~ American Justice
Americans have a history of butting their heads where they don’t belong.
Take the Cuban situation in 1963, just before President John F Kennedy came into power. Cuba at the time was run by a military dictator called Batista, and even though the people suffered needlessly under this ruthless leader the Americans saw him as no threat to their economy. Not only this, but they preferred things the way they were because American gambling companies and hotels were allowed to do business in Cuba without trouble from the government. This was the only reason the Cuban situation remained the way it was for so long.
When a young, ambitions politician named Fidel Castro led a group of rebels against Batista, the Americans measured the odds and decided to support him. Not because they wanted to see the dictator taken down. Because the Cubans liked Castro, and if the Americans chose not to support him they would be made out to be enemies in Cuba and their precious vacation spot would be shut down. So they gave their support to Fidel Castro and he overthrew the Cuban government.
Although this was what the Americans had set out to do, as soon as Castro gained power he immediately began to nationalize the entire country. This came as a harsh blow to the Americans in the way that because of the Cold War they were sworn against Communism of any kind, fearing the infamous Domino Effect. They believed that should one country fall to communism, the ones around it would follow suit, until eventually the entire world was rallied against them. So, although the Americans denied the event later, a group of CIA agents were sent to Cuba with the mission of taking out Castro and his new government. However, a supposed Cuban traitor betrayed the secret mission to Castro and the agents were slaughtered in what is known today as the “Bay of Pigs.” As well as becoming known as one of America’s greatest military disasters, the Bay of Pigs served to open Castro’s eyes to the American threat, forcing him to turn to their nemesis, the Soviet Union. This would eventually lead to one of the greatest nuclear scares of all time—the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Those who say history repeats itself aren’t kidding. A similar situation occurs today, this time on the other side of the world. The Iraqi former president, Saddam Hussein, not only gained power through a coup similar to Castro’s but also had the support of the American military. Because Hussein’s competition was primarily communist and there was no hint of a democratic power involved, the American saw him as the lesser of two evils. And now, years after, and even though Iraq has never before posed a threat to the U.S at any time whatsoever and even though their claims for lauching that horrid war was totaly falsified, the U.S went on and waged two wars on Iraq, and eventualy occupied it under the their false claims of justice and to this day, innocent people are being killed in iraq under the same claims of false justice.
And now the U.S wants to enforce its rules on Iran and prohibit it from owning nuclear weapons, becuase apaprently this threatens the stability of peace in the reagion, yet it continues to support israel and its right for owning nuclear arms, and what about north korea? they’ve declared they have weapons of mass destruction yet no war has been waged against them? is it becuase the U.S only understand the language of Power? is american justice only applied to the weak?
The United States of America has more power today than any single country in the world. But instead of wielding this power efficiently for the sake of the greater good, they are little more than children playing with fire. Their motives, while made to seem pure, are actually only in their own interests. How much longer might the public of the Middle East have suffered, if not for the terrorist scare and it’s resulting denunciation of the Al-Qaida Regime? How many people would have suffered needlessly before action was taken? It is positively sickening to see the death and destruction of the World Trade Center belittled to the form of propaganda against the “alleged” Middle East terrorist groups. Even if the concern was sincere, what then can be said about the rest of it? Millions of men, women, and children die of starvation alone in Africa and all over the world, and the media focuses not on them, but on the thousand and some-odd Americans that died in New York? and die in Iraq, A tragedy, but a number far less than those that have died already of more humane and dramatic causes. Not to mention that the american casualities have always come as a direct results of america foreign affairs policies, every action has a reaction.America is powerful. Very much so. But power cannot come without responsibility. The American government must learn to figure this out for themselves, or bring about not only their own destruction but that of possibly the entire world. Anyone that can hold the fate of a country in their hands must be able to accept responsibility for said country as far as the effect of their decisions might reach. They must take into account not only their own lives, but those of the ones they seek power over. American justice has become a joke, and because so much rests on their decisions they need to learn how to make the right ones, before something irrevocable happens and ruins this jewel of a world.
June 6th, 2006 at 9:26 am
Every country acts in their best interest. This fact should not be so shocking, nor appalling, since everyone is guilty. In fact, the “reason” America attacked Saddam in the first place was due to the fact that he was attempting to take over Kuwait for personal gain.
As for historical points, don’t forget that the Americans aided Afghanistan during the Cold War in order to stem the tide of Russian advancement. Twenty years later, once the situation had changed, Afghanistan became the target.
Also we have other issues of tyranny, brutality or oppression, such as Vietnam, Somalia and the former Yugoslavic nations, where America stepped in to “assist” in the situation. While each of these situations may not have been completely effective, you can’t say that America acted out of personal gain (a loss of American troops and multiple-billions of dollars with no chance of repayment).
I won’t say that American always reacts justly or rightly, but were the tables turned, it is doubtful that any other country would react differently. It’s easy to point the finger from the outside looking in. After all, everyone thinks their opinion—as limited and as narrow as it might be—is best.
June 9th, 2006 at 2:28 am
Your view of American interventionism is historically shallow and flawed. Before America developed its recent tendency to “butt its head where it doesn’t belong”, the US had a strong inclination to isolate itself from the recurring troubles of the outside world. Unfortunately, those troubles demanded its attentions, often at a detriment to its own interests. For instance, the US very reluctantly entered world war I only after the civilian atrocities in Belgium and on the Atlantic compelled its participation to end the European bloodletting, at a cost of tens of thousands of American lives — yes, for the greater good. More recently, the US was once again dragged into world war II despite persistent and sophisticated efforts to keep out of it without betraying its moral values. Indeed, only after it was directly attacked did it fully participate, again at enormous material and human cost, and again motivated to sacrifice for the greater good.
The Cold War actions of the US, which you allude to so glibbly, cannot be viewed out of the context of these 20th Century tragedies. Although the Soviet menace ultimately whithered and died of its own poor design, the US had every reason to objectively fear its threat. After all, the Soviets immediately renounced the principles of the Yalta agreement and ruthlessly extinquished any hope that the people within its occupied sphere of infuence could engage in any political or social self-realization. More to the point, the Soviet’s murder of at least 20 million of its own civilians (independent of WWII) was sufficient justification for America’s anticommunist foreign policy — don’t you think. Which brings us, in part, to Cuba. If the Cubans, as you claim, “liked Castro” so much, why have thousands upon thousands risked their lives to cross the narrow but treachorous seas that separate Cuba from the southern US? Why are political dissidents jailed and executed under this benevolent dictatorship? Contrary to your claim, the “Bay of Pigs” wasn’t carried out by “CIA agents”, but rather by Cuban ex-patriots intent on taking back their country. As such, it wasn’t a “US military defeat” (in fact, the US resisted providing decisive air and artillary support); though it certainly was a political one. The operation was funded by the US because the Cuban ex-patriots shared common principles, and therefore, the US provided logistical and material support, again, for the greater good of the Cuban populace. If Castro really represented a direct threat to US interests, let’s face it, he wouldn’t still be there.
The remainder of your argument is, frankly, contradictory. Are you criticizing the US for taking action in Iraq or not taking action soon enough? You can’t have it both ways. As a US citizen, I agree that the US should not be and should not have gone into Iraq. But the reasons aren’t so simplistic as you surmise. True, Saddam proved himself to be a brutal and dangerous dictator.
February 17th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
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