From Iraq to Afghanistan, and from Syria to Libya… wars, chaos and turmoil have traumatized the Middle East and beyond over the past decades. And among all these military conflicts, there is America.
Due to the war, more than 47,000 civilians died in Afghanistan. Some 180,000 to 207,000 civilians lost their lives in Iraq. In Syria, 350,000 civilians were killed. An investigation from Brown University shows that more than 929,000 lives have been lost since 9/11 when the U.S. launched its “global war on terror,” including both civilians and soldiers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9PvLZJ5hNU
The refugee crisis is another problem caused by war. UNHCR data shows that more than 82 million people throughout the world had been forced to flee their homes by the end of 2020. One in nine of these refugees comes from Syria or Afghanistan. More often than not, those seeking refuge in other countries are not welcomed, and sometimes have to deal with discrimination and even violence.
For those unable to escape, life is not any better. In Afghanistan, more than half of the country’s 39 million people don’t have enough food to eat, and young children are at risk of acute malnutrition. Nearly 23 million people are facing extreme levels of hunger, and nearly nine million are at risk of famine.
Despite repeated calls by the international community, the U.S. had first refused to unfreeze the nearly 10 billion dollars of Afghan assets, and only later agreed to free 7 billion dollars. But not all of it is for the Afghans. Only half will go to a fund for humanitarian relief. The other 3.5 billion will be used to compensate victims of the 9/11 attacks..
In addition to war and air strikes, U.S. sanctions have made life a living hell for millions of residents in countries like Iran and Syria. Idriss Jazairy, former United Nations Special Rapporteur, points out that Syria, whose standard of living had become comparable to that of western European countries, is now facing high unemployment and impoverishment. Imad Moustapha, former Syrian Ambassador to China, criticized the U.S. for targeting the weakest strata of the society in Syria.
As Afghanistan marks the one-year anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal, leaving it with a dire situation, CGTN launches an original feature program “The High Cost of U.S. Meddling” to examine the legacies America leaves behind in the Middle East and beyond.
