On Friday September 27th, 2024, Hassan Nasrallah was killed by an Israeli airstrike.¹ Nasrallah was the leader of Hezbollah, an Iranian backed Lebanese Shia Islamic political and US classified terrorist group.⁶ On Sunday September 29th, 2024, Hezbollah confirmed Israeli claims that the airstrike also killed Nabil Kaouk, deputy head of Hezbollah’s Central County.⁵ 

According to a September 28th statement from the Biden White House regarding the death of Nasrallah, “The United States fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and any other Iranian-supported terrorist groups.”² Biden reasons that, “Hassan Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade reign of terror.  His death from an Israeli airstrike is a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians.² 

While this stance appeals to the ethos of those harmed by the group, in practice, it repeats a pattern that has played out in the Middle East for decades.

When the US invaded Iraq under Bush in 2003, one of the key buzzwords used to explain and justify this action was “freedom deficit.” At the 20th Anniversary of the National Endowment for Democracy, Bush quotes an unnamed “report by recent Arab scholars.” He says, ‘“the global wave of democracy has — and I quote — “barely reached the Arab states.” They continue: “This freedom deficit undermines human development and is one of the most painful manifestations of lagging political development.”’⁴  

I find this a statement steeped in assumptions, biases, and American exceptionalism. 

Bush equivalates the lack of democracy in Arab states with this “freedom deficit.” Further, this makes the assumption that the “global wave of democracy” is directly responsible for and interchangeable with the concept of a country’s freedom. This language is intentional. By equating the US government with democracy, and democracy with freedom, we arrive at the idea of American exceptionalism and manifest destiny, the idea that the US uniquely has a right and even responsibility to spread and enact its views on the rest of the world. 

This becomes an issue fast. 

Even if the United States was acting entirely out of benefit for the globe, it is impossible to understand all the nuance and complexity of the millions of different cultures that exist on it. And unfortunately, the United States is most always acting out of self interest. 

We may have convinced ourselves that things in the interest of the US are also in the interest of the globe, but this is simply the idea of American Exceptionalism manifesting once again. 

Citations:

“Another High-Ranking Hezbollah Commander Killed by Israeli Airstrike as Conflict Escalates.” CBS News, September 29, 2024. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-hezbollah-airstrike-nabil-kaouk-hassan-nasrallah/.

Biden, Joe. “Statement from President Joe Biden on the Death of Hassan Nasrallah.” The White House, September 28, 2024. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/09/28/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-the-death-of-hassan-nasrallah/.

Bowman, Emma. “Why the U.S. Government Is Hailing Israel’s Killing of Hezbollah’s Leader as ‘Justice.’” NPR, September 29, 2024. https://www.npr.org/2024/09/29/g-s1-25322/biden-nasrallah-hezbollah-israel.

Bush, George W. “President Bush Discusses Freedom in Iraq and Middle East.” National Archives and Records Administration. Accessed October 13, 2024. https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/11/20031106-2.html.

Krever, Mick, Sarah El Sirgany, Eyad Kourdi, Mostafa Salem, and Jeremy Diamond. “Israel Killed Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut Strike, Group Confirms.” CNN, September 28, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/28/middleeast/hezbollah-nasrallah-killed-israel-strikes-intl/index.html.

“Lebanese Hizballah.” National Counterterrorism Center | FTOs. Accessed September 29, 2024. https://www.dni.gov/nctc/ftos/lebanese_hizballah_fto.html#:~:text=The%20US%20State%20Department%20designated,entirety%E2%80%94as%20a%20terrorist%20group.