in Ukraine.
- It was driven by former U.S. president George W. Bush’s messianic impulses and neoconservative ideologues who aspired to reshape the Middle East in the American image using military force.
- The war in Iraq, an unprovoked and illegal invasion of a sovereign state, demonstrated the danger of unchecked American power and hubris.
Ignoring international law
- The Watson Institute report explains why states targeted by the U.S. have reasons to fear American violence and interference.
- International law doesn’t necessarily constrain the U.S. — it’s often willing to abuse its power and privileges for political, economic and strategic advantage.
- This reality partly explains Russia’s reaction to the expansion of NATO and its invasion of Ukraine.
- American leaders apparently believe a country four times the population of the U.S. must remain forever subordinate to American power.
- Instead, many countries are pursuing “non-alignment” — choosing to avoid getting caught in the middle of any future battles between the U.S. and China.
Rallying allies
- Nonetheless, the U.S. has rallied its established allies against China.
- Canada has become an American vassal, meaning it’s essentially dominated by the U.S. Japan has increased its military spending.
- Why do American allies refuse to discuss U.S. global violence, despite its horrific consequences and the fact that it clearly affects the world view of America’s rivals and the non-western world?
- It’s likely because American allies have benefited enormously from the U.S.-backed status quo, even if they’ve had to deal with the fallout of western militarism — particularly in Europe, where the influx of refugees has coarsened regional politics.
Politics of fear
- Read more:
Canada should be preparing for the end of American democracyDomestic political instability in the U.S. may eventually motivate even more aggressive American foreign policy.
- The U.S. has never shied away from the politics of fear and the exaggeration of threat.
- Is preserving the privileged global position of the U.S. really so important to the rest of the world?
- U.S. allies need to learn the lessons of the war on terror and the 4.6 million people it’s killed.
- American allies could make their support of the U.S. conditional on a pledge to ease up on militarism and focus on greater global co-operation.