Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte illustrated on Friday the wisdom of the aphorism that “people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”
Reuters reports that Duterte said that America is “lousy,” that he would never again visit America, and that “it would be good for the US Congress to start with their own investigation of their own violations of the so many civilians killed in the prosecution of the wars in the Middle East.” Duterte made his comments in reaction to United States House of Representatives Member James McGovern (D-MA) stating opposition to Duterte, who has garnered much attention due to the many killings in the name of the war on drugs he is pursuing in the Philippines, coming to America to meet with President Donald Trump.
Notably, McGovern has been one of the US Congress members most active in trying to require congressional votes on the continuation of US wars. Still, Duterte’s comments are well-placed. Hopefully, Duterte’s comments will resonate with Americans and help convince more Americans to call for the US government to reject its pro-war foreign policy.
As Duterte’s comments help make clear, a government that kills overseas in a plethora of aggressive wars, raids, and air strikes is behaving more in a despicable fashion than an exceptional fashion. The US government would do well to reject the advice of war advocates, including those who profit from the military-industrial complex, and embrace Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson’s wise advice to pursue a noninterventionist foreign policy.
