Western military interference and atrocities near uncovered

Source
China Military Online
Editor
Chen Lufan
Time
2020-12-04 18:03:10

By Wang Qiang

The cartoon created by a Chinese painter based on Australian soldiers’ appalling killing of Afghan civilians has touched a sore spot on some western politicians. Why are they so “united” this time and stand firmly by Australia regardless of right or wrong?

It isn’t just about the “Five Eyes” coordinated stance against China. More importantly, it involves the key and fundamental issue concerned by the US-led western bloc – external military interference.

The event depicted by the cartoon traces back to the so-called “Operation Enduring Freedom” launched by the US in Afghanistan under the excuse of revenging the 9/11attacks, but this “war on terror” was essentially nothing but foreign interference from the US to seek global domination leveraged on its superior military strength. Exporting its values, attacking different ideologies, grabbing economic interests, and seeking absolute domination have become a protocol followed by the US in its foreign military interferences since the end of WWII.

According to America's data, the country carried out foreign military interference 237 times from 1950 to 2017, including 188 times during the 25 years from 1992 to 2017. These military operations were aimed at post-Cold War geopolitical reshaping and targeted at those “unruly countries” in the regions.

Bypassing the UN in most of these foreign military operations, the US has gone its own way with its western military allies, which are essentially outrageous interference in other countries’ internal affairs for their own interests. The reasons they gave were sheer lies, untenable excuses at best.

For instance, when Pentagon launched large-scale military operations against Iraq in 2003 without UN approval on the grounds that the country manufactured weapons of mass destruction, based on the ridiculous “evidence” of a small bottle of washing powder held in the hands of the then Secretary of State Powell, all it wanted was to overthrow the Saddam regime and seize the world’s second-largest petroleum source. Being aware of the lack of legitimacy of its operations, Uncle Sam then turned to the “neo-interventionist” excuse of democracy to justify its war against Iraq.

As western countries have kept carrying out foreign military interferences and their troops on foreign soils become increasingly less disciplined, the US-UK forces and latecomers have been frequently exposed for their scandalous and unbridled abuses and killingsgoing against the international law. Their soldiers have got the illusion that they are the “saviors” of the countries they interfere in and have done unprintable things like unscrupulous killing of civilians.

There werethe Abu Ghraib prison scandal and the Haditha killings. In Afghanistan’s Kandahar, a soldier of the united forces killed 16 Afghan civilians in cold blood, including nine children, the youngest being only two years old, and the very person wielding the American butcher knife was a revered veteran with no record of mental disorder.

The exposed Australian soldier this time belongs to the Australian special forces, which originate in the UK’s elite Special Air Service (SAS) and are known for arrogance. The crazy and narcissistic special operatives cast all scruples and morality into the wind and their bloodthirst would even cast American soldiers into the shade.

The atrocities that have been exposed so far are only the tip of the iceberg compared to the excruciating misery and agony that long years of wars have imposed upon the Afghans. As the international community has begun to condemn Australian troops’ crimes in Afghanistan, the western bloc, whose true color has been revealed under broad daylight, are concerned about their image of “conducting foreign military interference to protect human rights” and are naturally anxious to cover and vouch for each other.

On November 20, 2017, the International Criminal Court began to investigate the war crimes committed by various parties during the anti-terror war in Afghanistan. It’s clear that the international community could no longer bear the egregious atrocities by the military of certain western countries. Yet, the US government immediately refused to cooperate in the investigation and even canceled the US visa of the ICC’s chief prosecutor and investigators to obstruct their judicial investigation and trial.

The US and the west have long claimed to bring democracy, freedom, human rights and peace to Afghanistan and Iraq, and, relying on their media and public opinion domination, have woven a giant network of lies to cover up their crimes.

But time has changed, the truth will no longer be buried, and justice will no longer be blocked. One little crack on the network of lies and one glimpse of the truth beneath may lead to the full and thorough exposure of the atrocities committed by western countries during their foreign military interference. Their lies will no longer hold water, and the culprits will definitely pay a due price for what they have done.

(The author is a researcher at the National Defense University of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.)

This article is originally published on huanqiu.com, is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.

 

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