America can't help fighting wars.

Byline: Abdul Rasool Syed

Following the assassination of Iran's top General Qasim Sulemani by US, revered as a national hero, by Irani nation and subsequent vow by Iranian supreme leader Ayatullah to avenge the assassinated General, America once again seems on the brink of full-scale war with Iran.

The question that always haunts the intelligentsia and the hoi polloi is that why America can't help fighting wars? Why its checkered history is replete with wars without any apposite casus belli? The answer to such questions is quite simple that war is an indispensable economic sine qua non of US. Its economy is heavily dependent on its military capital hence, if there is no war in the world, its' economy is likely to nosedive; the fact-- although never acknowledged by US political leaders and seldom by even US media.

The big arm companies operating in the US serve as vertebral column to its economy. Without continuous and prolonged warfare that requires the deployment of their guns, bombs, tanks, warships and submarines, they would go out of business. This very situation eggs on US to be embroiled into war either overtly or covertly.

According to chronological account of US, it has militarily intervened 223 times since its independence. So, does the fault lie in the evil nature of the individuals who ascend to power or it is the gargantuan appetite of the military- industrial - complex that prompts every US president -whether he is a pacifist, democrat or hawkish- to wage a war-definitely, it is America's big arms manufacturers that keep the country engaged in wars since it is the question of their survival.

Chronological record further shows that whenever there is a conflict, anywhere in the world; nine times out of ten, it is the US, who is involved in some capacity. It has a long history of engineering coups, toppling regimes and baking military juntas all around the world.

Some examples of such interventions include: Iran in 1953, Guatemala in 1954, Congo in 1960, Dominican Republic in 1961, South Vietnam in 1963, Brazil in 1964, Chile in 1973, Iraq in 1992 and in 2003, Syria in 2011, and finally in Ukraine in 2014. Currently, it is Iran who is likely to face the wrath of Uncle Sam.

According to economic luminaries, America is a state that is oxygenated by its war industry. It is believed that the joint venture between the US arms industry and the government is as old as the country. Even American civil war turned out to be immensely...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT