By Lv Desheng and Zhang Wenwen

吕德胜、张文文

Discussions and reflections on the Iraq War have prevailed on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, with the legitimacy of the war as one hotspot debate.

在美国入侵伊拉克20周年之际，对于伊拉克战争的讨论与反思在全球各地进行，其中的一个焦点，就是这场战争的合法性问题。

Twenty years ago, ignoring the unanimous objection from the international community and the authority of the UN Security Council, the United States attacked brutally to a sovereignty country, which was criticized as an enormous shock to the international system with the UN as its core, and unscrupulous trample on the basic norm governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. This war made distinct the "law of the jungle" philosophy upheld by the United States and the huge detriment of its hegemony to regional and global peace and stability.

20年前，美国不顾国际社会普遍反对，绕开联合国安理会，对一个主权国家大打出手，严重冲击以联合国为核心的国际体系，肆意践踏以联合国宪章宗旨原则为基础的国际关系基本准则。这场战争充分暴露了美国奉行弱肉强食的“丛林法则”，凸显了美式霸权对地区乃至世界和平稳定的巨大危害。

The United States has not introspected on its brutal aggressive act up until now. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin even shamelessly said that their army would stick to Iraq since they had brought peace and dignity to it.

至今，美国仍未对自身侵略行径进行认真反思。美国国防部长奥斯汀甚至还大言不惭地称，美军为伊拉克带来了“和平与尊严”，并将继续留在伊拉克。

But what is the truth? After the American occupation of Iraq, the US army plundered countless treasures of the country.  It took only 10 years for the US military to completely privatize the petroleum industry of Iraq and put it under the domination of western countries. They also systematically ransacked the Iraq National Museum, looting 170 thousand valuable relics. A considerable number of troops still remain in Iraq although the US had announced to withdraw troops early in 2011. What's startling is that the US army had assassinated Soleimani, Iran's Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, during his invited visit in Iraq. So where are the peace and dignity coming from for the Iran people in light of such an amount of immortal villainies?

然而，事实果真如此吗？美军占领伊拉克之后，大肆掠夺当地财富，只用了10年时间就将伊拉克石油工业全面私有化，并且由美国及西方资本主导；美军有组织地洗劫伊拉克国家博物馆，17万件珍藏文物横遭劫掠；尽管2011年就宣布从伊拉克撤军，但美国仍在伊驻有相当数量的部队；更有甚者，2020年初，美军还在伊拉克境内暗杀了应邀访问伊拉克的伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队下属“圣城旅”指挥官苏莱曼尼。这里的桩桩件件，哪一项能够让伊拉克人民感受到所谓的“和平与尊严”？

Not only in Iraq, the US had also orchestrated the "Arab Spring" in Asia-Africa, instigated "color revolutions" in Eurasia, and practiced a "Neo-Monroe Doctrine" in Latin America. The US bypassed the UN Security Council and rallied its NATO Allies to launch airstrikes in Libya. The US troops stationed in Syria thriftlessly snatched oil, wheat and other resources in the country. A large number of facts have demonstrated that the US is the real wrongdoer to destroy international rules and infringe the international order. The hegemonism and power politics implanted in the US have become a severe barrier to threaten the civilization and peaceful development of human society. Even many American scholars have told bluntly more than once that the US has descended to a "rogue superpower".

不只是在伊拉克，美国在亚非地区遥控“阿拉伯之春”，在欧亚国家导演“颜色革命”，在拉美地区推行“新门罗主义”，绕开联合国安理会纠集北约盟友对利比亚展开空袭，驻叙美军肆意抢夺叙利亚的石油和小麦等资源。诸多事实证明，美国才是破坏国际规则、践踏国际秩序的“专业户”。美国的霸权主义和强权政治，已成为威胁人类社会文明进步与和平发展的严重障碍。就连许多美国学者都不止一次地指出，美国已经沦为“流氓超级大国”。

Nowadays, more and more people choose peace over war, justice over hegemonism and cooperation over confrontation, which has been a common aspiration of the international community. The law of the jungle pursued by the US should have been swept into the trash can of history long ago, and inclusive growth for all is surely the right way forward.

当今时代，要和平不要战争，要公道不要霸道，要合作不要对抗，是国际社会共同愿望。美国奉行的弱肉强食“丛林法则”早该被扫进历史垃圾桶了，包容普惠、互利共赢才是越走越宽的人间正道。

The US needs to conduct serious soul-searching. It must wake up from the fantasy of its "force superstition" and "position of strength" in dealing with international disputes, let go of its arrogance and prejudice on "might makes right", quit its hegemonic, domineering and bullying practices and act in accordance with the purposes of the UN Charter. Otherwise, it will only encounter more resolute and forceful opposition from the international community.

当前，美国应该深刻反躬自省，从其处理国际争端的“武力迷信”和“实力地位”中醒来，摒弃“强权即公理”的傲慢与蛮横，改变霸凌霸道的做派，遵循联合国宪章宗旨行事，否则只会遭到国际社会更加坚决有力的反对。