Foreign relations of the United States

The United States has vast economic, political and military influence on a global scale, which makes its foreign policy a subject of great interest and discussion around the world.

Criticism and responses

Critics of U.S. foreign policy tend to respond that these goals commonly regarded as noble were often overstated and point out what they see as contradictions between foreign policy rhetoric and actions:

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• The mention of peace as opposed to the long list of U.S. military involvements
• The mention of freedom and democracy as opposed to the many former and current dictatorships that receive(d) U.S. financial or military support, especially in Latin America and the Middle East.
• The mention of free trade as opposed to U.S. import tariffs (to protect local industries from global competition) on foreign goods like wood and steel.
• The mention of U.S. generosity as opposed to the low spendings on foreign developmental aid (measured as percentage of GDP) when compared to other western countries.
• The mention of environment safety as opposed to the negative to sign environmental treaties (for instance the Kyoto Protocol)

There are a variety of responses to these criticisms. For instance, some argue that the increased American military involvement around the world is an outgrowth of the inherent instability of the world state system as it existed in the late 19th Century. The inherent failings of this system led to the outbreak of World War I and World War II. The United States has assumed a prominent peacekeeping role, naturally on its own terms, due to the easily demonstrable inter-state insecurity that existed before 1945.

Related Topics:
World War I - World War II

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Other realist critics, such as the late George F. Kennan, have noted that the responsibility of the United States is only to protect the rights of its own citizens, and that therefore Washington should deal with other governments as just that. Heavy emphasis on democratization or nation-building abroad, realists charge, was one of the major tenets of President Woodrow Wilson's diplomatic philosophy. According to realists, the failure of the League of Nations to enforce the will of the international community in the cases of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan in the 1930s, as well as the inherent weakness of the new states created at the Paris Peace Conference, demonstrated the folly of Wilson's idealism.

Related Topics:
Realist - George F. Kennan - United States - Democratization - Nation-building - Woodrow Wilson - League of Nations - Nazi Germany - Fascist Italy - Imperial Japan - 1930s - Paris Peace Conference - Idealism

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There is also criticism of human rights abuse, some of the most important examples are: the U.S.-run detention camps in Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), Abu Ghraib (Iraq) and other places voiced by, e.g. the Council of Europe and Amnesty International. Amnesty International in its Amnesty International Report 2005 says that: "the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay has become the gulag of our times" http://web.amnesty.org/report2005/message-eng. This report also mentions the use of double standards in the US government: the US president "has repeatedly asserted that the USA was founded upon and is dedicated to the cause of human dignity". (Theme of his speech to the UN General Assembly in Sep 2004). But some memorandums emerged after the Abu Ghraib scandal "suggested that the administration was discussing ways in which its agents could avoid the international ban on torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" http://web.amnesty.org/report2005/intro-index-eng.

Related Topics:
Guantanamo Bay - Cuba - Abu Ghraib - Iraq - Council of Europe - Amnesty International - Amnesty International Report 2005 - Gulag - Double standards - Human dignity - UN General Assembly - Sep 2004 - Torture - Cruel - Inhuman - Degrading treatment

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