Actions of great powers have profound, often unintended, consequences. The United States, as the preeminent global power after the Second World War, intervened in global affairs several times in the past eight decades. Sometimes, the US actions had a benign and positive impact. For instance, the Marshall Plan, through which the US provided massive financial assistance (about $150-180 billion at current prices) to rebuild Western Europe after the devastation of the war, stimulated economies, strengthened alliances, and promoted trade. In many ways, the resultant European Recovery Programme was the bulwark of the NATO alliance.

Similarly, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan were the beneficiaries of the US’s benevolence.

But the Indo-China region of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos suffered grievously because of the US misadventures in its quest to combat communism. The devastating consequences of the intervention in Afghanistan (1980-88), the invasion of Afghanistan (2001), and the invasion of Iraq (2003) are still being felt by the people of those countries, as well as the rest of the world. The rise of the Taliban and the emergence of Al Qaeda and ISIS can be directly traced to the US policies and interventions.

What will be the verdict of future historians about the current joint war of the US and Israel against Iran launched on Feb 28? From the perspective of the United Nations Charter and international law, Amir-Saeid Iravani, the permanent representative of Iran to the UN, succinctly summed up the arguments of opponents of the attack on Iran. But then it is an ambassador’s job to argue his country’s case, sidestepping........

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