Essay on Diplomacy Over Military Invasion

George Santayana once gave a powerful quote to the world in 1905 when he said “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”, a sentiment repeated by Sir Winston Churchill in his 1948 address to the House of Commons. Although the words seemed sentimental at the time, the current political events in the United States are reminiscent of the truth of the statement. On its political front, the United States are engaged in a tough political war with mighty nations such as Russia and China. It is America’s foreign policy that condemns us to repeat mistakes committed by the country, and others, in the past.

America’s engagement in a military-propelled foreign policy to retain its world supremacy is a dangerous path that occurred in history. America, over the recent past, has been involved in political and military interference in other countries to advance democracy or draw economic and political influence from the countries. Although the policy has brought America some success, the eventual costs of engaging in the wars has been immense. The U.S. government’s desire to stop Russia’s growth in the international political climate has made it make serious political missteps that are reminders of the past.

First, the country engaged in a revolutionary coup in Libya. The country was ruled by then President Muammar Gaddafi, and the American government wanted to topple him to stop the funding and shipping of weapons to terrorist groups in the Middle East. Russia, on its part, supported the actions of Gaddafi because of his economic record in the country. The U.S. ended up using immense resources in killing Libya’s president; leaving the country poor and without direction. The Syrian War is perhaps the biggest mistake of the U.S. government after engaging in the war for several years until 2018. In this instance, the country sent troops, offered weapons and funding to rebel groups to try and overthrow the current regime. However, it was opposed by Russia which sought to prevent the USA from benefitting from the oil reserves in the country. The war led to loss of American soldiers and funds. The wars stretch back to the Middle East War of the 1990s against President Saddam Husseini, and the Vietnam War where the country supported South Vietnam. The costs of the wars include huge losses in funds, loss of American lives and those of local rebel groups, loss of economic productivity in the countries, and limited growth (Cordesman, 2017, par.3). The foreign policy that led America to join WWI and WWII are similar to their support of Israel in the Gaza War.

Understanding history is integral for the leaders to know the eventual impacts of their decisions through the experiences of those who already lived through the time. In psychology, deterrence is heightened when the certainty and severity of consequences is determined. In the case of historical events, the severity and certainty of the outcomes of political wars are determined and clear. Since the country understands the effect of engaging in the wars, and the limited long-term benefits that the wars accrue, it is in the best interest of America to modify its foreign policy in relation to international matters (Cordesman, 2017, par.6). For instance, the country could decide to adapt the Chinese political system which desists from engaging with other countries on military terms; preferring to keep all relations economic (Cordesman, 2017, par.7). Ideally, the country should only support peaceful demonstrations and revolutions; and avoid sending our troops to foreign countries to fight battles unrelated to the American people.

Bibliography

Cordesman A 2017, ‘U.S. military spending: The cost of wars’, Center for Strategic and International Studies, accessed from https://www.csis.org/analysis/us-military-spending-cost-wars on 6th March, 2020.