The United States of America; Policing or Pillaging?

As of recently, the United States has successfully apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a high-stakes mission dubbed "Operation Absolute Resolve." Currently held in New York City, Maduro faces federal charges involving alleged cocaine-trafficking conspiracies and collaboration with designated terrorist organizations. While the U.S. administration maintains it has removed a "narco-terrorist" from the global stage, Maduro and his supporters frame the arrest as a transparent tool of "imperial" expansion aimed at seizing control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. This clash of narratives raises a fundamental question: Is the United States acting as the world’s principled policeman or is it the most sophisticated empire in human history?

The United States has long been defined by its persistent involvement in foreign affairs, often far beyond what many consider its rightful jurisdiction. Being routinely presented to the public under the banner of morality or justice: defending democracy, combating global terrorism, and protecting human rights. However, a closer look at the mechanisms of American power suggests that these humanitarian justifications are often a façade. Beneath the rhetoric of "global policing" lies a more calculated reality one reeking of modern imperialism designed to secure economic dominance and strategic control.

Look at a standard map of the U.S. and you see a continental power isolated between two oceans. But the "true" map is a Pointillist Empire. A network of approximately 750 to 800 military bases spanning 80 different countries (Vine, 2015; Al Jazeera, 2021). This global footprint allows Washington to project force anywhere on Earth within hours. The imperial nature of this reach is best understood through a simple comparison: if Russia placed military bases on the U.S. border, the American response would be an immediate declaration of war, not a peaceful acceptance of "regional policing."

Beyond the military, the U.S. utilizes its currency as a weapon of war. By controlling the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, where it remains the only member with permanent veto power, the U.S. dictates the terms of global development (World Bank, 2023).

If the capture of the Venezuelan president is the modern face of American reach, the 2003 invasion of Iraq remains its most transparent blueprint. Under the banner of "Operation Iraqi Freedom," Washington draped its mission in the language of moral absolute: neutralizing weapons of mass destruction and "liberating" a people from tyranny. Yet, decades later, the dust has settled to reveal that while the weapons of mass destruction never existed, the systematic extraction of Iraq's wealth did.

The true priorities of the invasion were made clear during the chaotic fall of Baghdad. As the city descended into fire and looting, U.S. forces famously failed to protect hospitals, libraries, or the National Museum, where 10,000 years of human history were ransacked. The one place that was protected and safe guarded? The Ministry of Oil.

The United States positions itself as the world’s enforcer, yet it routinely exempts itself from the very rules it promotes. The policeman that answers to no one. It rejects international courts when they threaten U.S. personnel, ignores U.N. resolutions it dislikes, and acts unilaterally when multilateralism proves inconvenient. This is not leadership but clearly It is a demonstration of impunity.

Whether it is the tanks in Baghdad or the handcuffs in New York, the pattern is identical. The United States does not intervene to save people; it intervenes to save the system. Iraq was the warning; Venezuela is the latest chapter. And like all empires before it, the pursuit of total control and mass Americentrism may ultimately be the very thing that leads to its overextension and eventual fall.

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- Saaim Japanwala

With sources cited. Any questions, comments, or concerns - please reach out to me: saaim.japanwala125@gmail.com.

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