When Will America Admit Its Wrongs?

When will America recognize the many sins it has committed in its foreign policy? The U.S. government has committed and continues to commit the very sins it accuses other nations of committing. When will the U. S. ever judge itself for doing wrong in the affairs of the world?

The U. S. rightfully looks out for its own interests in its foreign policy, but when will it give the same right to other nations. The U. S. demands other nations to follow U. N. resolutions, but, yet, the U. S. will not follow U. N. resolutions that demand for Israel to withdraw to its pre-1967 borders.

America has done much good in the world but it has also done much that is wrong. The U. S. invaded Iraq and destabilized the whole region, although Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction and was not involved in the 9-11 terrorist attacks. The U. S., over decades, has propped up ruthless dictators and supported wars that have killed many thousands of civilians.

President Eisenhower, before he left office, warned Americans of the danger of the country's military-industrial complex. Over the decades since Eisenhower left office, America has been getting into wars precisely because it's very profitable.

In the early 90's (after the fall of the Soviet Union) we promised Russia that we would not expand NATO eastward, but we broke our promise. Russia has every right to be concerned for its security. Russians have every right to demand that the U.S. not expand NATO and build more missiles aimed at Russia. Russia has every right to demand for Ukraine not join NATO.

Those who argue that NATO is strictly defensive don't have a leg to stand on. NATO was used offensively against Libya in over-throwing Muammar Gaddafi. And something defensive can quickly be turned offensive.

If Ukraine became part of NATO the anti-Russian elements in Ukraine, and there are many of them, may easily be emboldened to harass Russia with no fear because they're protected by NATO. Russians in Ukraine are looked down upon and considered as second-class citizens. Russians in Ukraine are not allowed to vote in Ukrainian presidential elections.

I am not saying Russia was right in invading Ukraine, but neither is the U.S. right in its continued expansion of NATO, including giving Ukraine the opportunity to join NATO. Russia is not the former communist Soviet Union. Russia is no longer an official atheist country. Russia has a free-market economy where Russians can own and operate private businesses. Russia is not a threat to the U. S., but the U. S. is becoming a threat to Russia in insisting on expanding NATO which Russia rightly sees as a threat.

Russia would immediately stop all military activity against Ukraine if Ukraine agreed unconditionally not to join NATO, but President Zelensky of Ukraine will not do that. The U. S. will not guarantee that Ukraine won't join NATO. Russia is denied any right to be concerned about its own security and its own legitimate interests in the region because those rights have always belonged only to the United States and the West.

Below are some poignant points made by American writer Scott Schaeffer-Duffy:

• The U.S. has invaded 56 countries, eight of them since 2000.
• The U.S. is the only nation to have used atomic bombs, when it incinerated more than 70,000 in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 
• On Feb. 13, 1991, without warning, the U.S. dropped two laser-guided bombs onto Baghdad's Amiriyah shelter killing 408 people, mostly women and children.
• The U.S. has never apologized for killing over 500,000 civilians in Vietnam and 387,000 in Afghanistan and Iraq.
• The U.S. threatened to arrest ICC judges if they pursue Americans for Afghan war crimes.