Opinion

The Hypocrisy of Power: A Call to the World Against Imperialist Warmongering

By Yahaya Abdulrahman

As war erupts once again in the Middle East—this time between Israel and Iran—the world is forced to watch a familiar and tragic cycle: bombs fall, civilians perish, and powerful nations justify the carnage under the worn banners of "defense" and "security." But beneath the official rhetoric lies a darker, more disturbing truth—a truth the world must no longer ignore.

This war, like so many before it, is not about peace or protection. It is about power—raw, unaccountable, and steeped in hypocrisy. It is about a global order designed to serve the interests of a privileged few, even if that means the slaughter of the many.

The United States, with unmatched global influence and military might, stands staunchly behind Israel—a nuclear-armed state that has long operated above international scrutiny. Meanwhile, Iran, a nation that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) continues to confirm has no nuclear weapons, is treated as the aggressor. Why ?. Not because of facts or evidence, but because of suspicion, propaganda, and entrenched geopolitical ambition.

We have seen this pattern before.

In Iraq, Washington cried “weapons of mass destruction.” None were found. But over a million lives were lost. In Libya, “humanitarian intervention” reduced a functioning state to chaos and warlordism. In Afghanistan, twenty years of occupation left only destruction and a stronger Taliban. And from Syria to Venezuela, the pattern repeats—destabilization under false pretexts, always cloaked in the language of liberty.

Yet amid all of this, where is the United Nations ?.

Once envisioned as the moral compass of the world, the UN has been rendered impotent—paralyzed by the veto power of nations like the United States, which uses the institution when convenient and ignores it when not. In the face of blatant breaches of international law—Gaza, Lebanon, and now Iran—the UN’s silence is deafening. Its failure to act decisively has shattered its credibility, reducing it to a ceremonial echo chamber rather than a meaningful agent of peace.

And so, we must ask the uncomfortable questions:

What kind of civilization builds peace through endless war ?.

What democracy exports freedom through bombs and sanctions ?.

What global order claims to uphold justice while protecting some violators and punishing others ?.

The so-called "rules-based international order" is increasingly exposed as a smokescreen—rules for the weak, impunity for the powerful. The American claim to uphold "war principles" and protect innocent civilians rings hollow when it consistently backs or commits acts that result in the senseless killing of women, children, and the elderly. What moral ground remains when hospitals are bombed, journalists are silenced, and entire populations are left to suffer under collective punishment?

Let us be clear: no country should possess nuclear weapons. But it is the height of hypocrisy for the U.S. and Israel—both nuclear powers—to lecture others about non-proliferation while clinging to their arsenals. Disarmament, if it is to mean anything, must be universal, not selective. Otherwise, non-proliferation becomes just another tool of control, not a path to peace.

This is not East versus West. It is not Islam versus Christianity. It is a confrontation between entrenched systems of imperial violence and the global majority that yearns for justice, sovereignty, and peace.

Today it is Iran. Yesterday it was Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan. Tomorrow—who knows ?. Syria ?. Lebanon ?. Another name added to the long list of nations sacrificed at the altar of empire. The pattern is clear: war justified by lies, and paid for by the blood of the innocent.

It is time for the world to raise a united voice—not in fear, not in division, but in unyielding defiance of imperialist warmongering. Let us demand truth. Let us demand accountability. Let us demand peace—not the hollow peace of silence and subjugation, but one that is genuine, just, and shared.

Because if we fail to speak now, we may find that tomorrow, we are no longer allowed to speak at all.

Yahaya Abdulrahman is a public affairs commentator, freelance writer, and advocate for youth, women and community development. He can be reached at ibnyahya02@gmail.com