In October 2001, US president George W. Bush launched a military operation in Afghanistan less than a month after the September 11 attacks.
The US not only began a campaign of airstrikes against Afghanistan, but also deployed some 1,000 American soldiers to the country in November. The number rose to 10,000 a year later. Washington said the invasion was aimed at defeating the Taliban, but the group is still making gains in Afghanistan — although it was overthrown weeks after the US operation began in 2001. Apart from the civilian deaths, a large number of the US troops have lost their lives in the war in Afghanistan which is the longest in US history. Millions of people have also been displaced. The Pentagon has said the Afghan war is costing American taxpayers $45 billion per year.
Invasion of Iraq
The US administration under George W. Bush also launched one of the most destructive invasions in modern history in 2003. This time an alliance, led by the US, attacked Iraq and vowed to destroy Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The UK, which was part of the alliance, has admitted that the war with Iraq was “not justified” and the US “misled” Britain over Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction.
Iraq has been decimated as a result of this military intervention. Millions of people have also been subjected to horrors few others on this planet have ever experienced or imagined. This also led to the emergence of the Daesh terror group although the Iraqi Army backed by popular mobilization units managed to defeat the Takfiri group.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in Iraq since the 2003 invasion began and millions of others have been displaced.
Syria conflict
The US has played a direct role in Syria since it was gripped by foreign-backed militancy in March 2011.
Last week’s airstrikes on Syria carried out jointly by the US, Britain and France are Washington’s latest military involvement in Syria. The attacks were conducted under the pretext of a suspected chemical raid in Eastern Ghouta.
The Western countries along with their regional allies blamed the Syrian government for the gas attack before international inspectors start a probe into the incident.
Like Iraq and Afghanistan, the war on Syria which has been backed by Western countries and Saudi Arabia, along with its allies, has left hundreds of thousands of people dead and forced millions of others from their homes.
Presently, there are conflicting reports about the continuation of US military presence in Syria.
Now, it stands out that Washington’s warmongering policy has wreaked havoc in the region. It remains to be seen whether the White House will take lessons from the consequences of the wars it has waged and withdraw its troops from Syria.
Source: Iran Daily
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Tehran, April 19, IRNA – The United States has been pursuing a warmongering policy in the region for decades. Washington has waged wars under different excuses such as stopping the use of chemical weapons in Iraq and fighting against terrorism in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
