At the close of 2013, WIN/Gallup published the results of a massive world opinion poll in which they asked over 66,000 people from 65 countries which country is the greatest threat to world peace.
The replies were as follows:
- United States 24%
- Pakistan 8%
- China 6%
- Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea, each 5%
- India, Iraq, Japan, each 4%
- Syria 3%
- Russia 2%
Australia, Germany, Palestinian territories, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Korea, UK, each 1%
Americans, heavily influenced by DOD/CIA/White House/State Department misinformation and propaganda delivered via corporate-owned media outlets, named Iran the top threat. Afghanistan came in second, but, most interestingly, Americans voted the U.S. among the most threatening nations, in a tie for third place with North Korea.
The rest of the world, being at the effect of it, has good reason to fear US militarism. But, Americans are beginning to wake up to how the military/corporate/intelligence/NATO complex, and the violence and chaos it spreads around the world, is a major cause of our economic and social problems at home. A bloated military budget, is only the tip of the iceberg, the equally large “black budget” is below the surface, hidden from view, without Congressional oversight. Both budgets serve the elite, while education, housing, health care, infrastructure and transportation—the things we desperately need at home—suffer.
Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers at popularresistance.org cataloged the following statistics from William Blum’s website. Blum, a historian who specializes in tracking U.S. Empire follows these interventions closely and has reported on them going back to the end of World War II. Since then, the United States has:
* Attempted to overthrow more than 50 foreign governments, most of which were democratically elected.
* Dropped bombs on the people of more than 30 countries.
* Attempted to assassinate more than 50 foreign leaders.
* Attempted to suppress a populist or nationalist movement in 20 countries.
* Grossly interfered in democratic elections in at least 30 countries, according to Chapter 18 of his book Rogue State: A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower.
Please click on the links if you want more detailed information.
Much of Obama’s world-destabilizing activities in service of geopolitical dominance, are carried out through the CIA, black budgets, proxy wars, drones, and mercenaries—effectively bypassing a clueless and apathetic Congress. We are told that the secret activities involving drones and mercenaries are necessary to “KEEP US SAFETM”. In reality the U.S. government kills, maims and destabilizes for geopolitical reasons—to allow banks and corporations to grab off as much as they can.
A complacent and complicit media rarely questions the lies spread at official press conferences—for fear of being prosecuted under the Espionage Act if they probe further and reveal whistleblower-leaked classified material, or because they are content to advance their career by maintaining a sycophantic relationship to power. Overall, the American mainstream media has failed the American people by failing to practice journalism.
The world is not wrong when it judges us the greatest threat to world peace. So, how long are we going to let our elected and appointed officials spread violence and chaos in our name?