Mass invasions, continuous installations of US and business-friendly regimes all over the world, they peddled into the domestic affairs of almost every country on the planet.
By Mohd Rafay
Introduction
The United States incurred heavy life and economic losses for participating in World War I, that too at the end. The losses were so massive that the United States reverted to its protectionist and isolationist policies, just like before President Wilson’s second term. America was struggling financially in the 1920s and the 30s.
After pro-business and fewer tax policies, the economy was somehow saved and due to its exporting prowess, rose economically. Due to it’s irritating intervention in South East Asia in World War Two, Japan was irked and this ended up in the bombing of Pearl Harbor in Honolulu in December 1941. The bombing was so extensive that now, even the American Masses, due to massive media coverage, wanted to take revenge and wanted the United States to enter the World War.
This ended the isolationist and quietest phase of the United States and eventually, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed by the American Air Force and hundreds of thousand Japanese perished. This marked the advent of American imperialistic dominance throughout the world. The business-friendly, world trade promoting free-market capitalist
systems were promoted by them, to alienate socialist governments.
Promotion of capitalism was such a hardcore objective for them, that regime change was something CIA planned for every non-US friendly country from Vietnam to Panama. With mass invasions and continuous installations of US and business-friendly regimes all over the world, the importance of CIA and the Military, Navy and Air force increased drastically, with a heavy amount of their economy going to its Army and Intelligence who peddled into the domestic affairs of almost every country on the planet.
Interventions in Latin America
Although the interventionism of the USA in Latin America goes back to the late 19th century, the more complex way of meddling in the domestic affairs of those countries started in the
1950s with CIA backed coup against President Arbenz of Guatemala which resulted in the subsequent Guatemalan Civil War from 1960 to 1996. In 1961, Dominican President was
killed and it had links with the CIA and when the new government under Juan Bosch was established in 1963, it was overthrown within seven months.
This resulted in the Dominican Civil War in 1965 when Bosch’s loyalists overthrew the US-friendly regime. Similarly, there were America sponsored regime changes in Brazil(1964),
Chile(1973), Uruguay(1973), Argentina(1976) and regular interventions in Cuba including the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, CIA sponsored interventions in Peru since the early 60s, in
Panama and Paraguay.
All this was done to protect its multinational companies which had an expanding and more than significant consumer base in Latin America. Another aspect of invasions in these countries was that the popularly elected governments here were all left-leaning parties and adopted socialist measures to counter the prevalent poverty. Increasing trade tariffs, blockades, agrarian and other policies of nationalization were a huge threat to not only the American companies but also to the ideological ambitions of the United States i.e. Capitalism.
Korean Civil War
After the Japanese left the Korean Peninsula in 1945, there was no one genuinely legitimate Korean party or institution seeking to govern the peninsula, but there were several groups. Adding further to it, it was divided into two for so-called administrative purposes, the North (DPRK) and the South (RK). North Korea was led by Kim il-Sung, a communist general backed by the Soviet Union, and China. The South was led by Syngman Rhee and was influenced and backed by the United States. The United States made itself a policeman for communism and American philosophy dictates either total abstinence from global politics or destruction of anything which seems to be its enemy.
Doctrine for containment of Communism and the loss of “Losing China” to communism in the Maoist revolution triggered America to involve actively in the affairs of Korea. When the
war broke out, the United States went along with it and sent troops to support the South Koreans. Thousands of American troops fought against the North Koreans in a made-up vision of fighting for their country, but they were fighting for nothing but the interests of capitalism in the whole of Korea. Truman sent the troops without the approval of the senate and risked the lives of thousands of young men just to show its power and promote its ideology.
When the borders lost to North Korea were regained, United States made South Korea invade the North further and to create a unified Korea under the influence of America and its capitalist system, which not only risked more lives but extreme human rights violations were done when the North Koreans captured the American troops and made them prisoners of war and the American troops never faced such brutalities they faced when they were made POVs by the North Koreans. Risking Korean and American lives just to spread a mere ideology of the free market was one of the biggest blunders the USA made.
Interventions and destabilizing Middle East
America’s illegitimate affair with the middle east has been quite long, and its consequences have been too high. Interventions in the domestic affairs of middle eastern countries go back to the Syrian coup d’etat of 1949.
The CIA assisted Husni al Zaim to claim power illegitimately and overthrow the democratically elected government under Shukri al Quwwatli. The 1947 elections were said to be controversial and a minority government was formed by Shukri al Quwwatli which was two years later, heavily criticised by its opposition for its loss in the 1948 Arab-Israel war. Fearing the rise of socialism and the popularity of the Communist Party of Syria, CIA assisted the military leader Husni al Zaim to stage a coup to counter Soviet influence and hence communism.
In 1953, the popularly elected government led by Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh was overthrown and Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was installed as the Shah of Iran. The Shah was pro-west unlike his subjects and the popular leaders of Iran at that time. The Coup was a result of Iran’s decision to Nationalize its oil reserves and siphon off the benefits western
companies were getting from its oil reserves. The Anglo-Iranian Oil Corporation had the largest shares of Iran’s oil reserves and was hit hard by it. Adding to this, the Tudeh Party of Iran, a communist party, was at the forefront of this and was supported heavily by the masses. Initially, economic boycott was done, but it wasn't enough to deter their policies, so the CIA planned a coup and dislodged the democratic government and installed a pro-west dictator instead.
Similarly, there are ample examples of American meddling in Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Lebanon etc and these invasions, combined with their socio-economic problems led to their governments
failing to protect the sovereignty of their countries and its people.
We conclude that The United States behaves as if it's a pivotal nation for the whole world. And to make sure it acts like one every other time, it expands its ideological base. The free market, Liberalism and Capitalism are spread to every corner of the world, either by persuasion or by coercion. MNCs, the CIA, American Army and even as small institutions as any American Embassy works for this. Human Rights violations, the forceful overthrow of
democratic governments and even support for Dictatorships are deemed legitimate in the pursuit of their interests overseas, to make sure they don’t get harmed, even extremist organisations are given a hand if they fight against socialism, for example supporting Mujahideen in Afghanistan in their war against the Soviet Union Backed Communist government in Afghanistan. All this is not only backed by their Popular media and through that, the people, but also by their bureaucrats and even scholars working in many prestigious organisations and institutions. But at the same time, there is dissent as well, backed by the people and numerous activists and scholars who don’t want their taxes, their money to be spent on blood, rather for domestic affairs and stop meddling in the affairs of other countries also means less hatred for the United States and Americans in general by the people of those countries destabilized by them.
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