United States of America, so called “superpower” calls itself a ‘beacon’ of human rights, that same beacon of human rights has committed various atrocities and war crimes for decades and those war crimes remain unpunished to this day.
United States has killed thousands of innocent civilians in the name of “liberation” and “war”, the families of those thousands of dead civilians haven’t received justice to this day. Some of them tried to call out for justice but they weren’t heard, or they were silenced.
War crimes of the United States go way back to 1890s, when U.S troops massacred native Americans. The incident is known as wounded knee massacre. This incident on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation was the last major conflict of the American Indian wars.
On December 29,1890, the American 7th Cavalry had surrounded a band of Sioux, including women and children, at the Wounded Knee Creek. The Soldiers demanded the Sioux surrender their weapons and were in the process of collecting them when the violence began. It is unclear who fired first, but close quarters combat among the Sioux and American soldiers in the encampment was quickly followed by indiscriminate fire into the camp from surrounding US forces.
Rifle fire and shrapnel from Hotchkiss cannons raked through the encampment, and mounted soldiers cut down those attempting to flee. It is estimated at least 250 of the 350 Sioux were killed in the exchange. American troops slaughtered Sioux’s. They murdered women and children who were attempting to flee the site. For that incident, Twenty Medal of Honor citations were granted. Till this day, Americans have slaughtered many native American, however, they never apologized for their actions. Till this day, native Americans are demanding for Justice, but to their disappointment, they never received any Justice.
The United States kept committing several war crimes even in mid 20th century. One of the most popular war crimes committed by the United States in mid 20th century was No Gun Ri Massacre, Korean war.
When North Korean forces launched a surprise attack on South Korea on June 25, 1950, poorly trained American soldiers from Tokyo were rushed to the peninsula. The invasion created a massive refugee crisis, as civilians fled the oncoming armies. Fearing infiltration by spies posing as civilians, US command forces ordered that no civilians were allowed to cross battle lines at any time. One the same day these orders were issued, up to 400 refugees gathered at a bridge near the village of No Gun Ri were indiscriminately massacred by American forces.
US forces initially denied involvement, stating that no American troops were in the vicinity at the time of the massacre. However, details of the slaughter have emerged in recent years because of the testimonies of both the survivors and the perpetrators. One American veteran present at the massacre site recalled, “There was a lieutenant screaming like a madman, fire on everything, kill em all… kids, there was kids out there, it didn’t matter what it was, eight to 80, blind, crippled or crazy, they shoot em all.”
Unfortunately, this was only the first of many such massacres by American forces in Korea that have come to light in recent years. There has been no justice for the surviving South Koreans either, as the only person to face charges for the crime was Captain Ernest Medina, he was court martialed but later acquitted.
The US didn’t stop there, few years later in Vietnam war, United States again committed war crimes. The incident is known as My Lai Massacre. The My Lai Massacre is the most notorious war crime in US history and has become the benchmark to which all acts of American military savagery are compared.
On March 16, 1968, the men of Charlie Company entered the village of My Lai in South Vietnam to conduct a “search and destroy” mission. Although there were no signs of enemy troops, the soldiers were ordered to enter the village firing. The incident quickly devolved into violence and chaos, as men of Charlie Company opened fire on the villagers who were unarmed. Among them were many women, children, and elders. It is estimated that over 300 innocent civilians were shot to death during the course of several hours. Only one soldier, William Calley Jr. was convicted for participation in the massacre. Till today, the victims haven’t received any Justice.
Even today in 21st century, the US keeps committing various war crimes. According to group monitoring America’s wars, the US army has conducted 100,000 Airstrikes since 2001. At least 22,000 civilians have been killed in those U.S airstrikes since 2001. Human rights body say, the death toll could be as high as 50,000 in American airstrikes in last 20 years. In 2003, when the war on terror began, the US airstrikes killed 5,529 civilians. In 2010, drone strike in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province killed 23 civilians.
Recently, in 2019, the United States committed war crimes in Syria. The U.S airstrike in Syria killed innocent women and children. These airstrikes were kept off the records, these airstrikes were covered up by the US military. The airstrikes took place on 18th of March 2019 in the town of Baghus in eastern Syria. Over 60 civilians were killed in these airstrikes, additional 16 were identified as the terrorists. As usual, the US refused to take the responsibility.
The United States has committed dozens of other war crimes, which have been ignored by the other western countries. Europe hasn’t even criticized single war crimes committed by the United States. If these same war crimes were committed by other countries, then they and the US would’ve been the first ones to sanction that particular country. Why are the war crimes of the United States often ignored by the world and other western countries? Why the United States hasn’t been held accountable for its action? Why isn’t Europe and rest of the world sanctioning the United States? Why United Nations is silent on this matter? Do ask yourselves these questions.
