MADRID, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Resorting to a globalized militarism cannot realize the goal of enduring security, and the anti-terrorism fight requires global cooperation built on consensus and sincere pursuit of peace and development, a Spanish observer has said.
Washington's "war on terror," unleashed after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, is seen as a significant turning point of the post-Cold War period, though it actually has little to offer, said Xulio Rios, director of the Spanish Observatory of Chinese Politics based in northwestern Spain's Galicia region.
Identifying terrorism as a new enemy in 1990s, the United States took advantage of tackling violence, insecurity and uncertainty to justify its obsession with a permanent war in which smart devices and new mass surveillance systems, among others, are involved, Rios told Xinhua on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
The war on terror has strengthened the U.S. hegemony in the world, not economically or morally, but militarily and ideologically, Rios noted, adding that Washington's military supremacy emerging from the global vacuum after the end of the Cold War led to its commitment to achieving political objectives with the tools of the Pentagon instead of through diplomatic means.
From the deployment of its anti-missile shield and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty to the rejection of the Geneva agreement on chemical weapons, Washington had a precise but unanswerable argument to justify the use and abuse of its power, he observed.
U.S. administrations, from former President George W. Bush to President Joe Biden, have continued to wage their endless war on terror, further expanding the scope of operations, he said.
Twenty years later, the scholar said, the wars the Pentagon embarked on, such as the ones in Afghanistan and Iraq, prove to be complete fiascos only to weaken the U.S. global leadership.
The 2008 financial crisis, originating from the U.S. soil, finally destabilized world finance and likewise, in the spheres of technology, commerce and economy, Washington's position has also declined, he said, pointing to a definitely multilateral future.
The intervening years have shown that global terrorism is not just a security problem, and it is essential to go to the root of the problem -- the development gaps, the lack of prospects and the deficient institutional framework, he said.
Considering many countries have agreed on plans and actions to address the terrorism-related problems, the expert said, if the same efforts could be done as much as or even more effectively to enable development programs or to modify rules of international trade, opportunities will be created for human progress, especially in the most disadvantaged communities.
The lessons are not merely for the United States, but for the entire international community, Xulio said. Enditem