Commentary: Perverse hegemonism behind U.S. disastrous democratic experiments

Photo taken on Sept. 3, 2021 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

For quite some time, under the pretense of concern for democratic values and human prosperity, the United States has launched countless disastrous democratic experiments across the world, a bellicist enterprise that reveals its perverse zero-sum reckoning, hegemony and hypocrisy. In fact, the lives of the ordinary are the last thing it cares about.

BEIJING, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- The day of remembrance for the Capitol riot has set off a new round of taunts between the two major U.S. political parties and triggered fiery speeches about how the so-called "American democracy" is under urgent threat.

But while politicians from both parties have been giving the utmost attention to this tragedy to cream their rivals under the cloak of "the will of the American people," none of them have ever taken seriously any other bloodshed the United States created overseas in history, the casualties of which were often hundreds of thousands of times higher.

For quite some time, under the pretense of concern for democratic values and human prosperity, the United States has launched countless disastrous democratic experiments across the world, a bellicist enterprise that reveals its perverse zero-sum reckoning, hegemony and hypocrisy. In fact, the lives of the ordinary are the last thing it cares about.

With the declared aim of preventing more human suffering in Yugoslavia, the U.S.-led NATO forces carried out continuous air strikes in 78 days against the country, leaving more than 8,000 civilians dead or injured, and nearly 1 million displaced.

People gather at the Kabul airport during evacuation in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 16, 2021, after the Taliban's takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15. (Xinhua)

Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya have also been America's overseas testing grounds for the so-called "democracy promotion."

The U.S.-launched war has killed around 50,000 Afghan civilians from 2001 to mid-April 2020, and reduced some 11 million to refugees. The scene of terrified Afghan civilians trying to scale airport fences and chase airplanes in Kabul was in chilling echo of what happened in 1975, when overfilled U.S. Army helicopters lifted evacuees from the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon.

Besides, the years of bloodshed have left more than 200,000 Iraqi civilians dead, and dragged Libya into greater turmoil.

In fact, research last year by anti-war group CODEPINK revealed that an average of 46 bombs have been dropped on other countries per day by the United States and its allies since 2001.

Behind the so-called democracy, which U.S. writer William Blum described in his book as "America's deadliest export," is a group of arrogant and selfish U.S. politicians, businessmen and arms dealers exploiting the term either for pursuing America's global domination or for satisfying their personal interests. That is why the United States has, from its first days, colluded with terrorist groups whenever it feels necessary.

Iraqi protesters take part in a demonstration against the presence of U.S. troops in the country in Baghdad, capital of Iraq, Jan. 24, 2020. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

Its democratic experiments abroad have eroded democracy in international relations, as the country has grossly interfered in other countries' domestic affairs and undermined the international system and rules. Just as Blum pointed out in his book, the United States has tried to overthrow more than 50 foreign governments since the end of World War II, interfered in elections in at least 30 nations, and attempted to assassinate over 50 foreign leaders.

More and more people around the world have come to realize that the U.S. enterprise of "democracy aid" is hardly of, by and for the people. For example, few countries in the Middle East and no North African countries have participated in the so-called "Summit for Democracy" put together by the United States in December. America's democratic promotion does not even sell in its domestic market.

"From the COVID-19 pandemic to global trade rules, from climate change to economic development, the United States is actively frustrating the priorities of most of the world's democracies. In the process, U.S. foreign policy is -- in the name of democracy -- compounding the global crisis of democracy and delegitimizing U.S. power," said U.S. magazine Foreign Affairs in July.

Any attempt to monopolize democracy, deny the legitimacy of other development paths, and reshape the world in a single image is the greatest damage to global democracy, and runs totally counter to humanity's common aspiration of peace, stability and common development.

It is time for the United States to wake up to that, stop its bloody democratic experiments immediately, and leave other countries alone, if it truly wants to hold onto its democratic values.