1/4 of US 400 wars were in Middle East, Africa: Study

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
13 Aug 2022 15:17
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A study concludes that 400 military manifestations of US imperialism have shaped regional strategies, targeting mainly the Middle East and Africa.

US troops in Fort Bragg, North Carolina (Reuters)

In the first major study of its kind, under the title “Introducing the Military Intervention Project: A New Dataset on US Military Interventions, 1776–2019”, a total of 400 wars were found to have established the military hegemony the US holds today, with the military manifestations of its imperialism increasingly targeting the Middle East and African regions mainly.

Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon, Niger, and Somalia were among the list of US hegemony targets, especially following the post-9/11 era, which amplified US military hostilities and deployment frequencies on hollow pretexts. On top of that, the US has voluntarily aided in training both Ukrainian forces and Israeli security forces, despite the latter's atrocious crimes across the region, the latest of which is the aggression on Gaza.

The report concluded that more than a quarter of the 400 wars occurred in the post-Cold War period, although the period brought fewer power conflicts that called for the need to "defend" vital US interests. However, its military encroachments continued at high rates with higher hostilities - much to the surprise of Sidita Kushi, an assistant professor at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts, and one of the study's authors.

The report further stated that "this militaristic pattern persists during a time of relative peace, one of arguably fewer direct threats to the US homeland and security."

Don’t preach what you don’t practice

The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 paved the way for the US to emerge as a dominant military power globally, allowing itself to expand its intervention territories under the pretext of protecting human rights and the freedom of democracy, which it preaches but does not practice.

Professor Monica Duffy Toft, of the Fletcher School of Tufts University, clarified that the US used and still uses military force to resolve its issues, noting that the US has deployed more special forces in more countries than ambassadors – a clear strategy of asserting dominance and hegemony.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a report demonstrated that the budget assigned solely for the US military exceeds $800bn annually, accounting for almost 40% of global military spending, while the US has neglected to handle properly its internal matters such as baby formula shortages, fuel crisis, and inflation.

Even as US rivals reduced their military intervention, Washington "began to escalate its hostilities," resulting in a "widening gap between US actions relative to its opponents."