Despite his receipt of the Nobel “Peace” Prize, Barack Obama has been yet another one of America’s war presidents. After using his Nobel prize acceptance speech to justify the paradoxical concept of “just war,” Obama went on to carry out relentless bombing campaigns in 7 Muslim nations over the course of his presidency – all of which are still in effect today. Obama’s affinity for bombs seems to know no bounds as the last year of his presidency – 2016 – saw a significant increase in bombs dropped compared to previous years of his administration.
According to an analysis of military data, the US dropped a total of 26,171 bombs in 2016 – 3,027 more than in 2015. The analysis, carried out by the globalist-run Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), showed that a majority of those bombs were dropped in Iraq (12,095) and in Syria (12,192). However, even the CFR admits that number is likely much higher as air-strikes can often involve multiple bombs. Most of these bombs were dropped as part of the US-led coalition to fight against the Islamic State in an attempt “to reduce the area controlled by the terrorist organization.” However, the US’ bombing of ISIS targets has been incredibly ineffective. Before Russia joined the conflict, the US bombing campaign allowed ISIS to nearly triple their territory, accomplishing the literal opposite of the campaign’s alleged goal. In addition to its ineffectiveness, the effects of these bombing campaigns will be felt for years to come, long after any current conflict ends. Thanks to years of US military intervention in Iraq, desertification has escalated dramatically, as US military operations have devastated both key infrastructure and the natural environment. Iraq, once a food exporter, now imports 80% of its food due the dark legacy of US occupation and bombing campaigns within the nation.
Several other countries were also heavily bombed by the US. In Afghanistan, 1,337 bombs were dropped, up from 947 in 2015. Libya, another country in chaos, thanks to US intervention, was bombed nearly 500 times. In addition, the US’ bombing campaign in Yemen continued throughout the year despite the unbelievable suffering taking place there, thanks to the US-supported Saudi-led conflict. The US, which is not at war with Yemen, bombed the nation 34 times, down from 58 in 2015. Thanks to Saudi and US bombings, Yemen has almost no industry or health-care infrastructure left and over 1,000 Yemeni children are estimated to die every week as a result. The countries that received the fewest bombs were Somalia (14) and Pakistan (3).
Of course, Obama has done much more to benefit the perpetual war status quo aside from his gratuitous use of bombs. A year after Obama took office, US weapons sales to foreign powers jumped threefold up to over $66 billion. By the end of Obama’s first term, the US accounted for more than 77% of the world’s arms trade. As President, Obama also brokered record-breaking arms deals, such as when he sold more than $115 billion in weapons to Saudi Arabia – one of the countries confirmed to fund ISIS and other terrorist groups in the Middle East. Despite his role in weaponizing the planet and in dropping hundreds of thousands of bombs, Obama still has yet to face the opposition that his predecessor George W. Bush once faced from the anti-war left. Though Obama’s vastly better PR and media coverage is partially responsible, it seems that the past 8 years has seen much of what was once the anti-war left look the other way because a Democrat is in the White House. Perhaps they still are waiting for Obama to finally deliver on his nebulous campaign promises of “hope” and “change” even though he has less than two weeks still in office. However, at some point, they will have to admit that Obama, like almost all Presidents before him, serves the interest of the military-industrial “deep state,” not the American people.
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