Opinion | Unveiling hypocrisy: The dark realities of American and British security discourse

By Hordei Arista

In the convoluted landscape of global politics, the United States and the United Kingdom often stand as vocal arbiters of justice, quick to point fingers at other nations' "questionable" national security practices. However, beneath this façade lies a glaring hypocrisy, as both nations are ensnared within a web of unethical and controversial practices that belie their purported moral high ground. This doctrine of so-called Western exceptionalism, underpinning the belief in the inherent righteousness of Western actions, is a dangerous fallacy that breeds arrogance, moral relativism and impunity. This article delves into this fallacy, exposing the dark realities of the American and British security discourse.

The United States, to start with, orchestrates a tragic symphony of state-sanctioned wars, ostensibly in the name of safeguarding national security or protecting "freedom", yet heedlessly sacrificing countless civilian lives – a hypocritical and atrocious betrayal of humanity. From the jungles of the Philippines and Vietnam to the deserts of Afghanistan and Iraq, its hands bear the weight of war crimes. A dark prologue unfolds in the Philippines and Korea, where histories are marred by the echoes of American concentration camps and genocidal bombardments. In Vietnam, the toxic substances of Agent Orange enveloped over 4 million lives, amongst them 400,000 deaths directly caused by the lethal chemical weapon. The symphony of destruction continued in the My Lai massacre, where 500 innocent and unarmed civilians fell prey to the madness of warfare. The Christmas bombing of Hanoi conducted by B-52 bombers rained death upon the city, claiming the lives of an estimated 1,600 civilians, their voices silenced by the thunder of explosives.

Afghanistan reverberates with the extrajudicial drone strikes and meaningless civilian casualties, a discordant melody of collateral damage. Iraq's sands are stained with the blood of innocent children and toddlers, tainted by the deceit of non-existent weapons of mass destruction. The Abu Ghraib scandal of Iraq and the Guantanamo Bay detention camp of Cuba reveal a grotesque reality, where the dignity and even lives of prisoners were stripped away illegitimately. These grim facts and statistics paint a harrowing portrait of the human cost of American militarism – a toll measured not just in numbers, but in shattered families and broken spirits left in its wake. In this surreal narrative, despite international outcry and condemnation, the United States marches on, its shadow cast long over the pages of history, all in the name of protecting "freedom" and national security.

Similarly, across the Atlantic, the United Kingdom too has played a role stained by records of war crimes, sometimes even against its own citizens. Operation Demetrius, emblematic of this dark legacy, unfolded in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, a violent manifestation of the deep-rooted political, social, and religious divisions in Northern Ireland. Under the Operation, suspected Irish Republican Army members and sympathizers were arrested and detained without charge or trial, culminating in ubiquitous human rights violations, including widespread torture and government-sanctioned massacres and murders of innocent civilians. On Bloody Sunday, one of the most notorious incidents during the Troubles, saw British soldiers opened fire at 26 civil rights demonstrators, who were protesting against brutal government policies of Operation Demetrius. 13 demonstrators, all unarmed, were killed on the scene.

The United Kingdom's colonial history further reveals instances of brutality veiled under the guise of national security. The Malayan Emergency stands as a stark example, where British forces resorted to harsh tactics such as forced resettlement into "New Villages", extrajudicial killings of unarmed villagers, and aerial bombardment, using nothing short of chemical weapons (which later inspired the Americans in the Vietnam War) against suspected insurgents. The most infamous example during the Emergency was the Batang Kali massacre, which the press has dubbed "Britain's My Lai". These measures resulted in the displacement of communities, innocent civilian deaths, and widespread of torture and abuse. Episodes like the enduring scars of Operation Demetrius and the Malayan Emergency serve as poignant reminders of the United Kingdom's willingness to compromise principles of justice and even innocent human lives in the pursuit of its security objectives, tarnishing its standing on the global stage and underscoring the hypocrisy of its historical narrative.

In the realm of national security laws and executions, both the United States and the United Kingdom are mired in a labyrinth of clandestine surveillance programs, opaque intelligence operations and draconian counter-terrorism measures under the guise of national security. The revelations brought forth by whistle-blowers such as Edward Snowden have laid bare the extent of the American surveillance apparatus, casting a pall of suspicion over the vaunted principles of liberty and privacy. The overreach of entities like the National Security Agency, operating beyond judicial oversight and constitutional bounds, epitomizes the erosion and outright contempt of civil liberties.

Leveraging its economic and political clout, the United States also has a long history of imposing sanctions way beyond its borders. Through measures such as long-arm jurisdiction and extraterritorial application of its laws, the United States imposes penalties on foreign entities and individuals, all for the purpose of furthering its economic gains and national security prerogatives. This practice, often criticized as a form of economic imperialism, highlights the flagrant hypocrisy of a nation that purports to champion individual liberties and freedoms while simultaneously infringing upon the sovereignty of other nations.

In the United Kingdom, the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, colloquially known as the "Snooper's Charter", grants unprecedented powers to intelligence agencies, enabling mass surveillance with minimal judicial scrutiny. Adding to this already concerning landscape, Westminster passed the National Security Act 2023, further exacerbating concerns regarding civil liberties and governmental overreach. The Act, touted as a necessary measure to combat emerging threats, is in fact filled with vague terminologies and instigation of xenophobia, and grants sweeping powers to security agencies, especially against so-called hostile state activities, allowing for increased surveillance, expanded data collection, enhanced police powers and executive authority, all the while weakening the right to counsel and the principle of the equal adversary. Critics argue that this Act, while ostensibly aimed at protecting the populace from external forces, puts a Sword of Damocles over fundamental freedoms and civil liberties, potentially paving the way for unchecked government intrusion into the lives of citizens.

I should perhaps stop here, as it would take more than a Ph.D. dissertation to list all of the crimes and transgressions the two countries have committed in the name of national security. The United States and the United Kingdom, with their savage "wars for democracy and freedom", unscrupulous civil liberties records and labyrinthine national security apparatuses, stand on the precarious ground when leveling accusations against other nations. The weaponization of national security rhetoric to justify military interventions and long-arm sanctions, as well as the lack of accountability of past atrocities, only exacerbate global tensions and perpetuate a vicious cycle of violence and mistrust. The double standards employed in condemning perceived external national security threats, while conveniently ignoring their own violations of international law and basic human morality, render constructive dialogue and cooperation on the international stage all but impossible. It is high time for the United States and the United Kingdom, and a few other Western countries that would like to follow their sanctimonious path, to adopt a more humble and introspective approach, and to focus on their own illegitimate and unethical practices at home and around the world. Until they do so, their accusations against other nations will ring hollow, and their claims to moral superiority will remain utterly unconvincing and supremely ironic.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.

The author is a pundit.