People check a destroyed house after an operation by the US military in the Syrian village of Atmeh, in Idlib Province, Syria, on February 3, 2022. Photo: VCG

Under numerous banners - ranging from democracy to human rights and anti-terrorism - the US has launched numerous wars, exported chaos and interfered in the internal affairs of countless nations around the world. In those countries where Washington has had or still has a military presence, it has left only ruin in its wake. 

Between the end of World War II and 2001, there were 248 armed conflicts in 153 regions across the world, among which 201 were initiated by the US. This means that the US has started the overwhelming majority of conflicts in the modern, postwar global security status quo. That is quite remarkable and shows just how nefarious Washington's influence is around the world. 

It is also important to look at the lingering impact of US occupation, even when Washington is not the victor. The most recent example is Afghanistan, where during its decades-spanning occupation, Washington created an economy that was totally dependent on the war effort. Entire market sectors fed off the huge sums of US taxpayer dollars and employed a significant percentage of the local workforce. Despite this dependence, in 2020 it was reported by the Asia Development Bank that 49.4 percent of the population lived below the national poverty line.

Prior to its so-called withdrawal, the US did not help Afghanistan create an independent economy and pulled out, immediately rendering countless workers unemployed and desperate. The United Nations Development Programme predicted right after the withdrawal in August of 2021 that 97 percent of the population could be in poverty by mid-2022, and indeed only one year after the withdrawal it was reported that 91 percent of the average Afghan household's money was spent on food, forcing many families to resort to rationing and other coping strategies. 

We can also go back to Washington's escapades in Southeast Asia during the mid-to-late 20th century. At that time, the US was deeply entrenched in a genocidal war in Vietnam based on a false pretext. While the country of Vietnam is seeing a meteoric rise in economic growth now, in 1995 the country released an official estimate that at least 2 million civilians and over 1 million North Vietnam soldiers died in the war, on top of nearly 60,000 US troops and between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnam soldiers.

But other nations in the region were caught in the crossfire, too, such as Laos. From 1964 to 1973, US invaders dropped more than 2.5 million tons of ordnance on the country during 580,000 bombing sorties. This would equate to a planeload of bombs every eight minutes for nine years straight, which is double the amount dropped in Europe and Asia during World War II. This makes Laos the most bombed country per capita in history and unexploded ordnance still kills innocent people to this day.

Before the "Vietnam Era," Washington's "forgotten war" in Korea was waged. During that campaign, the US used conventional weapons such as explosives, incendiary bombs, and napalm to the extent that nearly all of the country's cities and towns were destroyed. It is estimated that 85 percent of all buildings - including all buildings two stories and over - were leveled. US generals even mulled using tactical nuclear weapons on the border with China and the Soviet Union. 

The estimated casualties from the three years and one month of conflict are put at roughly 4 million people - and it has still technically not ended today, with the US consistently using division in Korea Peninsula as a means to impose its dominion over East Asia.

Today, the US is still militarily occupying Syria despite having failed to topple the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Washington is stealing oil from the oil-rich, northeastern portion of the country while imposing strict sanctions on the country that are starving people and blocking basic access to key goods, such as medical supplies and emergency supplies. It is estimated that 90 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, directly resulting from the US sanctions.

Note that this list of US conflicts is only those where the US was driven out and forced to withdraw. This does not even touch on the litany of crimes where the US and its allies actually achieved a military victory and imposed their will on the local population without impunity. In my opinion, the fact that the US has committed such terrible crimes in the wars - that is to say, that it has gone to such lengths with no serious national security threat to itself whatsoever but resorts to such malicious acts - shows just how evil the country's foreign policy is.

The author is a Prague-based American journalist, columnist and political commentator. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn