In the past 250 years ago, the United States has not been at war for only 20 years. Due to the war, the United States has expanded its territory ten times as much. Meanwhile, as a result of war of terror has killed nearly one million people over the past 20 years, making the United States the most bellicose country in world history. This is how the Chinese Xinhua Institute expresses the history of the United States. The Chinese say the number of US military bases abroad is three times the number of embassies, consulates and diplomatic missions. The United States has spent more than $5.8 trillion on wars since the September 11 attacks. More than 30,000 US soldiers have committed suicide. “US military hegemony, which is based on oppression, poses a great threat to the world. It does not achieve equality and freedom, but leads to slavery and oppression,” they said.
“A History of War”
On July 4, 1776, thirteen US states declared independence from Britain. Since then, 248 years ago, the United States has not been at war for less than 20 years, according to Xinhua. “The United States can be called the most bellicose country in the history of the world,” they say. According to statistics, from the end of World War II (1945) to (2001), in (153) regions of the world (248) armed conflicts happened, of which (201) wars were initiated by the United States, which is about (81%) wars. Since 2001, the United States has conducted wars and military operations in more than 80 countries under the pretext of “fighting terrorism”, which directly killed about 929,000 people, including 387,000 civilians, and displaced and the displacement of about 38 million people.
In US history, the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848 is considered the first major military operation that the United States conducted outside its borders, and the first time to occupy the territory of another country. After the war, the United States occupied about 2.3 million square kilometers of territory across the North American continent, and reached the Pacific Ocean, which later paved the way for military and economic expansion in the Pacific and East Asia. The Spanish-American War of 1898 is considered the culmination of the first US imperialist era. Because it was the first war of occupation the United States fought outside North America, it defeated Spain, conquered Cuba, Portugal, the Philippines, Guam, and Hawaii. In August 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The United States is the only country to have used nuclear weapons in wars. The power of nuclear weapons laid an important foundation for US military hegemony after World War II. Through wars, the United States expanded its territory, seized strategic locations, and extended its hegemony. It has increased from about 800,000 square kilometers at the beginning of its establishment to about 9.37 million square kilometers today. That means the area of the United States has increased more than tenfold.
The Xinhua Institute concluded its study, over the past 240 years, the United States has worked through war and military expansion to transform itself from an isolated state in a corner of North America to a state with global military hegemony. Then the United States has built an American-style democracy or “American democracy” based on the domination and oppression of other countries. Finally, they say; the facts have proven that US military hegemony, based on oppression, poses a great threat to the world, brings unprecedented challenges to human society, does not promote peace and security, but creates war and disaster. It does not achieve equality and freedom, but leads to slavery and oppression. It does not allow growth and cooperation, but leads to conflict and division.
Note: This report is a summary of a study by the Xinhua Institute, a research center affiliated with the Xinhua News Agency, published in the Arabic section of the agency entitled (Origins, Facts and Threats of US Military Security) on (7/9/2023).