A World Of Peace Foreign Policy Essay

, Research Paper

A WORLD OF PEACE

Imagine yourself as a citizen. of another country. Whether it may be China, Russia, or England. Your view of actions that America takes will be far different from those who live in America. Basically, America stands for many things all around the world. Good, bad or in between, our actions as a country, I believe, are rarely understood or justified. Do we really need to concern ourselves with their opinions. Usually America’s best interests are not the same interests of other countries. However, for the most part our political leaders do act in the best interests of the U.S. Despite countries with negative opinions of the U.S., America is highly respected because of actions taken in the past or present to assist other nations in times of need. Things such as the Marshall Plan were great aids for other countries.. After WW II, help start Europeans or starting the Peace Corp aided third world countries. Actions such as these cannot go without notice and appreciation by other nations.

America as a moral leader and authority

“For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of the people are upon us,”-John Winthrop 1630.

The ideas behind this realm of foreign policy are to “provide international leadership based on the shared norms of humanity and standards of international behavior and set a principle example for others to follow. A clear illustration of this objective is seen in America’s action in operation restored hope in Somalia. In 1992 the Somalian people were suffering horribly under the rule of several warlords that were constantly clashing and cared little for humanitalism. Accompanied by the Ghost of 500,000 dead Somalis, an expanded peace effort began. In December 1992, a UN peace keeping force led by 2,000 U.S. Marines were sent to restore order, while other international agencies attempted the difficult task of food distribution and other humanitarian aid. This intervention was historical. It was the first time the United Nations ever intervened without the permission in the affairs of an independent nation. Over the next two years 50,000 people were killed in factional fighting, and an estimated 300,000 died of starvation because it was impossible to transport through their war ravaged country. The violence continued in the country and peace keeping forces became involuntarily involved. A number of UN soldiers were killed and under international pressure, critical of its operations, the UN force was withdrawn in 1994. In mid 1994 the first of the U.S. troops left Somalia having failed in their task of peace. Warring Somalia clan leaders had been unable to find any common ground for agreement, and international relief organizations were forced to suspend operations because of wide spread looting. As soon as all agencies began leaving, Somalia’s law and order broke down and warlords resumed their fractional fighting. A massive hunt for the warlord general Aidid was launched, and several American causalities were included. Eventually, U.S. President Bill Clinton abandoned the hunt for Aidid and looked for a political solution. However, Somalia, although it had received some food to alleviate famine, in effect remained without a government. Though total peace was not obtained, benefits from the project were many while violence in Somalia interfered with international famine efforts between December 3, 1992 and May 4, 1993. The amount of humanitarian assistance was countless. Citizens now had homes, schools for their children, places to get medical care and food to eat. Unfortunately many of these aspects were overlooked because of the fact that overall peace sadly had not been achieved.

Providing global or regional security

The meaning of this objective is “to establish, preserve and enhance peace and stability through means such as formal institutions, alliance building, mutual cooperation deterrence, the projection of power, and the use of military force.”

In the years after World War II, many Western leaders saw the policies of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) as threatening to stability and peace. The forcible installation of Communist governments throughout Eastern Europe, territorial demands by the Soviets, and their support of guerrilla war in Greece, and regional separatism in Iran appeared to many as the first steps of World War III. Such events prompted the signing of the Dunkirk Treaty in 1947 between Britain and France, pledging common defense against aggression. Subsequent events, including the rejection by Eastern European nations of the European Recovery Program (Marshall Plan) and the creation of Cominform, a European Communist organization in 1947, led to the Brussels Treaty signed by most Western European countries in 1948. Among the goals of that pact was the collective defense of its members. The Berlin blockade that began in March 1948, led to negotiations between Western Europe, Canada, and the United States that resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), is a regional defense alliance, formed under Article 9 of the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed on April 4, 1949. The original signatories were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United States. Greece and Turkey were admitted to