US as the Policeman of the World: Outline
Thesis: Currently, America’s capability to intervene in international issues as world police is questioned considering the ongoing strife within the failed states of Iraq and Syria due to the presence of both insurgent forces and oppressive dictators. If America utilizes military force in these areas, there is a possibility these states would not be able to recover, and it may be seen as an indirect form of American expansion in the Middle East.
- After the Civil War, America has believed in foreign interventionism in order to prevent war, terror and as a means to introduce international law and justice in a conflicted territory.
- America currently handles its military operations in Iraq under the banner of Operation Iraqi Freedom, which began in 2003 to remove possibilities of utilizing weapons of mass destruction by terrorists and improve the Iraqi capability of fostering security, good governance and economic development.
- Aside from Iraq, America is also involved in stopping the growing conflict within Syria as it supports the opposition forces against the leadership of Syrian President Bashir al-Asad and his use of chemical weapons against the people.
- Early beginnings of America as a world police
- Under the 1823 Monroe Doctrine, America actively competed against the Europeans attempting to expand their colonies in Latin America as seen in Puerto Rico, Peru and even in the Caribbean as they believe Europeans do not have the right to extend to either North or South America, which is under America’s jurisdiction.
- The growth of America’s military after the Spanish-American War had also marked America’s transition as a global power as it had been the cause for modernization and American movement throughout the Caribbean and in Asia.
- Germany’s continuous violations towards America’s neutrality in the First World War had triggered America’s entrance to the war in Europe for the remainder of the war.
- After World War II
- The Cold War was the first international engagement that showed active American action in order to stop the growing Soviet influence in Europe and Asia and the arms race between the US and the Soviet Union.
- America had also been involved in the Arab-Israeli Conflict in order to open negotiations between the Arab nations and Israel.
- America had also played a role as a major UN peacekeeper in former USSR territories such as Yugoslavia, Kosovo and Bosnia to stop the ethnic conflicts.
- What drove America to have an active international presence
- Foreign interventionism played a large role in American decisions as the Americans see themselves as the state that can promote international justice and stop conflict in accordance to the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928.
- Containment under the Truman and Monroe Doctrines had also been applied to ensure that extremist ideologies and belligerent
- America also possesses the largest military force that is more influential than the United Nations’ peacekeeping body in bringing peace in the region.
- National interest also plays a key role especially in the Middle East for oil and export.
References
Blanchard, C., Humud, C., & Nikitin, M. B. (2014). Armed Conflict in Syria: Overview and U.S. Response. Washington, D.C.: US Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service.
Dale, C. (2009). Operation Iraqi Freedom: Strategies, Approaches, Results, and Issues for Congress. Washington, D.C.: US Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service.
Dautrich, K., & Yalof, D. (2011). American Government: Historical, Popular, and Global Perspectives. Boston: Cengage Learning.
