The United States has long maintained that its global actions are guided by lofty ideals—democracy, freedom, and human rights. Of course, the historical record reveals something altogether different: a dogged commitment to one overriding principle—domination. Since World War II, U.S. foreign policy has been less about safeguarding democracy and more about ensuring that no other power, ideology, or independent movement dares challenge American hegemony. In 2024, that doctrine remains firmly intact, albeit more hypocritical, destructive, and self-defeating than ever.
The Unipolar Delusion: America’s Post-Cold War Hangover
By the early 1990s, the United States had achieved what policymakers had only fantasised about: a unipolar world where no competitor could credibly challenge its dominance. NATO’s eastward creep into the wreckage of the Soviet Union wasn’t about protecting anyone’s freedom; it was a naked land grab designed to encircle a weakened Russia. That encirclement worked—until it didn’t. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, it wasn’t the result of some unprovoked imperialist whim but a predictable reaction to decades of NATO encroachment.
This should have been an opportunity for self-reflection. Instead, the U.S. doubled down, pumping tens of billions of dollars into weapons for Ukraine, ensuring a prolonged war with no clear exit. The policy’s real purpose? Weakening Russia at the expense of Ukrainian lives. Washington’s planners are happy to fight Moscow “to the last Ukrainian,” proving once again that smaller nations exist only as pawns on the U.S. chessboard.
China: The New “Threat” to Civilisation
With the Soviet Union out of the way, Washington turned its attention to China, now painted as the ultimate villain in a new Cold War narrative. Never mind that China has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty—a feat the United States wouldn’t dream of emulating at home. For U.S. elites, China’s real crime isn’t “authoritarianism” or “human rights abuses” (words they conveniently forget when discussing allies like Saudi Arabia or Israel); it’s the threat of economic independence. China dares to develop cutting-edge technologies, expand global influence, and challenge the U.S. monopoly on global economic power. Such audacity cannot go unpunished.
Washington’s strategy has been to weaponise global supply chains. Take the semiconductor industry. The CHIPS Act of 2022 wasn’t about innovation or creating jobs—it was about choking off China’s access to critical technology. U.S. leaders trumpet “free trade” when it suits their interests, but when they fall behind, they throw up barriers faster than you can say “intellectual property.”
The tech war is only the tip of the iceberg. U.S. sanctions against Chinese firms like Huawei and TikTok have nothing to do with security risks and everything to do with suppressing a rising competitor. Ironically, this campaign has forced Beijing to double down on self-reliance, accelerating its economic independence—a result Washington’s planners will surely chalk up as another “unforeseen” consequence.
Military Power: The Stick That Never Gets Old
Despite the failure of military adventurism in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam (a recurring theme U.S. elites somehow never learn from), the Pentagon continues to guzzle nearly a trillion dollars a year while ramping up its global presence. The results are predictably catastrophic. In Yemen, where the U.S. backs Saudi-led atrocities, famine and disease have become weapons of war. In Syria, U.S. troops still squat on oil fields, ensuring that the country remains in ruins. And in Africa, U.S. military “advisors” prowl the Sahel, sowing chaos in a region already battered by centuries of colonial exploitation.
Even the much-lauded war in Ukraine isn’t the noble defense of sovereignty it’s portrayed to be. For Washington, it’s another excuse to dump weapons into the global market, enrich defense contractors, and tighten its grip on European policy—all while escalating the risk of nuclear conflict. But hey, what’s a little Armageddon compared to protecting Lockheed Martin’s bottom line?
The Climate Hypocrisy
Here’s a 21st-century twist on “protecting our turf”: the U.S. now wraps its imperial ambitions in greenwashed rhetoric. While climate change devastates vulnerable nations (many of which had their resources plundered by U.S.-backed dictatorships), Washington positions itself as the steward of global environmental responsibility. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 could have marked a genuine shift toward sustainability, but its primary goal was ensuring that American corporations—not China—dominate the burgeoning renewable energy market.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military, the single largest institutional polluter on the planet, continues its global rampage. If Washington cared about the climate crisis, it might start by scaling back its military-industrial complex, whose emissions dwarf those of entire countries. Instead, the U.S. plans to “secure” critical minerals like lithium and cobalt, ensuring they remain under Western control while the Global South bears the environmental cost. It’s imperialism in a shiny new package.
Controlling the Narrative: Orwell Would Be Proud
As Chomsky pointed out decades ago, managing public perception is as crucial as wielding power. Today, this involves manipulating not only traditional media but also social media, where Silicon Valley firms align their moderation policies with U.S. geopolitical goals. Posts critical of American foreign policy are algorithmically buried or labeled as “disinformation,” while platforms amplify narratives that toe the State Department line.
Domestically, the surveillance state soldiers on. The Patriot Act may be old news, but its legacy persists in the NSA’s dragnet spying programs and the increasing criminalization of dissent. Whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning are vilified or exiled, while corporate media dutifully parrots the government’s talking points.
The Empire’s Diminishing Returns
Here’s the real kicker: this strategy isn’t even working. The U.S. may dominate militarily, but its credibility is in tatters. Allies like Saudi Arabia openly defy Washington, while the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) gain ground as an alternative global bloc. Even the European Union, ostensibly America’s closest partner, increasingly charts its own course in response to U.S. economic bullying.
At home, inequality deepens, infrastructure crumbles, and real wages stagnate. While Washington spends trillions maintaining its empire, its own citizens are drowning in medical debt and eviction notices. It’s the clearest possible indictment of an empire built on exploitation: it eats its own.
Conclusion: Time to Abandon the Illusion
The U.S. doctrine of “protecting our turf” has left a trail of destruction—at home and abroad. What Chomsky identified in 1992 as a policy of naked self-interest masquerading as benevolence has only become more brazen in its cruelty. The question isn’t whether this empire will crumble—it’s when, and how much suffering it will inflict before it does. For those of us living in its shadow, the task remains the same: resist, expose, and demand something better than this broken, blood-stained system.
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