American Inervention Policy Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

American Inervention Policy - Term Paper Example Throughout the twentieth centuries, most of the colonized countries gained their independence from the European nations, making rendering this traditional and overt kind of imperialism a much-hated memory of past exploitation. There are some who argue that in the absence of this controlling power of these Western European colonizing forces, the United States of America has now stepped in as a new kind of imperial player in world politics. In a recent book which provocatively calls the United States a â€Å"Rogue State† a great many incidents are mentioned which show the extent to which American governments have gone to ensure that American interests are actively promoted across the globe. A list of morally and legally dubious strategies is given, including deliberate assassinations of foreign leaders, regime changes, military strikes, and economic measures designed to cripple whole countries and regions which for whatever reason oppose American plans for the world. The author, American journalist and researcher William Blum, cites 40 incidences of assassination, for example, which are recognized as having been carried out by American forces and mentions evidence that convicted murderers were even recruited for this task: â€Å"The training of the carefully-selected recruits ranged from dehumanization of the enemy to acclimating them emotionally through special films showing people being killed and injured in violent ways† (Blum, 2000, p. 40). In its methods, then, it is clear that the United States has had occasion to use at least some of the hated tactics of colonial rule. The invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq bear some resemblance to imperialist interventions because they involve the explicit movement of troops and some administrative personnel to these foreign lands in order to effect political changes. There is no immediate danger of attack from either of these two countries on American soil, though the possibility of single terrorist acts fro m smaller groups which may well shelter in these countries is always present, as was seen to terrible effect in the 9/11 atrocities.