Washington Loses in War, but the People Suffer

The United States exhibits an obvious inability to occupy, maintain order and overcome the resistance of the people whose countries it invades (unjust, immoral and illegal invasions that are always clothed in lies before and after they occur). For example, the cultural industries of the empire have done everything possible to cause new generations to forget or get a false picture of the humiliating defeat in Vietnam. For those who saw it live on TV, the images of the last American helicopters flying from Saigon to aircraft carriers are unforgettable, with clusters of panicked Americans hanging from the skids. Recently, the media has covered up the shameful withdrawal from Iraq, where Washington had to give up its demand to leave an indefinite military station, as the Baghdad government, with cordial relations with Tehran, refused to grant [Americans] immunity from Iraqi courts.

Now the slaughter of 16 civilians in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan, allegedly by an estranged U.S. Army sergeant, reaffirms [America’s] moral and political defeat, and consequently, its military defeat as well, in the Asian country. The circumstances of the incident aren’t clear, nor do they coincide with the [U.S.] version of a lone wolf operating among the village residents, who insist that more American troops participated in the events. Be that as it may, after this and the continuing grievances of the Afghans — prior to this the burning of copies of the Quran at an American base — Washington doesn’t have any other choice but to advance the dates for withdrawal. They can no longer trust their Afghan counterparts, whose parliament speaks of an “abridged patience” and is pursuing an agreement to judge the offenders in an Afghan court.

Long ago, [the U.S.] had to give up the idea of defeating the Taliban, and in order to retire and save face, they must negotiate with them, which is what they are doing. Not to mention the vaunted “reconstruction,” by which, of course, several corporations won millions; Afghans see only an economy sustained by the rise of drug trafficking. [The U.S.] represents a devastated country, with its cities in ruins and lacking the most basic public services, with an almost complete absence of infrastructure and tens of thousands of dead civilians. Not to mention the unkempt promises of democratization and recognition of women’s rights. Fortunately, few now believe that the United States is a model of democracy and human rights, and even fewer accept that these factors establish the right to resort to the force of arms.

Lenin was absolutely right in saying that imperialism needs to constantly generate alternative wars. Many things have changed since then, but the essence remains. Now, things are more pronounced due to the compulsive greed for oil and other raw materials, as well as the greed for water reservoirs, which have led to a paroxysm of U.S. imperialistic aggression. If this weren’t the case, an attack, together with Israel, on Iran would be inexplicable after the disasters in Afghanistan and Iraq. On having their peaceful nuclear facilities bombed, or even seriously threatened, Tehran would probably respond very harshly and could even close the Strait of Hormuz, through which flows a vital river of oil to world markets. The great unknown is what the United States will do against a rival that could only be destroyed with nuclear weapons. If they chose to go that route, one would question what Russia, India, Pakistan and China would do, who are all neighboring nuclear powers. Therefore, we may fully understand the intense diplomatic efforts by Moscow and Beijing toward a political solution in Syria, a fundamental ally of Iran, and their double veto to prevent foreign intervention in a place where Washington arms and inserts terrorists, implementing a plan of “regime change.”

Returning to Afghanistan, the most Obama can hope for now is to get out of there quickly, without making the process look like a stampede. There’s hope that, before the November election, the situation does not get more complicated, leaving Washington room to make a precipitous withdrawal and hand power to the Taliban without further formalities.