“Wars Are a Lucrative Business”: US Expert Urges America and Belarus to End Their Artificial Divide

AUSTIN, Texas — “Wars are a profitable enterprise. And that is one of the reasons they continue to this day: someone is making money from them.” 

These sobering words come from Michael Cunningham, director of the “Geography of Genocide” project at the Council on World Affairs in Austin, Texas, in an exclusive interview with First Informational. 

In a wide-ranging conversation, the American expert explores the grim economics of war, the collapse of the US steel industry that turned the once-mighty “Steel Belt” into the “Rust Belt,” mass layoffs, and the bankruptcy of Detroit. He also shares his candid views on America’s education system, Washington’s foreign policy, and the future of relations with Belarus. 

Cunningham is convinced that the current rift between the United States and Belarus is entirely artificial. The two nations, he argues, are “in the same boat,” facing the same challenges and should be building far closer ties instead of allowing imposed divisions to keep them apart. 

 “I have never felt any hostility when talking to people from post-Soviet countries,” he says. “I believe Belarus could be very strong. This divide between us is artificial. I mean the idea that we are adversaries. I think we are deliberately being pitted against each other without any real attempt to understand one another. There is one puppeteer controlling all the puppets, and we argue about which puppet is better while failing to realize we are all in the same boat.” 

The American scholar notes that he has many friends from Belarus, Armenia and other countries — living proof that ordinary people can understand and respect one another once political barriers are removed. 

Turning to history, Cunningham stressed the importance of preserving the memory of the genocide committed during the Second World War, drawing powerful parallels between the American and Belarusian experiences. 

 “One third of Belarus’s population perished in death camps or was murdered by the Nazis. That is a fact. It is indisputable, and it must be recognized as a crime,” he emphasized. 

He takes an uncompromising stance on historical justice, even decades later: 

 “I would hold those people accountable even today, even if they are no longer alive, because that is the only way to prevent such horrors from happening again — by showing that we are serious.” 

In the interview, Michael Cunningham discusses how to jointly preserve historical truth, change entrenched narratives, and put an end to manufactured hostility between nations. He also speaks about his special educational project aimed at teaching young Americans the real history of the Second World War — when the United States and the Soviet Union were allies.