Study Says US Forces Engaged in Military Operations in 85 Countries in Three Years - FARS

(FNA)- The globe-spanning US military interventions in the aftermath of 9/11 attacks have had a devastating impact on populations across the world, claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians and displacing millions.

The new data from researchers at Brown University's Watson Institute shows that in the last three years alone the US forces have been engaged in operations in at least 85 countries, presstv reported.

While the study points to Washington’s recent military activities overseas, the country has been a major hegemonic power for decades, as various studies have illustrated.

Toward the end of World War II, the US had less than 80 military bases abroad, which have now swelled up to 800, as per data from the Pentagon and independent experts.

In contrast, China, the US’ main rival and a major global economy, has just a single military base abroad, in Eastern Africa, which bears testimony to why the US is referred to as the “world's police”.

The new study from researcher Stephanie Savell for the Costs of War project at Brown University reveals the staggering human toll the US military invasions have had worldwide, killing hundreds of thousands and rendering more than 37 million homeless.

In the post 9/11 US military invasions, a total of 335,745 civilians were killed, compared to 259,783 militants, 177,073 national military, 12,468 allied troops and 7,104 US military personnel, the study says.

It says the US troops, over the past three years, have assisted in ‘counterterrorism’ operations in at least 79 countries, conducted military exercises in 41 countries, engaged in combat in 8 countries and carried out airstrikes in 7 countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria.

These military invasions, which first began with Afghanistan and Iraq at the turn of the millennium, have cost American tax payers about $6.4 trillion.

According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute data, the US with $731.8 billion military spending in the fiscal year 2019 far exceeded other global powers including China ($261.1), India ($71.1), and Russia ($65.1).

The staggering costs of war and the futility of military invasions have created a widespread discontent in the US, which experts say might force the new administration to recalibrate its foreign policy.

The withdrawal deadline in Afghanistan, America's longest ever war, is already inching closer, following the recent US-Taliban agreement in Doha. Although the new US administration seeks to review the agreement, the Taliban have warned against it.

In Iraq, where the US launched an invasion in 2013 on the flimsy pretext of destroying weapons of mass destruction (WMD), calls have grown louder since the assassination of anti-Daesh Commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani last year for a time-bound withdrawal of US troops from the country.

Meanwhile, according to a recent report from the US Department of Homeland Security, the gravest threat to US is posed by domestic extremists, not foreign ‘terrorists’, which was on full display recently during the deadly US Capitol riot.