Sir: We have all been shocked by the actions American governments have taken over the years. At the end of World War II they dropped nuclear weapons on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. During the Vietnam war they rained down flaming napalm and toxic Agent Orange on the civilian population. From the late 1970s till the early 1990s, they colluded with Islamist extremists to take down the Soviet Union, and poisoned the minds of entire societies in the process. Following the events of 9/11, their paranoid actions caused even more chaos in the Muslim world. But they have now reached a new low. The Trump administration has begun pulling children away from the arms of their parents. These are the actions of a dying empire. Any state that engages in such atrocities will soon be torn apart by the societal impact of such sins. YOUNUS MAHMOOD Lahore Published in Daily Times, June 21st 2018.