The way a neighborhood drunk thug displays power, boasts about killings and injuries, tortures people at will, and flaunts their disregard for laws, in the same manner, we are now witnessing the President of the world's most powerful nation and his entourage. Their main pride lies in having the most modern weapons for killing people and destroying countries. Their principal ambition is to ensure their corporate empire in every country, with no competitors, imposing tariffs and conducting military operations at will. Everyone will tremble in fear and comply. It seems as if one person in power is causing havoc across the entire world.
However, it's not entirely one man's thuggery, as we see support and sponsorship from respectable media, international organisations, and leaders of various states, including Europe. This reflects the latest picture of a global system where imperialism has assumed the form of naked authoritarianism.
In January this year, the United States conducted a bloody military attack in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, and kidnapped the country's president, Nicolás Maduro. He has been brought and detained in New York. Facing six decades of American embargo, Cuba is threatened and attacked with takeover; Brazil and Mexico are also threatened.
And at the end of February, amidst ongoing discussions about the so-called nuclear deal with Iran, an attack was launched by the United States alongside Israel. They killed the country's chief religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with over a hundred and fifty schoolgirls. US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proudly announced this attack and massacre. Trump's Defense Secretary stated that they don't need to abide by any laws.
One of the sources of their arrogance is the allegiance of Iran’s neighboring countries. In the last few years, Saudi Arabia has purchased more than sixty billion dollars' worth of weapons from the United States. Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates have done the same. All of these countries have US military bases. Their support remains a major strength for US and Israeli military aggression from Palestine to Iran.
But can you conduct aggression, kidnappings, and killings in other countries at will and by proclamation? Where are the international organisations, laws, human rights, and sovereignty? Nowhere. The effectiveness of any institution, supposedly like the United Nations, is not palpable. No crime committed by the United States or Israel seems capable of prompting the European Union to take an interest in human rights.
Notably, both Trump, the primary figure behind the Iran aggression, and Netanyahu are convicted of various offenses in their respective countries' courts and are under further investigation. If the International Court was functional, they would both be punished as war criminals. There is already a ruling against Netanyahu for genocide in Gaza.
Looking at history, the US's role doesn’t seem incoherent. In the last few decades post-World War II, looking at the history of genocide and destruction, this nation’s image as a killer or destroyer appears to be the most terrifying. The first nuclear bomb explosion in human history by the US resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in moments. Subsequently, in countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, Nicaragua, and Iraq, among others, the US played a major role in killing millions, destructing settlements one after another, and annihilating the potential of many countries.
After 11 September 2001, military operations were conducted in Afghanistan. Even then, US military and intelligence officials' discussions included plans for occupying Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Iran. In March 2003, the US administration attacked and occupied a blockade-devastated Iraq.
To create justification, false myths about weapons of mass destruction were fabricated. Predictably, after completing the occupation, no evidence was found. In other words, the entire episode of instigating public fear and hatred for years, diverting enormous resources from education and health sectors to war preparations, launching unilateral attacks, genocide, and destruction on a sovereign UN member state under false pretences, and ultimately establishing colonial occupation, is a complete fraud, deception, and purely falsehood. However, the responsible US administration, especially multiple Presidents who should have been accountable and convicted for war crimes, never had to answer for it.
After Iraq, Libya, and Syria came under occupation; now Iran faces continuous attacks. Country after country has been torn apart and is being torn apart. A vast number of people, including women, men, children, and the elderly, have been killed or injured. Immense assets have been damaged, life, nature, and the environment are endangered. Fear has been spread to make people sick. It is clear that Saddam, Gaddafi, Assad's crime is not dictatorship, but the crime that they did not agree to remain in the pocket of the United States.
If they were in the pocket, even an al-Qaeda leader could become President of Syria. Under the guise of operations against religious terrorists, secular governments have been removed in Iraq, Libya, and Syria, empowering religious fascist groups.
The US coalition is announcing regime change in Iran. In recent years, we have seen frequent anti-government protests in Iran. Millions of Iranians have repeatedly protested for liberation from economic crises and oppressive governance systems. But this does not mean they want to hand over the country again to the American administration or their loyal Pahlavis. To understand what kind of governance the American empire desires, one must look at neighboring countries—Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait... Governance system, democracy, or religion are not in question here. The issue is having rulers who will protect imperial interests. In reality, there is no precedent of democratic transformation anywhere in the world through American aggression.
Bangladesh is also not outside these aggressions. As part of the "war on terror," US forces, technology arrived, and an immunity agreement was signed over two decades ago. In recent times, the interim government has laid the groundwork for more danger. A huge tourist centre was planned there under US supervision during the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza. Even though countries were asked to supply troops for this American agenda, the Trump administration got little response. But Bangladesh's interim government has shown interest in joining this preemptively.
Secondly, Trump's global tariff aggression was declared illegal by the United States’ Supreme Court. However, the interim government had a much greater desire to appease Trump. Thus, despite many countries worldwide saying no, even though there was an opportunity to leave it for the elected government, they made such an agreement with the United States just two days before the election, plunging Bangladesh into a horrible economic and political subjugation for a long time. Further agreements are being prepared under this trend. Bangladesh thus faces the threat of more occupation, terrorism, and chaos ahead.
Trump and Netanyahu say Iran poses an existential threat to them. In fact, because of them, the entire world is now a security threat. The American coalition wants to annihilate those who reject imperial domination. But there is no other way to preserve the existence of the world, including life and nature, without increasing the power of refusal across countries.
*Anu Muhammad is teacher, writer, and editor of the quarterly journal Sarbojan Kathar
*Opinions are the author's own
#The article, originally published in Prothom Alo print and online editions, has been rewritten in English by Rabiul Islam