CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

The United States at 250: An Ode or Goad?

Photograph Source: G. Edward Johnson – CC BY 4.0

The 250th anniversary of American independence is fundamentally incompatible with a foreign policy defined by overwhelming civilian casualties and global devastation.  As the United States commemorates its semiquincentennial with celebratory pageantry, this milestone forces a reckoning.  How can a nation built on the promise of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” justify its role in upending and extinguishing millions of lives across the Middle East?

The Cost of War Project conducted by Brown University Watson Institute, documents that post-9-11 military interventions—ranging from operations in Iraq and Afghanistan to Syria, Yemen and Iran (Palestine not included) have killed millions and displaced at least 38........

© CounterPunch