The Pitfalls of American Interventionism Essay

Throughout the course of history, the United States has remained consistent with its national interest by taking many different actions in foreign policy. There have been both immediate and long term results of these actions. Foreign policy is the United States policy that defines how we deal with other countries economically and politically. It is made by congress, the president, and the people. Some of the motivations for United States foreign policy are national security, economics, and idealism. The United States entry into World War I in 1917 and the escalation of the Vietnam War in 1964 and the both had great impact on the United States.

Much of the tension and terrorism between the Middle East and the United States can be traced back to the twentieth century. In the early 1920s oil became very essential to the United States, therefore the U.S. invested in the Middle East oil industry. Since both sides of the world were connected through this investment, the Middle East was more exposed to western society. “As Western ideas spread through the region, many Muslims feared that their traditional values and beliefs were being weakened” (Appleby, 1032). In order to continue following the traditional Muslim religious laws, Muslim movements were created to overthrow pro-Western governments in the Middle East. Even though Muslims believed that terrorism is the opposite of their faith, they supported these movements and were called fundamentalist militants. In 1947 the United Nations divided Palestine into two sections in order to give the Jews land that they can call ‘home’. One section was called Israel, and the other section was to become a Palestine state. This was the beginning of a military war; the Palestinians wanted their own nation therefore they began planning raids and terrorist attacks against their neighbor Israel. The United States gave aid to Israel, and immediately became Muslim target.

The recession of 2008, which we are only just starting to come out of, happened as a result of a few major factors. The primary factor was the deregulation of banks during the Bush administration. Another factor was that banks offered loans without looking into the financial stability of borrowers or businesses. Also, credit unions, savings and loans, and banks entered into competition with each other. The Security and Exchange Commission, S.E.C., reduced requirements so that banks could pile up debts.

The United States foreign policy is an interaction between the United States and foreign nations. Foreign policy sets standards on how different organizations, corporations, and individual citizens should interact with one another. Some Americans believe the United States should remain withdrawn from the affairs of foreign countries, but other Americans believe the United States should involve itself in the affairs of foreign countries. In 1796, George Washington included these words in his farewell address, “steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world.” These words from George Washington shaped the foreign policy of the United States for over a century.

Prior to the official beginning of WWII America’s involvement came mostly from supplying Europe with weapons and tools through the “cash and carry” policy and the “Lend-Lease” act. The “cash and carry” policy requested by the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, at a special session of the U.S. Congress on September 21, 1939. The “cash and carry” policy allowed the President to permit the sale of supplies and materials to countries at war in Europe, as long as the beneficiary paid immediately cash and arranged for transport. After WWII began in Europe, France was quickly over run which then left Britain alone fighting against Germany. The American public opinion at this time overwhelmingly supported The United States Isolationism, so that they could avoid becoming involved in another European war. British Forces were then evacuated from France.

“Every 10% drop in prices of oil adds 0.1% to the US economy, and the sooner the Iraqis start pumping, the faster the plunge in per-barrel prices. A quick war that ends with a new oil minister in place by the end of the year would bump up Iraq's production to 4 million barrels per day by 2006 from a current 2 million, collapsing prices into the low teens“ (Lynn J Cook 1).

The 2008 financial crisis had multiple causes but the most outstanding to me is the passing of the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act. This act repealed Glass – Steagall which removed the safeguards that came between commercial and investment banks. It destroyed regulation between the two and gave unprecedented “innovation” which allowed millions of Americans to purchase homes they couldn’t really afford. This created the American housing bubble that eventually popped do to citizens being unable to pay for their new homes. The intial burst of the housing bubble resulted in the foreclosure of 860,000 homes in 2008. Another entity at fault for the recession would be the credit rating companies. They provided the means to the consumers to take out mortgages

In the years leading up to and during the Iraq War, the United States pursued a neo-conservative agenda that aimed to dismantle Saddam Hussein’s regime, eliminate the threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), and install a democratic government in Iraq. To do so, U.S. policymakers deployed military forces and diplomatic ambassadors to intervene. This strategy, clearly seen during the early invasion in 2003 and the surge of 2007, produced mixed reactions. Indeed, more than a decade after the U.S. decision to mediate, the question remains: Can intervention actually work?

To begin America’s foreign policy has changed quite a lot. The first policy we had was the Monroe Doctrine which was established in 1823. The policy provided precedent and support for U.S. expansion on the American continent. This meant Europe could not interfere in Western Hemisphere affairs and could not be involved in the expansion. Soon after that we were changing our policies again which lead us to Wilson’s 14 points. Basically after we had entered WW1 we wanted to establish peace so we drew up specific recommendations for a comprehensive peace settlement. As you can see already we are becoming more involved and our policies are allowing us to become a whole and make peace. Then once again we were getting involved and our policies had to changed again we created the United Nations in 1945. It consisted of the following

Should the United States enter into military intervention in foreign countries for humanitarian reason? Why? Why not? Under what conditions should the U.S. intervene if at all?

Why is US foreign policy pulled to extreme of either doing too much or nothing at all?

Ever since its rise to global power in the early 20th century, the United States has been involved in countless foreign affairs. Said involvement has really influenced how the United States should look at foreign affairs today. In essence, being the lone Superpower of the modern world, the United States acts like the World’s Policeman. While on paper, this idea of having a World Policeman may seem like a great idea, since there will always be that one nation standing by with the intent of protecting shared ideals around the globe. However, actually putting this idea into practice says otherwise. Taking a look back at the outcomes of recent military interventions, specifically the Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq wars, the

Before World War II, American interventionism was often overt and direct, simply landing troops on the shores of some prospective banana republic and installing a 'friendly' government there. This is exactly what happened in Hawaii, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, in some cases more than once. Theodore Roosevelt was hardly shy about admitting that he sent troops to Puerto Rico and the Philippines, taking Panama from Columbia or landing in person with the army in Cuba in 1898. This phase of American overseas imperialism has much in common with the previous era of frontier expansion, wars against Native Americans and the annexation of half of Mexico in 1848. New Left and Revisionist historians of the 1960s and 1970s like William Appleman Williams (1972), Gabriel Kolko (1969) and Walter LaFeber (1963) all traced the roots of post-World War II imperialism directly back to this pre-1945 expansionist impulse. Manifest Destiny and the racial attitudes towards blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans that accompanied it existed long before the U.S. became an urban, industrialized economy. Racism dates back to the colonial period in the 17th and 18th Centuries, and the type of expansion that occurred was mainly agrarian and aimed at acquiring land, which was the base of the economy until well into the 19th Century. To that extent, American imperialism was atavistic and existed long before capitalism and the

The recession caused by great depression which lasted for a decade between 1929 to 1939 had devastating economic consequences in not only America but around the world.Newyork stock exchange, as well as 11000 out of 25000 banks in America, collapsed.Industrial

The american government has been dealing with various issues and continues to face such troubles. The bulk of these complications have occurred since the emergence of the nation. Issues concerning foreign policy and the social makeup of the United States have been resonating for centuries. The only clear solution to establish a better future for America is to learn from our history, and thus resolve our national issues in the aspiration of a better future.