Do you really believe that Libya today is better off, safer, and isn’t a bigger threat to everyone?
Do you really believe that Iraq today is better off, safer, and no bigger threat?
We created a BIGGER threat to the West when we got rid of both of these men who were keeping these nations under some semblance of control, where we had a single voice to speak with.
However, these nations are oil producers and were aligned with Russia and we want our fingers in the jar. We want that real estate. Get it?
And we created a (((FAR WORSE AND DANGEROUS))) situation for our, Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East regards the security situation.
The jets of major US oil executives were on the ground before Qaddafi’s body had even cooled off. In fact, when those forces not happy with us arming other military factions in Libya attacked us and killed our Ambassador there (yeah, we were arming folks and some got pissed about that), we used the jets of private oil execs in part to evacuate our folks. Do you really believe that our ambassador was killed because of a stupid video? Why do you think our State Department and CIA wanted to keep things hush-hush and were reluctant to come to our own folks help when everything started going South? We were providing arms, intel, money and other equipment (example ATVs) to certain groups in Libya which we thought we can control and would be more on our side, which of course pissed off others that were fighting the folks we’re helping. That made us a target.
But in a nation where you have the intelligence community often defining the media narrative (push some stories and censor others), we chose to make it about an anti-Islamic movie and managed to keep the real story almost entirely out of the news: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/12/movie-assault-us-consulate-libya
Dude, only 14% of the entire population of Libya had Internet access in 2012! Hahaha Most don’t speak English. Many Domains were blocked. Other stories had existed prior and this, and these sort of stories aren’t really new (Koran burning and toilet flushing etc). BUT, we needed a scapegoat after that disaster, and coming out and telling the truth isn’t the sort of stuff we do, and so a BS story about a movie sparking this violence was pushed.
Do you see the US struggling with Russia over lordship of Ethiopia? How about Armenia? What about Trinidad and Tobago? Hint, every nation where we are in a conflict with the Russians has an “economic value” to us and it is us encroaching into THEIR sphere of influence: Iraq, Libya, Venezuela, Syria.
But, things are changing, Russia has begun to massively increase their war budget starting 2022, manpower, and cut the dogs or war loose. Russia has forged new alliances, is playing the proxy game... Things are changing (Chad, Sudan, Ivory Coast, Niger), and it’s a change we asked for. We wanted this conflict. If people were aware of what has been set in motion, they would not be so upbeat and casual about it.
We had zero moral and national defense arguments in both cases.
We lied about Iraq, specifically WMD.
In both cases you wanted to use as examples, we created a WORSE security threat to us, economically damaged these nations.
We simply are/were trying to tear these nations out from under Russia and put them under our control.
All for peace, freedom, democracy, sovereignty and human rights, of course.
Let me ask you this. What nation do you think has overthrown the most governments, even elected ones, on this planet? Russia or the US?
We need to seriously calm down in how we deal with the world around us. This bomb everyone at the drop of a dime mentality has already made us into a pariah on the worlds stage. Just not in the US and Euro media, but even juts in Mexico and you'll see and hear a very different tone.
I'm not saying there never is a need for use of force.
However, when you are involved in 251 different military campaigns in 33 years, spend $880 billion a year on war (not counting Ukraine and Israel), bomb more countries than anyone else, invade more countries than anyone else, have the third largest war machine in the world in brute military manpower, have troops in more countries than anyone else, have more troops deployed outside your borders than anyone else, have more “deployed” nukes than anyone else, overthrow more governments than anyone else, export more weapons than anyone else, (((MAYBE))) it's not the other guys that are predatory. (Please let me know which of these facts you disagree with?)
But hell, who needs facts?
We withdrew from the Ballistic Missile Treaty because we wanted to build a missile defense system, which was in violation of that treaty.
As usual, when we want to cheat and lie, we blame the other side.
Funny thing is, I defended that move and it was correct. But that said, we still were the ones to unilaterally withdraw from the treaty and that actually plays a role today in the Ukraine crisis.
Let me attempt to explain using various maps:
Here’s Russia and where they have bases around the world: https://bigthink.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/18410104.jpg?fit=1200,675
Here is the US and where we have bases around the world: https://bigthink.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/18410101.jpg?fit=1200,675
What does this tell me: https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/vwc2uv/us_military_bases_around_the_world/#lightbox
What does this tell me? https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/files/2013/02/cia-rendition-map3.jpg
I know we care a lot about democracy and human rights, so explain this to me: https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/57r7lv/authoritarian_regimes_supported_by_the_usa_in_the/#lightbox
What does this map tell us: https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/uf9fa4/ussponsored_regime_changes_and_military_invasions/#lightbox
You live in a distant and parallel universe, far away from reality.
It must feel really good to exist in this universe? Sort of like when on a euphoric high on some drug or otherwise delusional and no longer in touch with the physical reality around you.
We (the US) have progressively become worse and worse since 1991. It’s not Russia invading, bombing, and sponsoring coups everywhere. It’s us.
And no, we are not spreading freedom, democracy, human rights, and sovereignty. We are completely OK with a dictator and oppressive regimes as long as they serve our political and economic interests. In fact, if this democracy thingy gives us an answer we don’t like, we’ll overthrow a democratically elected government and install a dictator.
Now, go watch your Captain America, read your doctored up History book, and go pretend you’re a force for good.
