John Stuart Mill once famously quoted that ‘War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse’ (brainyquote, 2013). The statement quite clearly summarizes and captures the feelings of those against the US Military operations abroad or outside the country. Though war is hard to justify, but when it is raised to protect human rights or to safeguard one’s sovereignty, it becomes a mark of bravery. US military operations are not just an unnecessary waste of dollars, as commonly perceived but signify the country’s continued and prolonged war against terrorism and for everyone’s equality and rights.
Terrorism as a phenomenon has affected countries and people across the globe. American troops in the countries like Afghanistan fight it out to make sure that the terrorism is eradicated or at least be kept in check. As the world’s most powerful country, it is America’s responsibility to make sure to fight for the weak and poor nations and America realizes it well. According to a latest media release, cost of keeping each American soldier in Afghanistan is a staggering $2.1 Million (rt, 2013). But the responsibility of ensuring that people across the globe are safe and are not terrorized is far more important and US understands it well.
Even though people in western countries live democratic and high quality loves, there are millions who are denied of their very basic and humanly rights. Human rights violations is a rampant and very prevalent issue in several countries across the world and when it seemed that the populations of these countries will have to suffer forever, the US emerged as the Messiah. US military operations in countries like Iraq and Libya were aimed at protecting the local population from the torture of the dictators and to ensure a better and brighter future for them. According to a press release by White House, Saddam Hussein (Iraq’s dictator) did not even permit freedom of speech or of the press and did not tolerate any kind of political dissent (whitehouse.gov). Similarly in Libya, forces loyal to Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi unlawfully tortured, killed and injured several thousand during his regime (amnesty.org, 2012). US and NATO forces protected the local population by conducting the military operations and hence they were aptly justified in using force in these countries.
Last but not the least, these operations form the cornerstone of US foreign policy. ‘The United States has an ambitious and truly global security strategy. This is reflected not only in the deep global deployment of US troops, but also in the vast number of military training and assistance missions globally (Noonan, 2013). The military operations by US in other countries are also aimed at protecting the interests of America and Americans and it is totally justified since every country does this in one way or another.
US military operations aren’t just about wasteful expenditures and greed for oil, the reasons commonly cited by those against these operations but are about fighting terrorism, fighting evil and fighting evils. These operations are meant to ensure a safe and just world. One must feel proud about the way US has been doing it for decades now, with utmost responsibility. The US is indeed on the right path and the overseas military operations should only be stopped when they meet their full objectives.
References
BrainyQuote (2013). War Quotes. brainyquote.com. Retrieved from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_war2.html
RT (2013). Collateral Damage: Cost of each US Soldier in Afghanistan soars to $2.1 mln. rt.com. Retrieved from http://rt.com/usa/us-afghanistan-pentagon-troops-budget-721/
The White House (n.d). Saddam Hussein’s Repression of the Iraqi People. Retrieved from http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/iraq/decade/sect4.html
Noonan Michael (2013). Training Other Nation’s Soldiers: Help or Hindrance?. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/world-report/2013/04/11/weighing-the-costs-and-benefits-of-us-security-sector-assistance
