THE economy of the United States plummeted after the Great Depression of the 1930s. Later, building up industry, it built and supplied weapons to its allies to fight against Nazi Germany during World War II, which was the turning point for Washington.

According to an estimate, the US owned 60 per cent of the global wealth after the War ended. As a result of such industrial might, the US became one of the largest economies and a great military power in the world.

As the War came to an end, it set in motion the beginning of the Cold War between the erstwhile Soviet Union and the US. This also marked the beginning of proxy wars. The US restarted its war business by deploying weapons and supporting Afghanistan and the Nato alliance to counter the spread of communism.

Once the Soviet Union disintegrated, the US launched the so-called ‘war on terror’. President Barack Obama pursued the ‘surge policy’ by increasing Nato troops in Afghanistan. Similarly, Washington created a mess in the Middle East.

Now, when the US-led Nato forces have withdrawn in haste after humiliation in Afghanistan, it has shifted the focus once again on Russia, taking the war business to Ukraine. It successfully convinced Nato members, especially Germany, to spend more on defence. However, it is interesting to note that the US funds about 70pc of Nato’s defence budget.

The Korean War, the Vietnam War, the military bases in the horn of Africa, the Cold War, the Afghan war, the Gulf war, the conflicts in South China Sea and tensions related to Taiwan have one running thread; the involvement of the US and its war machinery.

According to Al Jazeera, there are 750 US military bases in at least 80 nations worldwide. The US has cried itself hoarse trying to tell one and all that it is the biggest champion of democracy in the world. One wonders why it needs 750 military bases in 80 countries to promote democracy. It is almost laughable.

The truth of the matter is that the US promotes war rather than democratic values across the world to feed its military industrial complex, and for this it can put the global security at risk. Its national interest is nothing but the vested interest of its weapons industry.

Rais Rehmatullah
Shahdadkot

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2022