President Joe Biden meets with Benjamin Netanyahu Photo Times of Israel
Palestine – Two weeks ago, many people were unfamiliar with Hamas. In fact, they might have mistaken it for hummus. However, after 7 October, there was a sudden surge in public awareness and everyone became an expert on Hamas. The United States was quick to label Hamas a terrorist organisation in 1997. Who truly embodies the essence of terrorism? Is it Hamas, labelled a terrorist group by the US, or does the United States itself, through its actions, mirror the very definition of terror?
According to B’Tselem, a Jerusalem-based non-profit organisation who documents human rights violations in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, between January 2000 and 27 September 2023, 1 330 Israelis were killed. In the same space of time, 10 651 Palestinians were killed.
Following the 9/11 attacks, which claimed the lives of 2 977 people, the US led an international coalition into Afghanistan to oust the Taliban regime. What followed was an unrelenting onslaught of destruction. Between 2006 and 2019, the US dropped a staggering 26 000 bombs, resulting in the deaths of 176 000 people. Afghanistan’s economy was obliterated, its people left to suffer in the wake of this onslaught. For the lives lost on 9/11, the US wreaked havoc on an entire nation, mercilessly slaughtering approximately 46 319 civilians. They continue to exert control by withholding foreign currency and imposing crippling sanctions, perpetuating the misery. All of this was supposedly done under the banner of eliminating Al-Qaeda and capturing Osama bin Laden, who was later found and killed in Pakistan. Meanwhile, in 2014, the IDF killed 2 834 Palestinians and they were not bombarded like Afghanistan was. The US, responsible for 174 670 more deaths than Hamas in 23 years, yet only one is labelled a terrorist. The stark contrast raises a haunting question: Who truly bears the mark of terrorism?
The lying war of Iraq
Let’s not stop there. In 2003, the audacious and deeply controversial US invasion of Iraq unfolded, fueled by dubious claims of Saddam Hussein’s possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). This pretext for war led to one of the most catastrophic military interventions in modern history. The Iraq Body Count project paints a horrifying picture, estimating between 185 000 and 208 000 civilian deaths – and some sources suggest the toll could be well over a million, a staggering number resulting from direct violence, disease, and displacement over eight brutal years. Shockingly, not a single WMD was ever found, rendering the entire premise a ghastly lie. During this period, the US and coalition forces callously dropped approximately 29 991 bombs in Iraq, annihilating even health facilities – a damning testament to their brutality.
But the atrocities didn’t cease there. The Iraq War was a theater of human rights violations, with prisoners enduring unspeakable abuse and torture, notably at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison. US soldiers were implicated in heinous acts, subjecting Iraqi detainees to physical assaults, sexual harassment, and psychological torment, immortalized in ghastly photographs that sent shockwaves across the globe in 2004.
In stark contrast, prisoners captured by Hamas have reported surprisingly humane treatment. One prisoner received vital surgery, a stark contrast to the desolation of war-torn Gaza where medical supplies are a rarity. Another nation laid to waste. The question remains: who are the true terrorists in this grim narrative?
The Vietnam War
Between 1955 and 1975, the US shamelessly plunged into Vietnam with one clear objective: to staunchly oppose any hint of communist influence in the region. This led to a protracted conflict between North Vietnam, backed by its communist allies, and South Vietnam, supported by anti-communist forces, predominantly the US. This period marked one of the most catastrophic chapters in the 20th century.
The human toll was staggering – a mind-numbing estimated 2 million civilians from both sides mercilessly slaughtered. By 1968, the United States had shamelessly deployed over half a million American troops, and the war’s staggering bill had soared to a nauseating $77 billion. The USA, in its grotesque display of military might, dropped an unfathomable 6.2 million tons of bombs on Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. To grasp the sheer horror, this tonnage dwarfs the entire payload dropped during World War II by over three times.
But the brutality didn’t end there. A third of these bombs, including deadly cluster bombs, failed to detonate on impact, leaving a sinister legacy. Even today, more than half a century later, these silent killers continue to haunt Vietnam. Accidents caused by these unexploded bombs have claimed over 3 500 lives since the war’s conclusion. In 2022 alone, The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) grimly reported the destruction of 14 615 bombs – a chilling reminder of the relentless devastation wreaked by the United States.
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The US and their lust for death and torture
In the last 20 years Hamas has reportedly fired 30 000 rockets at Israel and killed around 30 Israelis. For this they are called terrorists. On August 6 and August 9 1945, the US dropped two atomic bombs. One nicknamed “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima, followed by another bomb, “Fat Man,” on Nagasaki. The immediate death toll was estimated to be around 140 000 people and approximately 70 000 respectively. However, The long-term death toll due to radiation exposure and other bomb-related injuries continued to rise, leading to tens of thousands of additional deaths. They weren’t called terrorists then. In fact, the world cheered as innocent families were killed. The world continued to cheer as generations of innocent families afterwards suffered the consequences of the radiation. Again, who are the real terrorists?
But if all of this doesn’t phase you, let’s talk about Guantánamo Bay. The torture centre of the US, set up after the 9/11 attacks. There have been numerous reports and pictures detailing horrifying instances of torture and abuse. Interrogation techniques such as waterboarding, stress positions, and sleep deprivation have been shamelessly employed while the sinister use of solitary confinement and exposure to extreme temperatures further underscores the cruelty faced by these prisoners, inviting rightful accusations of barbarity and sadism.
The most egregious aspect of this abhorrent saga lies in the protracted detention of individuals at Guantánamo Bay without any semblance of due process. For years, even decades, these detainees have languished without formal charges or the opportunity to defend themselves in a court of law. This blatant, indefinite detention without trial not only defies basic human rights but also stands as a grotesque violation of international law. International law the US has never respected but still they aren’t the terrorists.
Since the turn of the millennium, the US has ruthlessly extinguished the lives of over 300 000 innocent souls, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. Yet, with staggering audacity, they continue to brandish the moral high ground, presuming to lecture others about war crimes. The hypocrisy is staggering. This is the grim reality of the US, perched atop its ivory tower, casting judgement upon the world while ignoring its own monstrous transgressions. They condemn those who dare to fight for their freedom, for their very right to exist, while their so-called wars are waged to seize lands, plunder resources, and extinguish lives at will. This is the US, this is their legacy and will always remain so.
