US Intervention: Success or Failure?

The US frequently intervenes in foreign countries. This can the take form of supporting one group or leader over another, providing financial aid to one faction, imposing sanctions, sponsoring or actually engaging in a coup, engaging in covert action, spreading propaganda, or actually invading and occupying a country. We should be able, therefore, to look at the history of US foreign intervention and determine whether this has been largely a success or a failure.

Note that for the purposes of this article, I will generally be defining success or failure in terms of the United States own goals and objectives. Success does not necessarily mean the outcome was good or moral, only that the outcome corresponded to US interests. It should also be made clear that just because the US publicly states that a given goal is their aim, we should not assume that is their true aim, we need to look at the broader context. The purpose here is to determine whether US foreign intervention has been productive, from their own point of view.

Gandhi and Non-Violence

Mohandas Gandhi is often hailed as a hero who achieved independence for his country through the use of purely non-violent resistance. He is also famous around the world for his philosophy of non-violence. Unfortunately there are a couple problems with this picture of Gandhi. First, India's independence was not achieved through non-violence alone, despite the common myth. Second, Gandhi's positions on non-violence require complete submission to evil. They would have led to the loss of World War II, a greater genocide of the Jewish people, and many other terrible events. Gandhi was certainly a noble man, with noble goals and many powerful ideas, but is important to understand his true role in history so that we do not learn false lessons. After all, we can only learn from history if we have accurate historical facts.

Guantanamo Bay

The Guantanamo Bay prison is frequently in the news. We often hear about controversy surrounding the prison, the issue of prisoner rights, and speculation on when the prison might finally be closed. One thing rarely discussed, however, is why the US has a naval base in Cuba, and when the Americans plan to leave the country. This is, after all, the only US base in the world located in a country with which the US has no diplomatic relations.

During the nineteenth century, the young United States began a period of expansionism. This included expansion to the west as the "frontier" was pushed back further and further as native peoples were wiped out or ethnically cleansed and their land seized. But the US was also interested in maintaining sole control over the Western hemisphere to the exclusion of European powers. This was formalized in the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. This stated that the US would view any attempts by Europeans to colonize land as an act of aggression, but also that the US would agree to not interfere in European affairs.

Haiti's Long Tragedy

The island of Hispaniola, which today contains the two states of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, had the misfortune to be "discovered" by Christopher Columbus in 1492. The native Taíno peoples called the island by various names, including Ayiti, Bohio, and Kiskeya. The vast majority of the natives would be wiped out in the following years, succumbing to disease, murder, and slavery.

During the 17th century, the Spanish withdrew to the east of the island in order to defend their capital of Santo Domingo, and the French established colonies and took over control of the western part of the island, which they called Saint-Domingue. This is why today, the official language of the Dominican Republic is Spanish and the official languages of Haiti are French and Haitian Creole (a french derivative).

Context in Yemen

Recent news reports have been focusing on the conflict in Yemen, and the potential for an escalation of US involvement. These reports, however, usually provide little historical context that might help in understanding current events. For two centuries Yemen was subjected to invasion, division and colonization. Several foreign governments have intervened militarily on behalf of different factions. These are not situations conducive to stability or peace. Hopefully, by learning from history, we can avoid past crimes and mistakes.

Predictions for 2010

Since this is a site that concerns itself with historical trends, I feel somewhat obligated to make a set of predictions for the coming year. Below I will list five relatively specific predictions for 2010. Next year, we will return to analyze how accurate (or inaccurate) they were. Without further ado, here are the predictions:

1. Space Exploration

NASA will complete its remaining shuttle missions successfully, without accident, though with the possibility of one or two being postponed to 2011. Though it may receive a small increase, NASA will continue to suffer from budget problems, and plans to return to the moon will continue to be delayed. The prospects for the future of space exploration will not improve.

Relative Beauty

The famous expression says "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". And while there is undoubtedly a subjective factor in the perception of beauty, it is much more socially and culturally defined than many believe. Different societies, throughout the world, and throughout history, have held many different views of the "ideal" female form, and this ideal is generally defined by the dominant social class, and almost always by men.

Why the focus on only female beauty? Throughout the vast majority of history, women have had few or no rights. They usually did not have the ability to make choices, whether about a mate, their own bodies, their profession or anything else. It was generally men who made the decisions, either as fathers or husbands, and it is they who determined (for themselves) the value of women. Art and literature were primarily made by and for men. While male beauty was certainly recognized (see many ancient Greek statues, for example, or the work of Michelangelo), this was primarily independent of gender relations.