“*How does an empire die? Does it collapse in one terrible moment? No, No! But there come a time when it’s people no longer believe in it” – From the film: The fall of the Roman Empire*”
As it were with the Babylon, Persia, Greece, Roman and the British Empire, so it is with the unfolding process of declined of the United States of America presently.
Political leaders of the US, from Donald Trump to key members of the House of Representatives and the Senate and also the business leaders are glaringly eminent but sadly without honor.
No doubt about their huge wealth, but you can easily see that generally speaking they lack wisdom from above.
They have seized power alright, but for what purpose do they wield the power, and is there any evidence of principle in their activities?
NO, they have failed to learn from history. Therefore it is safe to predict the US has began to descend into a place akin to the status of a so- called third world country.
Meanwhile let’s take a cursory look at US ascendance and its transformation into a world power. First and foremost, the American revolution of 1775-1783, helped cement her foothold as an independent country and also energized her to explore the possibility of creating a sphere of influence westwards. Indeed by the virtues of the 1812 war which diminished the British influence in the Western Hemisphere, the US became the regional power.
More so, her 19th century Industrial Revolution funded vast economic growth which gave birth to the manufacturing capabilities and massive infrastructure developments. Perhaps, the most tangible factor, which gave America a break to becoming a global power was the Spanish-American war of 1898, which the US won. Swiftly, America gained the control over former Spanish territories like Guam, Puerto Rico, and far away Phillipine.
From then onwards, the US began to pursue aggressive foreign policies that underlined it’s quest to becoming superpower, and therefore, increasing her involvement in global affairs and conflicts.
For example, the US engineered and supported Panama’s revolt against Columbian rule and eventually acquired ownership of Panama Canal in 1903. Again in 1904, by force of arms, it took control of the Dominican Republic’s Custom revenue and also intervened in Nicaragua, Haiti and
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In order to become a major global player, the Us entered into the 1st world war In 1917, ostensibly to establish its position in the world place. She began to craft a Post war policies which solidified it’s position as an eminent global player. And so, with the advent of World War 11, she emerged as one of the two superpowers; along with the defunct Soviet Union or USSR, but having a stronger economy.
With a strong military and a stronger economy and the dollar as an acceptable means of exchange worldwide, the United States began to push for democracy against communism globally. It is now obvious that it was a policy geared mainly at seizing political and economic power from those countries.
I will touch on some significant list of notable instances of U.S. involvement in regime change, along with consequences for both the U.S. and the affected countries.
This list is not exhaustive as it is not the main subject of this article but covers some of the most significant cases, and points to watershed events that have occurred and leads to the present state of the US decline.
The US involvement in Vietnam was primarily to support the overthrow of Ngo Dinh Diem in 1963. As according to their official propaganda, there is need to “heavily intervene” in the Vietnam War to prevent the spread of communism”. The consequences for a bad decision like that was devastating economically, politically and socially.
Over 58,000 U.S. soldiers died, and the war cost billions of dollars. It led to widespread anti-war protests and a crisis of confidence in the government.
On the other side, millions of Vietnamese civilians and soldiers died. The country was devastated by war, and the U.S. withdrawal in 1975 led to the unification of Vietnam under communist rule.
Flash back to Iran in 1953, the CIA orchestrated a coup to overthrow Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh and reinstated the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The coup created long-term anti-American sentiment in Iran, culminating in the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the hostage crisis.
For Iran, the Shah’s authoritarian rule led to widespread repression. The 1979 Revolution established an Islamic theocracy, which remains in power today. The events from then on deepened their hate for Americans in general and gave them the desire to own a nuclear weapon.
In a bid to have total control over the whole South America, in 1954 Guatemala became the target of the CIA. They backed a coup to overthrow President Jacobo Árbenz, who had implemented land reforms that threatened U.S. corporate interests.
The coup reinforced U.S. influence in Latin America but damaged its reputation in the region. The coup led to decades of civil war, with over 200,000 people killed, mostly indigenous civilians, and widespread human rights abuses.
Again, in 1973, the
CIA supported the coup that overthrew President Salvador Allende and installed General Augusto Pinochet in 1963. Consequently, the U.S. faced criticism for supporting a brutal dictatorship, damaging its image in Latin America as promoters of freedom and democracy. It was glaring that America craved domination of Chile.
As for Chileans, the Pinochet’s regime was marked by widespread human rights violations, including torture, executions, and disappearances of political opponents.
Afghanistan was a full ten years involvement for the US in the first phase. That was from 1979 to 1989
The U.S. deliberately chose to support Afghan mujahideen fighters against the Soviet-backed government during the Soviet-Afghan War.
The U.S. achieved its goal of weakening the Soviet Union, but the conflict contributed to the rise of militant Islamist groups, including al-Qaeda.
In the second phase they installed a puppet government and when Trump became the president in his first term, he negotiated directly with the Taliban. Consequently,the war devastated the country, leading to a prolonged civil war and the eventual rise of the Taliban.
In 2003 the U.S. invaded Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein, citing weapons of mass destruction (later proven false) and ties with terrorists as excuses. The war cost trillions of dollars and resulted in thousands of U.S. military deaths. It damaged U.S. credibility globally.
The invasion led to widespread violence, sectarian conflict, and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. The power vacuum contributed to the rise of ISIS, a deep hate for the US across the Islamic world and Muslims in general.
It is important to know that up till now no cogent reason had been given why the CIA orchestrated the Libyan war and supported NATO-led airstrikes against Muammar Gaddafi. The intervention was initially seen as a success, but Libya’s subsequent instability raised questions about the long-term consequences of regime change.
As for Libya, Gaddafi’s overthrow led to a power vacuum, civil war, and the collapse of state institutions. The country remains divided and unstable. Weapons seized by warlords in Libya’s armory were freely traded by warlords mainly in the West African region and consequently increased banditry, insurgence and kidnappings, and wanton killings.
Other notable cases include Cuba in 1961.
The failed Bay of Pigs invasion aimed to overthrow Fidel Castro but strengthened his regime and deepened U.S.-Cuba tensions.
Nicaragua was also targeted by the CIA in the 1980s. The U.S. supported Contra rebels against the Sandinista government, leading to a prolonged civil war and significant civilian casualties.
What about the death of MKO Abiola? It is glaring that the CIA was involved in the death of both General Sanni Abacha and Moshood Abiola. He was poisoned shortly after the death of General Abacha, on the day that he was due to be released. Al Mustapha categorically insisted Abiola was poisoned with tea from the flask of his assailants. Who were the American diplomats meeting him on the day he was to be released? Thomas Pickering and Susan Rice led the delegation that met him at a government guest house in Abuja. Officially, it was announced that during the meeting Abiola suddenly fell ill and died. Aje ke, omo ku! (The witch cried and the child died, who did not know the source of the death?)
I have written about the involvement of the French and the CIA in the death of Lumumba in previous articles leading to widespread hate for the US in Africa and elsewhere. Indeed the acceptance of China in Africa is deeply rooted in the history of US and the Europeans in Africa and particularly their unwillingness to invest in development projects but just to cart away our minerals and control our resources and consequently our economy and those who run it.
However, all great empires start to die internally because of their own selfish interests and greed. They become decadent, bumbling, shambolic, arrogant and bullying. The rise of Donald Trumps and his Maga tribe underscores the most visible signs of American decline as a great power.
It has been argued in recent times that the unusual behavior of President Trump is due to foreign influence and some has declared him as a Putin’s asset. I will lay bear the case in the following article but it is pertinent to note that unless the wall cracks, the lizard cannot penetrate it. Are the said financial transactions between Trump and Putin real or imaginary?
Did Elon Musk got Russian technical support and money to build Spacex? And, are there reasons to believe China is the next superpower? Am inviting you to read my next article which is deep and fact based. You are free to share it.
