by B. R. GOWANI
Perpetually at war
Every time the US empire, or “the imperialists of the planet,” as Nicaragua’s co-President Rosario Murillo put it, is on a war-mission to spread “democracy” or to fight “communism” or “terrorism” or “Islamic terrorism” or “narcoterrorism” or whatever label it decides to put on its enemy, the question raised by many critics is:
- when will the US learn a lesson that wars are not achieving anything but are instead harmful to the US itself?
The critics may be right but the problem is that the US leaders don’t want to learn any lesson.
- Why?
Because none of the wars have been detrimental to their person or their well-being because almost all wars are fought hundreds or thousands of miles away on “enemy” land. There have been a few incidents where the US has been counter-attacked as the burning of White House and other buildings by the British troops in 1814, the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and Taliban attack on World Trade Centers in 2001.
Just comparatively, minor incidents.
Imagine if the US was attacked the way Vietnam, Guatemala, Haiti, Chile, Afghanistan, Philippines, Cuba, Cambodia, Iraq, and so many other countries have been attacked by the US. The US leaders thinking on starting wars would have been completely different, But that is not the case, and so the constant wars by the US, continue.
Of course, US suffers financial losses in these wars, and also incurs some loss of lives. The financial losses are covered through borrowing which its leaders don’t worry about because they’ll be gone after 4-8 years. (The total US debt January 8, 2026 stands at 38.6 trillion dollars, highly doubtful will ever be paid.) US didn’t care about loss of life of its soldiers either until, the Vietnam War, where 58,220 US citizens lost their lives. Over three million Vietnamese were killed. The US government kept lying:
“The U.S. was winning in Vietnam, until it was not. Right up to the moment diplomats in the U.S. embassy turned the lights off and were airlifted off the building’s roof.”
Gordon Adams, “From Vietnam to Afghanistan, all US governments lie.”
Anti-war protests and media coverage in second half of 1960s and first half of 1970s of planes arriving in US carrying coffins of US soldiers forced the ruling elite to take care of the problem, by asking TV channels not to show the coffins.
Today, advanced warring technology has solved the high casualty problem, thus allowing the war-show to continue uninterrupted and filling the coffers of the death merchants.
Empire’s Juggernaut <1> out of control
On January 3, 2026, US forces bombed Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, and kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro and wife Cilia Flores. An absolutely criminal and illegitimate act. (Several articles on Maduro’s abduction here.)
Anita Naidu reminds us not to forget the white supremacy involved in these warring acts:
Here, white supremacy is the global system that ranks nations, people and sovereignties according to proximity to Western power and allocates legitimacy accordingly.
In 2002, Maduro’s predecessor President Hugo Chavez was kidnapped by the US government of George W. Bush who supported right-wing elites in Venezuela. It was a short-lived 47-hour coup because Chavez supporters and his military succeeded in crushing the coup d’etat.
“Years ago, someone told me: ‘They’re going to end up accusing you of being a drug trafficker – you personally – you, Chávez. Not just that the government supports it, or permits it – no, no, no. They’re going to try to apply the Noriega [2] formula to you.’ They’re looking for a way to associate Chávez directly with drug trafficking. And then, anything goes against a ‘drug trafficker president’, right?”
Trump has also threatened Columbia, Cuba, Greenland, Iran, and Mexico with establishing its dominance over them.
Why Trump wants to own Greenland?
“Because that’s what I feel is psychologically needed for success. I think that ownership gives you a thing that you can’t do, whether you’re talking about a lease or a treaty. Ownership gives you things and elements that you can’t get from just signing a document.”
Trump’s predecessors who came to the Americas in what is now the US did the same thing with the Native Americans — ordered them to sign papers and hand over the territory or get killed so they would get the territory, anyway.
On January 5, 2026, White House advisor Stephen Miller clearly laid out Trump & CO’s philosophy on how they would rule Latin America:
“The United States is using its military to secure our interests unapologetically in our hemisphere. We’re a superpower and under President Trump we are going to conduct ourselves as a superpower. It is absurd that we would allow a nation in our backyard [the Latin America] to become the supplier of resources to our adversaries [China and others] but not to us.”
In 1993, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Madeline Albright yelled at Colin Powell, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:
“What’s the point of having this superb military you’re always talking about if we can’t use it?”
The US did go to war against Yugoslavia in 1999 when Albright was Secretary of State. That war came to be known as “Madeleine’s War” and “Albright at War.”
In an interview to the New York Times on January 8, 2026, Trump answered a question on whether there were any restrains on his “global powers”:
“Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”
“I don’t need international law. I’m not looking to hurt people.”
About morality and mind: Trump suffers from WMD — not weapons of mass destruction but Whopping Morality Deficiency. Trump’s mind is constantly thinking how to increase his, family’s, and cronies’ wealth through stealing or forcefully acquiring goods, services, and resources of other countries. He wants to exert his power over the entire globe and acts like previous US leaders, as the Global Emperor. Only such a leader could dismiss “international law” so casually, and could let Israel ignore UN resolutions regarding genocide of Palestinians.
Not looking to hurt people? Really? The cities in US are experiencing ICE atrocities. People getting killed, deported, or sent to El Salvador’s notorious prison.
Nigeria was bombed on false pretext. US attacks on Venezuelan boats as a prelude to force Maduro to go into exile, killed 123 people. During Maduro’s abduction 80 people were killed. One could go on but suffice to say that Trump’s actions are tremendously hurting and uprooting lives every second.
Historically, US leaders have ignored international laws when it has suited them. As did German Chancellor Adolf Hitler on September 1, 1939, when he attacked Poland. Hitler’s justification:
“The Polish state has refused the peaceful settlement of relations which I desired, and appealed to arms… In order to put an end to this lunacy I have no other choice than to meet force with force from now on… Destroying Poland is our priority… The winner is never asked if what he said was the truth or a lie. As far as starting and fighting a war is concerned, there is no law – victory is the decisive factor. Be brutal and be without mercy.”
In above words, one can easily identify similar excuses given by US presidents for their deadly illegal wars.
When will China wake up?
With full financial and military support, US let Israel commit genocide in Palestinian territory of Gaza ignoring United Nations Resolutions, the World Court, and hundreds of protests by millions of people world wide. China remained quiet, except for polite diplomatic condemnation and call for ceasefire.
Israel bombed Iran several times killing many people, including several scientists. Later Israel joined the US in attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities. but China reacted mildly.
The US kidnapped Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro. Ditto.
The question is when will China wake up and realize that every US military action, is making it bold and enhancing its power. And, every Chinese inaction is making it weaker. If the Trump juggernaut keeps on like this, who knows where it will end.
As one of the most economically and technologically powerful country, people around the globe expect China to form some kind of security coalition with countries threatened by the US. One wonders will China only wake up when the US shows up at Taiwan’s doorstep.
Trump’s thundering doesn’t raise as much fear, world wide, as Xi Jinping’s silence does.
Will the US empire’s juggernaut stop?
It depends on our Dear Leader’s mood. If he restricts himself to the Western Hemisphere, that is North and South Americas, without any challenge from Russia or China, Trump could maintain the US hegemony for a long time till guerilla movements with some leader like Che Guevara or Fidel Castro seriously challenge it. But if Trump overstretches himself like Adolf Hitler did, by attacking the Soviet Union, than the end may not be very pleasing. And there are strong chances that Trump will cross the red line due to his arrogance and over confidence.
What then will happen to our Dear Leader? Well, Elon Musk, his buddy, will fly him to Mars before people chase after him.
Is peace possible?
Global peace is somewhat possible if a Warsaw Pact kind of alliance is formed that could deter US and NATO from roguish overt and covert wars. Post 1991, after dismantling of USSR and Warsaw Pact, NATO not only stayed intact but increased membership, including some Warsaw Pact countries and former Soviet Republics, and now reaches almost the border of Russia. (See the maps here.) In 1991, US became the only superpower, because the other superpower, Soviet Union, was dismantled. With more than 750 bases encircling the world in 81 countries, including the Middle East, US doesn’t have to go to war all the time; it just threatens small countries and gets what it wants.
Notes:
<1> English word Juggernaut (meaning: overwhelming or unstoppable force) comes from the name of a Hindu Lord of the Universe Jagannath. (One of Indian Prime Minister Modi’s BJP party members got carried away declaring: Lord Jagannath is a devotee of Modi!)
<2> In 1989, US government of George H. W. Bush Sr. invaded Panama and captured it’s leader Manual Noriega on drug charges. The actual reason was his refusal to support US war against the small Central American country of Nicaragua. Noriega had been involved in drug business for a very long time but was on good terms with the US, so was safe from them. In an Orwellian manner, the US news media, almost always supports the US government lies.
B. R. Gowani an be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com