From Indochina to Afghanistan, Why America’s Crimes Continue

John Glaser
Antiwar

Something like 600,000 civilians were killed in America’s 11-year secret bombing campaign in Cambodia during the Vietnam War. From 1964 – 1975, the U.S. rained giant explosives from the sky, destroying the country and leading to the terrible Khmer Rouge, an authoritarian regime responsible for the deaths of well over a million people. Via Joshua Keating, Taylor Owen has been the primary researcher digging into the declassified files of the bombing campaign and has for years been expanding our picture of it. Here is a mapping of the terrorism:

The outrageous, senseless, criminal war in Indochina, directly responsible for the deaths of perhaps over 3 million people, is probably a good indicator of how the war in Afghanistan will be treated in the coming years and long after it is over. Frankly, the war in Indochina was far worse than what Washington has committed in Afghanistan by any metric. But after this latest sadistic massacre of 17 civilians by U.S. Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, it’s worth considering the parallels in the dialogue of what are obvious acts of murder and aggression by the U.S. in Afghanistan and Indochina.

First, there will be total legal and moral immunity granted to the people in Washington who have crafted and perpetuated the bloody war policies in Afghanistan. Like Henry Kissinger, who drew up plans for the terrorist bombing in Cambodia, these people will live long lives of fame and fortune and esteem without fear of being held accountable for killing innumerable innocents.

Second, we can expect the legacy of the war in Afghanistan to be that it was largely a mistake, despite the best intentions of Washington. The “mistake” part, though, will be framed in terms of the costs borne by America, not by our victims. Robert Bales will not be remembered, nor will the names of those he slaughtered in cold blood. The number of U.S. casualties will be known, but certainly not those of Afghans.

This rule generalizes throughout all of America’s wars. In the eyes of the public, U.S. foreign policy is inherently virtuous and benevolent, at least in its aims. That public officials can commit crimes against humanity and suffer no moral or legal consequences and that the public never views America’s wars from the point of view of our victims both ensure such policies will be repeated in the future.

 

Child Hunger in Afghanistan Among Worst in the World

John Glaser
Antiwar

Thanks to the ruthless decade-long war, children in Afghanistan suffer one of the highest levels of chronic malnutrition in the world, according to a report released Monday by the World Bank and the government.

More than half of Afghan children under the age of five go hungry, the report said, despite billions of dollars in aid that has come into the country over the years.

One of the reasons the aid hasn’t helped is because much of it is wasted or goes through the hands of corrupt Afghan officials. Another reason, mentioned by the report, is because “foreign assistance has disproportionally gone to the provinces where concentration of troops and fighting has been heaviest,” said Josephine Bassinette of the World Bank. ”But the analysis in this report shows that poverty and food insecurity rates are actually higher in the more peaceful provinces,” she said.

Starvation of children is only one measure of the savage, unnecessary U.S. war in Afghanistan. Last month, Amnesty International found that an average of four hundred people are displaced in every day in Afghanistan, bringing the total displaced population to approximately 500,000.

Amnesty Afghanistan researcher Horia Mosadiq said: “Thousands of people are finding themselves living in freezing, cramped conditions and on the brink of starvation, while the Afghan government is not only looking the other way but even preventing help from reaching them.”

The U.S. continues to make no progress in its failed effort to stabilize Afghanistan and build a reliable client state. Rates of violence continue to hit record highs and civilian casualties have risen for every 6 month period since the surge in 2009.