America is not Spider-Man

Exactly 19 years ago this month, the United States invaded a sovereign country. The unprovoked attack on Iraq, then justified by lies and deceptions, and its subsequent occupation, was not only a monumental strategic error, but a long series of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

While the error has been widely acknowledged, the crimes have been swept under the rug. Not only Iraq but also the entire region is still suffering from the terrible aftermath.

At a time when yet another traditional great power has invaded a sovereign country while Washington is throwing everything it has against it, it’s worth reflecting on the incongruity of American rhetoric and practice.

If US President Joe Biden has judged Vladimir Putin to be “a war criminal”, it’s hard not to apply the same judgment and criterion to the US presidency behind the Iraq invasion. Tens of thousands were killed directly as a result; millions were displaced and made refugees; whole societies and tribal communities were turned upside down, if not destroyed.

The US invasion was one of blatant aggression. It was a flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations. While upholding itself as the world’s primary defender of international order, the invasion was a direct and brutal violation of that order.

Perhaps it takes one to know one; that’s why Russia’s own war of aggression today has provoked so much moral fury from Washington.