American Foreign Interventions and National Security

Introduction

The US foreign intervention after the Second World War has been driven by the need to cement its power and to enhance security within the country. For example, after the Second World War ended, the United States and the Soviet Union were engaged in the Cold War leading to a number of conflicts around the world such as Vietnam, Korea, and Cuba. The concept of terrorism has also defined the recent US foreign interventions especially in the fight against terrorism. This paper looks at the history of the American foreign intervention and the concept of national security, especially after the Second World War.

Part I:  Foreign Intervention and National Security

This section will look at the connection between foreign intervention and national security as it relates to the US’s foreign policy. The researcher will define foreign intervention and national security. This part also focuses on the factors that drive the United States to focus on interventions around the world.

Part II: Specific Interventions and how they relate to national security

This section focuses on some of the specific interventions that the United States has had in the recent past in regards to national security. The focus of this section will be the US response to the 911 attack. This will explain the moves taken by the country in the Middle East.

Conclusion

The last part of the paper will focus on drawing specific understanding or meanings from the research conducted on the two parts. The conclusion is that the country’s foreign intervention is driven by the desire of the country to promote the security of its citizens.

American Foreign Interventions and National Security

America has been a country that has been in love with foreign interventions for a long time. However, despite the initial interventions made by the country being successful, the ones after 1945 have not born the intended fruits as the United States has been losing or winning at a higher cost than expected (Halabi, 2016, 31-33). The military interventions ion 1950s and 60s have changed to revolve around national security. This is mainly in the post 9/11 era. This paper looks at the concept of interventions in the United States as they relate to national security.  Foreign interventions are the use of a country’s power vested in its government in a specific nation to address a perceived problem. This move is aimed at constructing a preferable state of affairs in the targeted societies (Davis, 2015, p.100). The United States has had to intervene in some countries in terms of both military support and diplomacy. However, the US military has been instrumental in the majority of the interventions. For example, Vietnam and the Korean wars during the Cold War were aimed at cementing the US as a superpower and expand its capitalist economic system against that of communism promoted by the Soviet Union (Davis, 2015, p.132, 160). Much of the interventions during the Cold War in the United States were not directed towards national security but maintain the US’ status as a superpower.  During the Cold War, the United States moved to fund and provides economic relief as it moves to combat the spread of communism. These moves were used in cementing the relationship that the United States had with its allies (Halabi, 2016, p. 81-84). However, the arms race and the emerging threat of nuclear energy created the need for the company to think about its interventions. Although it was hard for the United States to implement any military intervention between the 1960s and 1970s apart from Vietnam and Korea, the country was involved in the suppression of leftist movements especially in Latin America mainly in Chile, Nicaragua, and Cuba (Davis, 2015, p.347, 389). Turning to national security, it was the cold war that led to an arms race. The arms race coupled advancements in technology led to the need for the United States to gather intelligence, spying, and the formation of international alliances. The move led to the development of CIA, and NATO as the United States looked to cement its national security initiatives. The monitoring has been to look at how countries, especially those that are antagonistic with the country, react to the country and if there is a risk of attack or war.  The concept of national security plays an important role when it comes to the US’s path in international intervention. For example, in the Middle East, America’s intervention has been driven by the view that the countries such as Iraq and Syria support terrorist activities and in the process threaten the security of the United States (Hook & Spanier, 2018, p. 114). Research shows that in the first place, the United States attacked Iraq in 2004 based on the notion that the country was a harbor for terror groups and that the regime was building weapons of mass destruction. The intervention in Iraq was a retaliation of the 9/11 attack that is one of the worst terror attacks in the country. The US government justified its actions by arguing that the attack was in the interests of national security (Hook & Spanier, 2018, p. 293). The country has also moved to attack terror groups in their own backyards with the aim of reducing their organization and hence the risk of attack on US soil. Today, the US is using the same argument to support its activities in Syria, a country that is facing a war between government forces and rebels.  Apart from the use of military action in some countries, the United States has also used sanctions as a form of intervention in some countries. The use of sanction is mainly towards those countries viewed as hostile towards the United States (Callaway & Matthews, 2008, p. 174, 177). These countries include North Korea, Iran, and Russia. The three have seen the United States implement different sanctions of economic nature on them in a move to make them abandon their nuclear programs. The United States seeks to prevent such nations from acquiring weapons of mass destruction and threatening the United States. This has been seen from the North Korean problem where the regime has threatened that it has weapons that can reach the American coast. One can argue that the United States has national security being the main reasons behind its foreign policy initiatives across the globe (Baum, 2015, p. 16).

Conclusion

Interventions by the United States government are a concept that has characterized the country’s foreign policy for a long time. The country has had to intervene in some countries in order to change the status quo in the societies. Although the interventions have involved military action in the past, they have changed today to include some aspects of diplomacy and for the sole reason for safeguarding national security.  Most of the interventions that the country has had after the 2000s have been in relation to terrorist activities especially in the Middle East. For example, the intervention in Iraq in 2004 was aimed at ensuring that the United States retaliated against the 911 attack. The use of sanctions against some countries has been to ensure that those countries do not attain or develop weapons of mass destruction.

Annotated Bibliography

Davis, L. E. (2015). The Cold War Begins: Soviet-American Conflict Over East Europe. Princeton University Press. This book looks at the factors that drove American intervention during the Cold War. In particular, the book focuses on the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union in East Europe. The author provides a good understanding of the factors that relate to the US foreign relations around the time when the Cold War began. The author argues that one of the factors driving American intervention is the need to have security.  Hook, S. W., & Spanier, J. (2018). American foreign policy since World War II. CQ Press. This book looks at the American foreign policy after the Second World War. The authors argue that security was ideal especially due to the damaged relationship that the United States had with the Soviet Union. The article helps in this research by providing information on some of the foreign interventions it has had after the Second World War and the factors behind the specific interventions.  Halabi, Y. (2016). US foreign policy in the Middle East: From crises to change. Routledge. This book looks at the history of the American intervention in the Middle East and in particular in relation to the concept of terrorism. The focus of the book is countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq. The focus of the book is posted 911 interventions that the United States has had in the Middle East. The book provides a good understanding of the factors that drive the US intervention in the Middle East.  Callaway, R. L., & Matthews, E. G. (2008). Strategic US foreign assistance: the battle between human rights and national security. Routledge. This book looks at American assistance in other countries and its role in fostering national security. The research conducted by the researcher is ideal for providing an understanding of the connection between interventions and national security. According to the authors, the issue of national security provides one of the main reasons for the American intervention in other countries.  Baum, C. W. (2015). Nationalism in United States Foreign Policy in the Post-9/11 Era (Doctoral dissertation, Portland State University). This article is ideal for explaining how US foreign policy has been affected by terrorism. This helps in appreciating how the United States plans its interventions in the Middle East. America has changed its activities around the world from that of helping other countries to one of saving its borders. The process of attacking the terrorist groups in their own homes helps in keeping America safe.

References

Baum, C. W. (2015). Nationalism in the United States Foreign Policy in the Post-9/11 Era (Doctoral dissertation, Portland State University). https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3536&context=open_access_etds  Callaway, R. L., & Matthews, E. G. (2008). Strategic US foreign assistance: the battle between human rights and national security. Routledge. Davis, L. E. (2015). The Cold War Begins: Soviet-American Conflict Over East Europe. Princeton University Press. Halabi, Y. (2016). US foreign policy in the Middle East: From crises to change. Routledge. Hook, S. W., & Spanier, J. (2018). American foreign policy since World War II. Cq Press.