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Beyond the brainwashing that leads Western populations to believe that all wars against Third World countries are just because they contribute to the civilization of barbaric underdeveloped peoples; it’ s important to point out that in the leading country of the West; the United States, there is no collective memory of the horrors of war, but rather a narrative of heroism, of the necessity of war, and sometimes of blame which, when things go wrong as in Iraq or Afghanistan, is often attributed to this or that administration but never on a national scale, in contrast to countries like China, Russia or Iran, where we know that war is the most serious thing, an ultimate decision which is like a death sentence; because, when we decide to go to war, it’ s because we’ ve decided that human lives will be lost for an ideal. An ultimate decision fraught with consequences.
American strategic amnesia
The history of the United States, marked by recurrent military interventions abroad, reveals a singularity in the way the nation apprehends its armed conflicts. Unlike powers such as China, Russia and Iran, whose national memories are deeply rooted in the traumas of war, the United States struggles to develop a lasting collective awareness of the horrors and human costs of its engagements. This lack of national memory, combined with a political tendency to attribute wars to specific administrations rather than to the country itself, has profound implications for American foreign policy, and contrasts sharply with the caution displayed by other major players on the international stage. At the same time, Israel presents a distinct paradigm in which the memory of the Holocaust is used to justify military action, perceiving war as essential to its survival and believing itself absolved of all guilt. This dynamic opens up new prospects for a more balanced world order conducive to peace.
Flashmag! Issue 162 July 2025
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