Xinhua News Agency, Tehran, March 20. Exclusive interview: America’s belligerence stems from its obsession with hegemony—Interview with Hamid Wafae, director of the Center for Asian Studies at the University of Tehran in Iran
Xinhua News Agency reporter Gao Wencheng and Wang Shoubao
Hamid Wafaei, director of the Asian Studies Center at the University of Tehran in Iran, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency recently that looking back on the history of the United States, we can find that this country has a prominent feature, that is, it is “especially belligerent”. Hegemonism is at work.
He said that the United States should answer the following questions in the international court: “Why does it wantonly invade other countries and kill innocent people in other countries? Who has the right to use human rights as an excuse to put pressure on other countries?”
Wafae said that although the United States has been criticizing the human rights situation and international roles of other countries, the United States has launched many wars around the world, which have led to the destruction of security and stability in these regions. The latest example is the war launched by the United States in Afghanistan.
“The United States has had a very negative impact on Afghanistan’s past, present and future,” Wafae said.
Vafae said that looking back on the war in Afghanistan, the United States needs to answer three major questions. First of all, during the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, the local drug trade volume not only did not decline, but increased substantially. It should be noted that during the period when the US military was stationed, key departments such as airports, border defense and the army in Afghanistan were all controlled by the United States. The first question the United States needs to answer is: Why did the drug trade in Afghanistan increase rather than drop during its occupation?
Secondly, the US military killed a large number of innocent civilians while stationed in Afghanistan, and even used drones to attack places where large numbers of people gathered, such as weddings. After that, the United States just said “I’m sorry, there are no terrorists here” and ignored it. The second question the United States needs to answer is: Why do so many innocent people get away with killing so many innocent people?
In addition, the US military hastily withdrawn from Afghanistan irresponsibly, leading to the deterioration of the local security situation and making Afghanistan’s neighboring countries victims. The third question the United States needs to answer is: What right does it have to accuse other countries of threatening regional peace and international security?
Wafae said that the United States is so belligerent that it has become “one of the greatest threats to world peace,” and that America’s belligerence stems from its motivation to maintain its hegemony. The slogan of “America First” fully exposed the perception of the US government. Once the interests of other countries conflict with the interests of the United States, the United States will not hesitate to kill the people of these countries in order to safeguard its own interests. What the United States has done in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places proves this.
Vafae said that the US unilateralism has made most countries realize that the world needs multilateralism. “Hopefully, in the near future, true multilateralism will become a reality,” Wafae said.
[Editor in charge: Xu Kun]