Some Truths!

Peace is war! That’s the leitmotif that has been asserted by the United States since the end of World War II (1939-1945). From the Korean War to the war in Iraq — not to mention the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, the former Yugoslavia and Kosovo and the robust operations in Somalia, Sudan and Latin America (Cuba, Panama, Grenada, Chile) — the United States, if we except the colonial wars, is the country that has most used military and financial force to impose its hegemony.

Without hesitation, Richard Nixon, who threatened to drop an atomic bomb on North Vietnam, authorized the use of napalm, which wreaked havoc among the Vietnamese civilian population. Messianic George W. Bush assured, “States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world … They embrace tyranny and death as a cause and a creed. We stand for a different choice … We choose freedom.” From there, he ordered the invasion of Iraq with the accusation that it possessed weapons of mass destruction — an allegation that was proved false. But the damage is done. “We know that this mad dog of the Middle East has a goal of a world revolution,” Ronald Reagan said about Gadhafi before bombing Tripoli in 1986. “Panamanian strong man General Noriega [has] been indicted for drug trafficking,” Reagan also said, criticizing Manuel Noriega, president of Panama and a CIA agent who was directed by a certain George Bush Sr., who later became the U.S. president and was responsible for the first Gulf War against Iraq in 1990.

Via sophisticated and efficient propaganda, American leaders manipulate the facts to justify wars that they plan to undertake and convince the American people of their necessity. The name of the country under attack changes, while the discourse remains the same, whether the resident of the White House is a “donkey” (Democrat) or an “elephant” (Republican). All of them defend the principle of “war for peace” that has been instilled over the past 70 years.

“We have no intention of widening this war,” said Lyndon B. Johnson; “The United States does not start fights,” said Reagan; “America does not seek conflict,” said George H. W. Bush; “We are never eager to use force,” said Bill Clinton. These U.S. presidents who succeeded each other in power each promoted a war, of course “for peace” and in support of “liberty and democracy.” Johnson said, to summarize all his peers, “Our reward will come in the life of freedom, peace and hope …” You can’t be any more virtuous than the Americans! This is an angelic presentation of pernicious designs.

“Today our armed forces joined our NATO allies in airstrikes against Serbian forces responsible for the brutality in Kosovo,” said Bill Clinton. Bombing cities and destroying villages becomes an act of kindness, especially when it is done from the sky with zero risk — as Obama is doing in Iraq and Syria. Suddenly, the acts of suicide bombers appear almost moral.

“It is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world,” said George W. Bush. “Americans resort to force only when we must. We have never been aggressors. We have always struggled to defend freedom and democracy,” said Reagan. “No one, friend or foe, should doubt our desire for peace,” said Bush Sr. “The United States wants peace,” said Clinton. “We want peace – we work and sacrifice for peace.” said Bush Jr.

Obama spoke so well about peace, all while powerfully reinforcing the war in Afghanistan, that to everyone’s surprise, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. This is great. As great as the grid of U.S. military forces all over the planet. The United States maintains a thousand bases in all five continents – with tens of thousands of soldiers and all that entails in terms of logistics, six war fleets with nuclear aircraft carriers and fighter jets loaded with atomic bombs. To sell war to the Americans first, and then their allies, U.S. propaganda is aggressively effective and developed to perfection. According to its message, Americans are angels who work solely for the welfare of women, children and men in the world.

War is peace! That’s what the Americans say consciously. Their communist enemy gone, they needed a new adversary in order to stay on the warpath. A new “enemy” fell into their laps: “Islamism.” These are the wars that make up U.S. power and justify its evolution. Also, the United States, paradoxically, prolongs its wars in the name of “peace.”