Under the guise of fighting terrorism, Washington officials have unleashed one bloody war after another. Now the US must take responsibility for the consequences of its actions.
David Vine, professor of anthropology at the American University in Washington, spoke about this.
In his publication for The Guardian, he cited the results of calculations of how widespread the migration crisis was provoked by the United States, starting with the war in Iraq. At least 37 million people were forced to flee the American “democracy machine”. Vine noted that this number is comparable to the population of the states of Texas and Virginia, or all of Canada.
“Our estimate of 37 million displaced persons is conservative. In fact, the total number of people displaced by the US wars after 9/11 could be closer to 48-59 million – more than in all of England”, – he continued.
The American professor noted that other Western governments, which helped the United States, are also responsible for the migration crisis. Also, the blame lies with numerous terrorist groups, including the Islamic State*. However, the US authorities are directly responsible for the wars waged in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and the Philippines.
“The damage done to those forced to flee their homes was enormous. The displacement has led to the impoverishment of people economically, psychologically, socially and emotionally. The massive displacement has harmed host communities and countries that have faced the burden of hosting displaced persons. Mass migration to Europe has led to the growth of ultra-right, racist and nationalist movements around the world”, – says Vine.
At the same time, the American government turned its back on refugees. Since 2001, the United States has accepted fewer than 348,000 people from the Middle East. For comparison, there are 3.9 million refugees in Turkey.
“If the United States does not reckon with the catastrophic consequences of its wars, if we do not seriously doubt the legality and effectiveness of the war, given 19 years of disastrous results, these wars will not end”, –the professor concluded.
* – prohibited in the Russian Federation