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US Geopolitics (II) GEOG 220 - Geopolitics Sum-up of previous class • US paradox of ‘Interventionist Non-interventionism’ • Self-explained by US ‘Exceptionalism’ • Mainly enounced through the Monroe Doctrine => Pragmatic interventions within idealist frame => Moving from the domestic to regional and global sphere US Geopolitics and War • World War II • Cold War • Contemporary era World War II • Non-interventionism No direct intervention until Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec 1941 Japan invaded parts of China since 1937 Nazi Germany invaded Poland in Sept 1939 • WWII outcome: – US as dominant power, yet challenged by Soviet Union, esp. in the context of decolonization – United Nations – a new ‘League of Nations’, but with broader participation, and based in New York Security Council: 5 permanent members with veto rights (US, China, Soviet Union, UK and France) + 10 elected members US interventionist policy of ‘containment’ • Truman Doctrine (1947) • Marshall Plan / European Recovery Program (1948) • National Security Council’s NSC-68 (1950) introduced the explicit militarization and globalization of containment in its argument that “a defeat of free institutions anywhere is a defeat everywhere . . . in a shrinking world” Truman Doctrine (12 March 1947) “The gravity of the situation which confronts the world today necessitates my appearance before a joint session of the Congress. The foreign policy and the national security of this country are involved. One aspect of the present situation, which I wish to present to you at this time for your consideration and decision, concerns Greece and Turkey. The United States has received from the Greek Government an urgent appeal for financial and economic assistance. Preliminary reports from the American Economic Mission now in Greece and reports from the American Ambassador in Greece corroborate the statement of the Greek Government that assistance is imperative if Greece is to survive as a free nation... As a result of these tragic conditions, a militant minority [communists], exploiting human want and misery, was able to create political chaos which, until now, has made economic recovery impossible. Meanwhile, the Greek Government is unable to cope with the situation. The Greek army is small and poorly equipped. It needs supplies and equipment if it is to restore the authority of the government throughout Greek territory. Greece must have assistance if it is to become a self-supporting and selfrespecting democracy... The peoples of a number of countries of the world have recently had totalitarian regimes forced upon them against their will. The Government of the United States has made frequent protests against coercion and intimidation, in violation of theYalta agreement, in Poland, Rumania, and Bulgaria. I must also state that in a number of other countries there have been similar developments. At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life. The choice is too often not a free one. I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way... I ask the Congress to authorize the detail of American civilian and military personnel to Greece and Turkey, at the request of those countries, to assist in the tasks of reconstruction, and for the purpose of supervising the use of such financial and material assistance as may be furnished.” Cold War geopolitics in the US • Containment policy: Soviets as ‘insecure fanatics’ and Soviet Union implacably expansionist, thus need to “confront the Russians with unalterable counter-force at every point where they show signs of encroaching upon the interests of a peaceful and stable world” George Kennan, 1947 (US charge d’affaires in Moscow) • Domino theory: theory of political diffusion • the ‘fall’ of one country to Communism will precipitate the fall of its neighbours => only physical proximity is sufficient => diplomacy is sidelined and military means prioritised (incl. CIA operations, plus support to allies: Marshall Plan) Geopolitical reductionism Geopolitical reductionism • Containment [of the influence of the Soviet Union]: 1947-1960s – Korean war (1950-53) – Cuban Revolution (1959) and Bay of Pigs (1961) – Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) – Second Indochina War (1950s-69) • Détente [with the Soviet Union, normalization with PR China]: 1970s under Nixon, Ford, Carter – Sino-Soviet Split (since early 1960s) – Mutually Assured Destruction (nuclear deterrence) – Nixon Doctrine of working mostly through proxies – ‘Vietnamization’ and defeat (1969-75) Soviet intervention in Afghanistan (Dec 1979-89) puts an end to detente Carter Doctrine of intervention in Middle-East Reagan Doctrine • Rollback [of the Soviet Union’s influence]: 1980s under Reagan: “US policy must have an ideological thrust which clearly affirms the superiority of US and Western values” (‘Making American great again’ – 1980s’ nostalgia of the 1950s) Backing of Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Iran (Sept 1980) Intensification of armed opposition to communist regimes/insurgents, esp. in Latin America (School of the Americas, support for the Contra in Nicaragua) US ‘interventions’ since WWII US Foreign Policy – a critical view • The engine of American foreign policy has been fueled not by a devotion to any kind of morality, but rather by the necessity to serve other imperatives, which can be summarized as follows: – making the world safe for American corporations; – enhancing the financial statements of defense contractors at home who have contributed generously to members of congress; – preventing the rise of any society that might serve as a successful example of an alternative to the capitalist model; – extending political and economic hegemony over as wide an area as possible, as befits a "great power.“ William Blum Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II Armed conflicts (1946-2003) The end of the Cold War • Arguments: – Non-alignment movement in Europe and rising dissent in Eastern Europe – Collapse of oil prices – Mikhail Gorbatchev • breaking the ‘enemy image’ of the USSR as the ‘evil empire’ • promoting ‘openness’ in Soviet society (glasnost) • economic and socio-political re-structuring of USSR (perestroika) • non-intervention as regimes collapse in Eastern Europe – Ronald Reagan: huge military buildup ‘exhausted’ and ‘defeated’ the USSR ‘American Century’ beyond the Cold War • Maintenance of US dominance • “Project for the New American Century” (PNAC): neo-conservative think tank (1997 to 2006) that had strong ties to the American Enterprise Institute and US administrations under G.W. Bush • Orchestration of the military invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq: regime change under the pretext of ‘pre-emptive war’ and advancement of democracy Objectives • Forcefully bring about ‘democracy’ to Afghanistan & Iraq • Bush Doctrine of US unilateralism • Pragmatic interests (AfPak region, Iraq oil and geostrategic location) • Initiate a ‘domino effect’ in the Muslim World (esp. MENA region) reorienting it towards the US • Contradiction: closest ‘allies’ are not democratic (Saudi Arabia, Egypt) National Security Strategy of the United States (17 September 2002) “The security environment confronting the United States today is radically different from what we have faced before. Yet the first duty of the United States Government remains what it always has been: to protect the American people and American interests. It is an enduring American principle that this duty obligates the government to anticipate and counter threats, using all elements of national power, before the threats can do grave damage. The greater the threat, the greater is the risk of inaction – and the more compelling the case for taking anticipatory action to defend ourselves, even if uncertainty remains as to the time and place of the enemy’s attack. There are few greater threats than a terrorist attack with WMD. To forestall or prevent such hostile acts by our adversaries, the United States will, if necessary, act preemptively in exercising our inherent right of self-defense. The United States will not resort to force in all cases to preempt emerging threats. Our preference is that nonmilitary actions succeed. And no country should ever use preemption as a pretext for aggression.” Reads like an afterthought Main US Doctrines on military interventions Monroe Doctrine Roosevelt Corollary Truman Doctrine Nixon Doctrine Carter Doctrine Reagan Doctrine Bush Doctrine European powers should not interference in the affairs of Western Hemisphere independent states The US should act as an international police power The US should act to prevent communist rule overseas and contain the Soviet Union Reduce direct US military interventions and bolster allies (use of ‘proxies’) The US will intervene military in the Middle East to defend its interests US should ‘rollback’ the Soviet Union through aggressive military buildup and foreign policy The US will act unilaterally and ‘pre-emptively’ ‘American Exceptionalism’ The (false) idea that the US, its society and government, are distinct from, and above, the rest of the world because they were founded as a ‘free’ nation under democratic republicanism => Asserts that the US should assume global leadership and not submit to (foreign-imposed) international law (‘exemptionalism’) US Relative Decline and Exceptionalism Obama's "worldview is dramatically different from any president, Republican or Democrat, we've had...He grew up more as a globalist than an American. To deny American exceptionalism is in essence to deny the heart and soul of this nation.“ Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (2008 Republican Presidential Candidate, and Fox News Talk Show host) ‘Islamic State’ / ‘Daesh’ “America will lead a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat. Our objective is clear: we will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy.” US President Obama, Sept 2014 Conclusion • US has a strong focus upon secure, regulated trading spaces distinct from territorial administration • Early tradition of non-interventionism superseded by ideology of exceptionalism and pragmatic pursuit of self-interest and dominance • Regularly confronted by – its own limits – contradictions of its arguments – back-clash of its numerous and violent ‘interventions’ • Documentaries: ‘The Fog of War’ by Richard Latham (2003) On the ‘rationalization’ of war... Take a very critical view! ‘The New American Century’ by Massimo Mazzuco (2006) On the manipulation of public opinion and illegal conduct of war