Ep1 - Questioning America's Global Democratic Claims
Today, we're going to challenge one of the most deeply rooted narratives of our time: the one that defines the United States of America as the "greatest democracy in the world." Through a rigorous analysis of historical facts and geopolitical actions, we'll try to understand if this label holds up against concrete evidence.
Obama’s Warning
Let's start with a direct warning from one of the most authoritative voices: former President Barack Obama. As he stated in a speech reported by MSNBC, Obama expressed deep concern about the direction of American politics. Here are Obama's words:
"If you are regularly watching or listening to the rhetoric of those who are responsible for the federal government right now, there is a certain casualness to their democracy, a weak commitment to what we understood – and not just my generation, but going back to World War II – our understanding of how a liberal democracy should function.
And when you lack that seriousness, you start sliding into something that's inconsistent with American democracy, that looks more like autocracies like Orbán's Hungary.
We're not all the way there yet, but we are dangerously close to normalizing this kind of behavior."
These statements, made by one of the highest officeholders in the state, invite us to look beyond the surface of conventional narratives.
Nuclear Ethics and Hiroshima
Let's start with a pivotal moment in 20th-century history. August 1945. The United States was the only country in the world to use nuclear weapons in war, dropping two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The humanitarian consequences of these events were devastating and unprecedented, with hundreds of thousands of immediate and long-term casualties. This event marked the beginning of the nuclear age.
In light of this historical precedent, a fundamental question arises: Can a country that has twice resorted to nuclear weapons claim the right to be the primary "controller" of global nuclear non-proliferation? And with an arsenal of over 5,000 nuclear warheads, how can the United States impose standards on other states? The consistency of this position is a subject of international debate.
After World War II, the United States was involved in a series of conflicts and interventions that generated a heated debate about its foreign policy. Let's analyze some specific cases, often characterized by the use of weapons whose deployment was harshly criticized or deemed in violation of international conventions.
In Vietnam, the use of napalm by US forces is a widely documented historical fact. While not explicitly prohibited by the 1949 Geneva Convention, its indiscriminate use and devastating consequences on the civilian population and the environment sparked global outrage and subsequent attempts at international regulation on incendiary weapons.
The Napalm Girl and the Vietnam Legacy
The iconic image of the 'Napalm Girl,' Phan Thi Kim Phuc, rawly and irrefutably documents the horror of such weapons on civilians. This image, while graphically strong, is an essential historical document for understanding the consequences of that conflict and the impact of chemical weapons on the population. We have chosen not to include it here, but a quick Google Images search for "Napalm Girl" will allow anyone to see what it entails.
Fallujah and White Phosphorus
During the Second Battle of Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004, significant and documented accusations were made regarding the use of white phosphorus by US forces. While white phosphorus has legitimate uses for illuminating or smoke-screening purposes, its deployment as a weapon against human targets is considered a violation of Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, which limits its use against civilians.
Kosovo and Depleted Uranium
Moving to the Balkans, during the NATO bombings of Kosovo in 1999, the use of depleted uranium munitions by the United States was widely documented. Concerns relate to the potential toxicity and residual radioactivity of such weapons, with long-term impacts on population health and the environment, as highlighted by independent studies and international reports...
That’s just a glimpse! The full story — and the full context — are in the podcast episode below. Curious to hear more?
Listen to the full episode on Spotify.