Problematic Aspects of the USA Foreign Policy Essay

In this essay, I would like to raise such questions as the foreign policy of the United States. In particular, I intend to focus on somewhat imperialistic and even supercilious attitudes towards other nations especially those that are often labeled as “uncivilized”. While analyzing this issue, it is of crucial importance to dwell on such examples as military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, because they demonstrate that the course, taken by the US is ethically and economically unjustifiable. The major argument that I can advance is that these attempts to implant democracy in other states are perilous to our country and the rest of the world. Naturally, I cannot hope that this appeal will reach those people, who have the authority to alleviate the situation, but probably, this effort will make someone change his or her opinion about the current state of affairs.

It stands to reason, that after September 11 attacks the measures, taken by the US were bound to become more aggressive. Nevertheless, only very few could expect that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would break out in such a short time (Mead., p. 7). Even this fact indicates that no thorough investigation was conducted, and these countries were the most plausible candidates for the role of scapegoats. Apart from that, these armed conflicts might eventually strengthen Americas positions in the Middle East and help to put an end to some terroristic organizations. However, we can ask ourselves whether this goal has been achieved. Judging from existing evidence, one can say almost for a fact that the circumstances only aggravated. First, this military involvement is maintained at the expense of human lives (and it does not matter whether it is American, Iraqi or Afghan soldiers and civilians). Additionally, our country has to incur immense financial costs, while there are much more urgent concerns within the United States. From my standpoint, the governments priorities should be reestablished. In this respect, I would also like to point out that US presence virtually left Iraq and Afghanistan in ruins; at present, they are engulfed in a political feud.

As it has been noted earlier, the geopolitics of the United States can be characterized as imperialistic. On the whole, this concept implies the belief in one’s exceptionalism and superiority to others (Madsen, p.12). The most dangerous thing is that these views are often supported by the most distinguished American scholars, who suggest that the country should act as a paragon to other nations, and to crown it all, that America has the right and privilege to dictate its terms to other people. To some extent, their line of reasoning is quite understandable because America has the capacity to do it. But they seem to overlook very important data. Many states claimed to be an Empire and the most interesting detail is that practically all of them collapsed, and such an outcome must not be the US ultimate objective. Even now, the countrys closest allies like the United Kingdom, Germany, or France are very reluctant to assist us in our undertakings, and this should not be perceived as something outrageous as every government has to think about public opinion, which demands avoidance of any armed conflicts.

Of course, at this point, the argument may seem slightly one-sided as it does not account for the opposing side. First, there is a deep-rooted conviction among some rather conservative circles that the United States should at least try to eradicate totalitarian or any kind of anti-human regimes throughout the globe, and this is a very noble intention. But, any political scientist will tell that it is impossible to create a democratic political system from the outside and such efforts are usually doomed to failure (Madsen, p. 162). Another stereotype, which is very popular among many politicians and political observers is that Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, or some other Muslim nations offer harbor to terroristic organizations. From the perspective of international law, this hypothesis is unprovable and indefensible, because even if such activities ever take place, they are made clandestine. The opposing sides may as well argue that military campaigns will eventually help the US to enhance its influence in the Middle East. Probably, they are right but the results will be short-lived as friendship (or any kind of relationship) cannot be cemented by means of compulsion. Sooner or later it will weaken and break up. One may as well remember the experience, which England, France, or Germany had with their colonies and the losses, inflicted upon them in this struggle. These nations had to abandon their ambitions for domination in African or Asian regions due to the expensiveness and ineffectiveness of this policy.

To conclude, I have tried to air my opinion on the geopolitical course of the US government. Hopefully, I have demonstrated that this is destructive at its very core. This problem has been a subject of heated debate among politicians, sociologists, and average citizens, but no agreement has been worked out. Again, I would like to emphasize the idea that we should take a closer look at the situation that has recently emerged as it may later become catastrophic.

Bibliography

1. Foster. J (2005). “Effective writing skills for public relations”. Kogan Page Publishers.
2. Hughes. W. Lavery J. “Critical Thinking: An Introduction to the Basic Skills”. Broadview Press, 2004.
3. Madsen. D. “American exceptionalism”. Edinburgh University Press, 1998.
4. Mead. W. “Special providence: American foreign policy and how it changed the world”. Routledge, 2002.