US endangering the global order it helped create

The United States correctly trumpets, and often, that it was central in the creation of the post-World War II international order. Recognition of the sovereignty of states was critical to that order.

Of course, US leaders are not going to square that tenet with what has actually taken place over the past roughly 80 years. In fact, between the end of World War II and 2016, Washington engaged in at least 81 attempts to meddle in the internal affairs of other countries. And in two high-profile examples — Iran (1953) and Chile (1973) — it orchestrated the overthrow of a government it did not like.

So much for sovereignty for all. In Washington, sovereignty is reserved for those nations that the US recognizes as allies.

But throughout 2025 and now in 2026, the White House is taking the fundamentals of the global order and literally blowing them up, and to a level not seen before. Over the past 14 months, seven countries — Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen — have been the site of military attacks by the US.

Needless to say, concerns about whether all of this is the beginning of a "new normal" — one in which the White House believes that diplomacy is worthless and war is required — are evident. If the president of Venezuela can be seized and flown out of the country by the US military, as he was in January, then what message does that send near and far? If the people of Greenland can legitimately fear that the US might invade because Washington wants to take control of the land, then what message does that send?

The most recent example of the US' renewed belligerent military posture — the coordinated attacks by Israel and the US on Iran that began a few days ago — shows a clear desire to overthrow the Iranian government, which has led the nation since 1979. In seeking to justify the assault, the US insists that the Iranian government is evil and that it must never be able to build a nuclear bomb.

According to a Brown University report in 2023, the wars that the United States waged or fueled in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and Pakistan following Sept 11, 2001, had caused at least 4.5 million deaths. Nearly a million lives were lost in the fighting itself, whereas some 3.6 million to 3.7 million were indirect deaths, due to health and economic problems caused by the wars, such as disease, malnutrition and destruction of infrastructure, the report said.

Earlier this century, president George W. Bush's goal was obvious — retribution for the attacks on the US on Sept 11, 2001.

Fast forward 20-some years, and the current US administration has a goal: Drop bombs (or threaten to drop them) here, there and everywhere. But what is the strategy?

Mind you, a strategy would not by itself make what is unfolding in Iran legitimate or honorable, but it would allow the international community to understand what Washington's vision is. In the absence of such critical thinking, there is an uncomfortable reality forming: The US administration wants to remake the world map so that it can take credit for it.

If military adventurism across the globe is indeed Washington's new normal, and if the corresponding disregard for international law is included, then are we left to conclude that the White House is destroying the global order that the US so proudly claims it created?

The author is an associate professor in the Communication and Organizational Leadership Department at Robert Morris University in the US state of Pennsylvania. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily or Robert Morris University.