Question:
What factors determine American Intervention in a any crisis ? ? ?
· Is it domestic security?
· Interest of Allies
· Economic interests / self interests
· Balance of power
· Preservation of democracy
· Influence of domestic pressure groups
· Or simply if intervention in the crisis would change the way
American might is viewed ?
Given the way the recent attitudes of the administration have varied
towards crises in the Balkans Somalia / Haiti and the middles east one
wonders what is that would make the sole superpower to intervene ?
Given its position as the sole superpower in Military / Technology and
economics does America have a right or duty to intervene?
Answer:
None of the above. These all have _some_ influence, of course. But what
it comes down to is:
1) The President, for whatever combination of reasons, thinks that
intervention is a good idea and/or is something which _has_ to be done.
(For example, because preparations under the previous President have gone
so far that it would be awkward to stop now. This can apply even if the
previous President belonged to the other major party and his successor
considers that ex-President to be terminally stupid.)
2) Congress isn't strongly enough opposed to intervention to say "Pull
the troops out NOW, or you'll never get cooperation from us again."
> Given its position as the sole superpower in Military / Technology and
> economics does America have a right or duty to intervene?
I'm beginning to think that there _can't_ be a sole superpower; that
there have to be at least two. There's a joke about a small town lawyer
who couldn't get enough business to remain solvent -- till another lawyer
moved in.
Opinion in the US ranges from "The Hell with the rest of the world! Don't
send troops outside our territory, ever!" to "It's our duty to make sure
other countries emulate the American Way of Life." Sometimes the two
combine in the same person as something like "We should police other
countries to make sure they leave us alone."
Whether the US has either a right or a duty to intervene is a
philosophical question.
