Wilsonian Perspective of the World

I feel that the first chapter of the reading is especially relevant when viewed in context that today is the Inauguration of President Obama, and we may experience a "new" place in the world when it is obvious that we will be continuing in the same manner as before, though with some minute details. I am simply worried that with the shift to a "softer" form of diplomacy, individuals will approach a militarily inefficient way of combating threats in the name of a "peaceful" and "respectful" way of doing business. As Bacevich admits on page fifty of his text, The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War, Colin Powell made a mistake by trying to make the Gulf War a quick event without any gratuitous killing (Bacevich 50). This permitted a large part of enemy Iraqi Combatants to continue to be used as a resource for Saddam Hussein to impose a tyrannical regime. Also referenced in the text was the concession made to allow Iraqi helicopters to continue to fly, which were then used to put down dissenting forces within the Iraqi border (Bacevich 50). Within this context, I feel that it is important not to view the Iraq War as a unique and singular war in itself, but rather the result of the continuation of bad policy and poor wartime decisions that have effected the American presence in the Middle East. I feel it is ignorant to blame Bush for our problems in Iraq, though mistakes were made in how that war was conducted, our issues and interests in the Middle East have existed for a long time.

One way I believe our dependence on militarism in the Middle East could be decreased would be by making our interests there less vital. Though I personally believe that the Iraqi War was fought for more reasons than simply oil, it is a major factor that extends from beyond the ideological sphere and into the everyday domestic world within the most culturally sheltered part of American society: suburbia. One can believe in global warming or not, but I believe it simply makes political and economic sense to emphasize alternative sources that take advantage of the natural resources of the United States. This is not so much a call to isolationism, as the United States depends on its living standards to a degree on the labor and resources of other nations, but the ability to seal off one way other countries can try to effect our living standard and economic prosperity.

Andrew J. Bacevich, The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.