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America in the World - from Vietnam to the Middle Eastby Dr. Steven A. Leibo. Professor of International History and Politics, Sage College
This is the recap of a talk given at the September 8, 2002 CDHS monthly meeting.
Dr. Steven A Leibo, Professor of International History and Politics, Sage College, and Commentator for WAMC Northeast Public Radio, spoke with us at the September meeting on how the U.S. views itself in relation to the rest of the world. Noting that, psychologically, the Vietnam War is still very much a part of America, he began by describing the study tours to Vietnam he is involved with. The Sage College Learning and Reconciliation Study Tours include Vietnam veterans, academics, college students and Vietnamese Americans. The next one is planned for the spring of 2003. The large size of the U.S. has shaped how Americans view the rest of the world. For much of our history we haven’t had significant enemies and oceans have prevented the frequent invasions suffered by other countries. Because of our insulation, it is possible to forget there is anyone else out there and consequently have little understanding of them. As an example, Dr. Leibo described President McKinley’s reaction when he heard we conquered the Philippines. He had to consult a globe to see where it was. By considering itself to be unique, the U.S. also suffers from the "the myth of exceptionalism". For much of U.S. history we could control our fate. After WWII there was a re-embrace of the world and the US became more international. Dr. Leibo says this was mainly because the U.S. commitment to capitalism led to a commitment to anti-communism. The U.S. was fundamentally involved in building political and economic institutions (World Bank, NATO, etc) that showed it spoke the language of internationalism. For this the world tolerated the U.S. and, during the early years, the U.S. was happy with what the UN did. Militarily, we are so far ahead of everyone else that no one can catch up. This has allowed the following mix of old and startling new ideas, manifested in the current conservative administration, to emerge: 1. Having the goodwill of the rest of the world is unnecessary and alliance building can be put aside. We don’t need friends in the world and our security is not tied up with the the larger world’s goodwill. Leibo notes that this distrust of internationalism is ironic, given the past history of the U.S. in creating institutions to promote internationalism. President Bush doesn’t feel he needs approval from the rest of the world and he only seeks it for political cover. This tendency to forget the rest of the world exists and take little interest in its opinion of us is troubling. 2. Money and technology allow warfare without much American bloodshed. This makes war easy. Today, as the last super power after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S. spends $390 billion a year on the military. This has placed us in a new international position. With today’s technology, the U.S. could destroy the infrastructure of the 3rd Reich in a couple of days. Leibo points out that it’s frightening to think war is easy when warfare is actually more dangerous than anything else we fear. 3. War can be waged preemptively. A preemptive war is a dangerous precedent for the most powerful country to be setting and the U.S. is becoming even more alienated from a large part of the world. Before 9/11, wars were between nation states. The Bush Administration is having trouble changing focus now that our enemies are not confined to a particular location. Although retaliating on a nation state worked in Afghanistan (al Qaida/Taliban were closely integrated), it now appears that Iraq is being "set up". This preemptive war would weaken the war on terrorism by alienating us from other countries that could help us fight the al Qaida cells. Although throughout history there have been groups that wanted to destroy everything and start over, this is the first time they can get the technology to do it. The U.S. is focusing on Iraq, but Leibo says the worst threats are future al Qaida attacks and the fact that weapons of mass destruction have now been democratized. Terrorists can strike us and we won’t know where to strike back. We need to cultivate the world’s goodwill because we need their help to fight the war on terror. Leibo suggests that one of the things the U.S. must do is have a conversation with itself about what it means to be so powerful in the world and what we should do about it. Resources: "Current History" - A monthly Journal. "The World Today Series" - Updated annually. Including: East, Southeast Asia, and the Western Pacific 2001, 34th edition by Steven A. Leibo; The Middle East and South Asia 2001, 35th edition by Malcolm B Russell | |