21 Sep 2022

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America and its Allies: How Alliances Provide Security

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Academic level: Master’s

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The United States of America needs other countries for its prosperity as many global challenges require international coordination to address its challenges. For instance, terrorism needs proper coordination between America and other nations to curb. Also, different types of pollutions are among issues that threaten the global communities require working together to reduce or eradicate. Hence, regarding cooperating with other nations, America needs to have close friends that act as its back-up in case the country faces any danger. Thus, the U.S. needs to form a community in the world that can help sort different problems, especially pollution as it is a solution to global challenges. It is because even the most powerful nations cannot stand alone and tackle all their problems without the help of others. Also, history proves that a country needs to have alliances at times to stay safe from attacks, and also to win wars. In the past decades, there were great alliances. For instance, the British and Americans joined to defeat the Nazi and curb the movement's threats. Also, it was almost unimaginable that America could cooperate with The Soviet Union’s to form an alliance which made the army strong. Hence, for economic stability, security, and adequate resources to face global challenges, the United States n eeds allies since alliances are mutually beneficial contracts. 

Alliances provide security 

The U.S. is the world's most powerful nation as it boasts one of the most efficient and reliable militaries at the global stage, and also the wealthiest nation. Undoubtedly, the statement may delude people that this country needs no alliance since it is secured, which is a wrong impression. It is because even with the powerful military, the United States is the most targeted country in the world. According to Garver (2015), it is unfortunate that some individuals and nations inflict pain on the U.S. and its allies through acts of terrorism to prove their superiority and how weak the United States is regarding curbing terrorist. Many events suggest that the country is not safe even with its military strengths, and thus, it requires allies. The National Security Adviser John Bolton states, “The U.S is deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to its Central Command region to send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime." Bolton also asserts, "an attack on United States interests or those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force." Bolton adds, "The United States is not seeking war with the Iranian regime. However, we are fully prepared to respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or regular Iranian forces." Bolton's statements suggest that America cannot stand alone; hence, requires alliances to be stronger. 

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Besides, the September 11 attack is still fresh in history as it ranks as the worst terror attack in the world. On the date, the world superpower nation was humiliated by Osama Bin Laden on broad daylight where over 3000 people died (Brooks & Wohlforth, 2016). These are situations which indicate that even though the country is stable on their military perspective, it needs other countries so that they can form a global community to fight global crimes that claim people’s lives (Brooks & Wohlforth, 2016). There are historical instances where Alliances worked well to provide security to citizens and securing borders. America was also a beneficiary of such a relationship. During the Second World War, America was in a dilemma about whether to take part in the war or to stand and watch. Many people claimed that the war would jeopardize the security state of the U.S. as a country by involving it in a war that was not necessary. President Franklin Roosevelt recognized that it was not safe for the nation even though it was not involved in the war. Therefore, Roosevelt had to join forces to seek global peace by silencing Germany that was a world bully. The situation forced Franklin to devise means of helping the European countries to tame Germany's Nazi movement. The Fall of France made things worse since the only Democratic team that was left standing was British. The Roosevelt knew that it would not take long before the Nazi launch an attack on American. As a result “Roosevelt moved faster towards making the U.S. the 'arsenal of democracy' with the Lend-Lease Act, which permitted the lending, leasing, selling, or bartering of arms, ammunition, and food to any country whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the U.S." (Brooks & Wohlforth, 2016). The aid program went on until the U.S. allied with the British to defeat the Nazi regime. The defeat means that the security threat the Nazi harbored to Americans citizens was over. The collapse of the French by the Nazi meant that British and Americans needed each other to win this war and make their countries safe. 

It was the same case with the Soviet Unions and Americans Alliance between the years 1941 and 1945. Before the alliance, President Franklin Roosevelt condemned the Soviet Union publicly by saying, "dictatorship as absolute as any other in the world," after their attack on Finland and Poland. However, it was not long before Americans felt the Nazi's threat as it was a significant threat to world peace, and Franklin Roosevelt understood the movement's magnitude than any other. While refereeing to the threat posed by the Nazi, the President claimed that "I would hold hands with the devil" if necessary. America and the Soviet later formed an alliance that defeated the Nazi. As allies, they ensured that there was security not only for the world but for the nations in the alliance. Thus, it clear that with alliances, any country guarantees its security. 

Alliances are a Pool of Resources 

A country needs adequate resources ranging from finance, military, human resources and bases of operations to win any world challenge. A single country cannot adequately provide tools and material to solve its problems; hence, the nation will always fail if it only relies on its taxes to solve its issues. The United States thus need to form alliances with other countries to acquire resources which can be pertinent in case of any danger (Fawcett, 2016). Resources are all over the world as a country may be small in size but have some specific things that can be valuable in America during a particular period. For instance, in the current world, technology has changed everything as people have improved their innovations. Hence, a nation can create a military technique that the USA may need during a time of conflict, especially terrorism or war. Furthermore, Brooks & Wohlforth (2016) discuss that countries need to share their resources to combat a world threat. Thus, resources contribution is the main reason why nations form alliances and work to achieve common goals. In history, there are different instances where America helps numerous countries to achieve a sure victory. Also, the U.S. was also helped by other countries to succeed in its military missions. For instance, first, America was the chief supplier of ammunition and military-related machines for the Soviet alliances during the First and Second World Wars (Fawcett, 2016). The British were one of the primary beneficiaries of various resources when America join them to curb the threats for Nazis. The best example why allies are essential is evident in World War II which caused divisions among nations. The U.S, Russia, The United Kingdom, France, and Poland became allies who joined to fight the alliance comprising Germany, Japan, and Italy. When the group came together, each contributed the labor, the military machine and most importantly, the military tactics. Furthermore, alliances also provided the last valuable resource for most of these countries, especially the fighting base. In most cases, during WW I and WW II, America like many other countries did not fight on their bases. The fighting scenes were thousands of miles away from the state. Besides, Fawett (2016) states, "the United States maintains extensive bases in South Korea following the Korean War, and soldiers continue to deploy there despite the lack of active war." It came with much protection to the citizens of the country. 

Economic Benefit of Allies 

America is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Unfortunately, their wealth status is continuously under threat from China, Singapore, Qatar, and other countries. It is an implication that America needs alliances to create investment opportunities for its entrepreneurs to help sustain the nation's economic stability. America is a victim of economic recessions because of its poor policies. For instance, the 2008 recession went to American history books as one of the worst recession periods in the country (Garver, 2015). Allies provide many resources and opportunities that can lead to wealth creation and economic stability. A good example in history is the Alliance between the United States and Japan. The nuclear reactor disaster, the deadly earthquake, and the tsunami in Japan probed the United States' Military to react and help save many people in Japan. The activity made America and Japan form a strong alliance on September 8 the year 1951 through signing a treaty. Part of the agreement read that Japan is granting the United States access to its air, land, and sea forces. Brooks & Wohlforth (2016) argue, "the treaty's goal is maintaining international security and peace in the Far East and also secure Japan from armed attacks.” Besides, there were many economic benefits from the alliance. One of the advantages is that many students got a scholarship in these countries and came back to develop their countries. For instance, many Japanese studied in the USA under the program Fulbright after its extension to Japan in 1952. The people to people exchange also brought some economic and cultural development. For instance, John D. Rockefeller III, who was an American, is responsible for the establishment of the International House of Japan in 1952. Also, in 1953, Rockefeller also helped Japan to open the International Christian University (ICU). The American also benefited from this Alliance. Besides, Garver (2015) asserts that Japanese car carriers helped America move its equipment to the nation during the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War, and even increased its tax contribute close to USD 13 billion to carter for the war. 

Oppositions to America Having Allies 

The opposition claims that by joining Alliance, America will be forced to bail many other countries as they did to Britain, Russia, and France in History. In some situation, it is true that joining Alliance means carrying someone's burden. A good example is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It also applies to America as it has been bailing many countries without getting any significant help from them. For example, during the World Wars, Britain and Russian got many resources from America, but the nation did not get any benefits from the countries. It is even in documents that the Axis power would have won the battle if America could have hesitated from joining the opposite camp. While giving a speech in June 2011, Robert Gates, who is United States Defense Secretary, said that America contributes too much to NATO that can lead to financial problems. Moreover, disagreements during the actions are other issues that hinder operations. For instance, the Alliance between Soviet and America broke because of disputes. Therefore, these are valid points why a nation needs allies as it is evident from the historical accounts that alliances have been more beneficial and their benefits cloud some of the potential threats which come with this decision (Garver, 2015). 

Conclusion 

The United States needs allies because the alliance relationship comes with security, economic benefits and also a pool of resources. In history, there are many instances where alliances were critical for world peace as countries came together to fight for peace. The cooperation between the nations solved many global issues including terrorism, wars, among others. Therefore, a country needs to have allies because joining efforts with other countries helps a nation solve many problems without straining. Hence, alliances are critical because of many problems facing the current world; thus, the United States should be part of the alliances. 

References 

Brooks, S. G., & Wohlforth, W. C. (2016). The Once and Future Superpower: Why China Won't Overtake the United States. Foreign Aff. , 95 , 91. 

Duffield, M. (2017). War as a network enterprise: the new security terrain and its implications. The Criminology of War (pp. 109-121). Routledge. 

Fawcett, L. (2016). Alliances and regionalism in the Middle East. International relations of the Middle East , 185-204. 

Garver, J. W. (2015). The Sino-American Alliance: Nationalist China and American Cold War Strategy in Asia: Nationalist China and American Cold War Strategy in Asia . Routledge. 

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StudyBounty. (2023, September 14). America and its Allies: How Alliances Provide Security .
https://studybounty.com/america-and-its-allies-how-alliances-provide-security-essay

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