Wu Guangqiang TEN years have passed since the Sept. 11 attacks, but it still feels like yesterday. The horrible scenes of desperate people jumping out of windows hundreds of meters high and the instant collapse of the mammoth structures are imprinted on my mind. Like most Chinese, I grieved for the loss of innocent American lives and stood with them in their efforts to bring those responsible to justice. The best way to console the living and commemorate the dead was supposed to be to learn from the tragedy and eradicate the roots of terrorism, not revenge. Sadly, American leaders, shackled to the "eye for eye" mentality, launched wars one after another in the name of anti-terrorism. Whatever goals George W. Bush set 10 years ago, by any standard, few have been achieved. The United States is anything but safer. Costly wars have drastically weakened the country's economy. And worst of all, the American people are worse off than 10 years ago. To say nothing of a safer world. To me, as America declines in power, a chaotic era is just beginning. What's been pestering me is the question why America, a world leader in science and technology, economy and culture, is so ignorant of history. It seems unable to learn from its own successes and failures. It reminds me of two quotes. One is "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." The other is "Each time history repeats itself, the price goes up." I wish one American president had read of them, Bush after all is a Yale history graduate. Seen in isolation, it is true that the United States was the victim of wanton terrorism in the 9/11 attacks and subsequent Afghan War and Iraq War seemed justified. Put in a historical setting, however, the events are far more complicated than what the Western media have been touting. Strangely, few mainstream political commentators have put the 9/11 attacks in a historical context. Much as the United States has tried to depict itself as a peacemaker and defender, it has been the single biggest warmonger in the world since the end of World War II (WWII). The list of wars it has launched is long enough to take any reader aback. Small or big, America has fought about 40 wars against over 20 countries or "enemies," causing heavy casualties for both its own people and its "enemies." Sarcastically, despite its unparalleled military might, the United States has won few of its major wars since WWII. The Korean War (1950-1953) and Vietnam War (1962-1973) remain wounds in the hearts of the American people. It may have prevailed in other minor wars, but the victories did not necessarily serve its strategic interests in the long term as long as it is adhering to its unilateral-polar world policy. In a sense, America's triumph in the "Cold War" against the Soviet Union accelerated its own decline, because the victory over the largest ever empire so intoxicated the only Super Power that it regarded military power as a touchstone in any international conflict. It had never occurred to the military giant with an annual defense budget of US$700 billion that force could not solve ideological differences, let alone win hearts and minds. In American vocabulary, common geopolitical phrases include "sanctions," "containment," "embargo" and "military strike." Americans don't seem to understand a simple fact -- force ought to be a last resort, regardless of the cause. Two reasons: One, missiles can destroy enemy bunkers, but can't eradicate the roots of hatred and misunderstanding. Two, reckless wars will cause irreversible damage to both sides -- neither will be a winner. The natural world is full of diversity and variation. So is human society. A unilateral-polar world with a single culture or value is unimaginable. Any attempt to dominate the world with one's own values or rules is self-defeating. The Soviet Union failed. So will the United States. Only by earnestly learning useful lessons from the past, can America be safe at home and loved abroad. (The author is an English tutor and a freelance writer. He can be reached at jw368@163.com.) | 