What should our foreign policy look like? Focusing on general philosophy or a particular country, explain how you think the U.S. should proceed with ensuring our national security.
With threats of terror across the world rising, our country has been extremely cautious in the area of national security. The Middle Eastern powers and the communist countries of Asia are very critical of the western world. After the September eleventh attacks on our country we started war with terrorist groups in some of these countries. In some ways, this increased the threat of these groups to attack our American soil. In the issue of foreign policy, our country should increase its security and keep a right level of privacy for its citizens. Since September eleventh, America has upgraded its security to a great extent and is trying to make strides to control other countries in four major ways. First, airport security has upgraded to make sure that no terrorists enter airplanes to crash them into buildings. Second, the government is monitoring citizens of the United States to make sure that terrorist activity and bombing threats are not taking place. Third, the American soldiers have invaded in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to stop terrorism and take down terrorist groups. Finally, on April 7, 2010 the United States and Russia have signed the Nuclear Arms Reduction Pact, a treaty reducing the two countries’ nuclear arms and initiating working together to reduce nuclear arms in the world. However, American citizens have taken great concern with some of these tactical ways of the government. For example, the USA PATRIOT Act and the Foreign Surveillance Act were signed into law by President Bush and are under scrutiny. As stated in the Acts themselves, these laws give authorities more availability and legality to search telephone, e-mail, medical, financial, and other personal and private records, and if a person is found suspicious, they can be monitored by the government. Americans argue that this takes away certain freedoms and can be considered profiling because they target certain people. However, if people are found and targeted by the government and found guilty, then the American people should accept these laws because they are keeping America safe. Thousands of people have also taken issue over the war on terror. They protest that it is not justifiable and we do not need to have our troops risking their lives over there. They believe these matters should be settled more by diplomacy and less by the bloodshed of innocent people. Some will even argue that biblically this war is not justifiable. However, In Ecclesiastes 3:8 it is says there is “a time for war and a time for peace.” When the World Trade Center was blown to bits, God was telling us it was a time for war. Until the war on terror is officially finished, wiretapping and civilian surveillance will continue to ensure our safety. The war should not finish entirely either until terrorist powers are brought to justice, but as we read in class in the article “President Obama’s Stance on National Security,” President Obama has announced that he plans to end the war starting in August of 2010. This will not completely ensure American peace. Only elimination of the enemy powers will end this need for strong national security.
To be safe, we must be strong. We must be trusted by our allies and feared by our enemies. To do this we must be consistently stead with the obligations we make to other countries. For example, Bush promised to put a missile defense shield around Poland and then Obama backed out of that obligation. That is not good. That will make our allies not trust our word. Plus, it does not help possibly having a different president every 4 years. Without strong allies, we have to stand alone in the world and this is not a safe situation.
We also need to be feared by our enemies. In the above example, we backed out on a promise to Poland to appease Russia who is an enemy. Even though we are not in a military engagement with them, they are jealous of our position and want to harm us. We look weak by giving into their demand to pull out of the agreement with Poland. Actions like this make other enemies like Iran feel confident in overcoming us.
Enemy nations, like North Korea, China, Russia, and Iran, want us to be diminished so they can be bigger in the world. They hate us because of jealousy. They want us to be weak. Weakness encourages attack, which is what we need to avoid. For example, China recently threatened to sell off all of our bonds that they hold because they wanted us to behave differently in foreign affairs. This is a financial threat that was levied against us because we looked weak militarily with Russia and Iran.
President Reagan believed in peace through strength. The stronger we are, the more secure our allies will feel and the more our enemies will fear us. In the 1980’s he was accused of being a war monger and of putting America in danger. But, he ended the cold war with Russia, brought unity to Germany, and kept us safe for decades. His ideas were proven effective. We need to follow Reagan’s example. We need to be tough on our enemies and take care of our friends. Today, we are picking on Israel and appeasing Iran. This is backward. Iran openly seeks our destruction and the destruction of Israel, our closest ally in the region; therefore, we should not bother Israel to please Iran.
The only way to peace is through strength. In America, peace is kept in our streets through the strength of the police. The idea is that the fear of police action will keep the criminals in check. In international affairs, there is no police force to do this like within our own country. The only way to be safe internationally is through strength that makes our enemies too afraid to attack us. If we want to be successful, this concept is the key to our international affairs.
Our foreign policy needs and national security needs to be somewhat strict. We need to be able to feel safe and know that our country is doing its best to protect us from terrorists and any other countries that might try to harm us. If the U.S. is involved in other countries and is promoting stability in those countries, then it is doing its job. One really important thing to consider in keeping the country safe is the definition of terrorism. If there is no set definition, then there is no standard for when the U.S. should attack. We need to know what exactly defines terrorism so the country as a whole can be in agreement on when we attack. If all are in agreement then everyone will work harder and make our efforts more successful in general. War is a necessary thing to achieve some goals. It does need to be just and there needs to be a legitimate cause. Even the Bible says that there is a time for war and a time for peace. If other countries attack us, then we need to go to war to defend ourselves. We can threaten all we want, but without actually acting on it once in a while, those other countries will learn that the U.S. is just giving empty threats that really don’t affect them. Again, it is the duty of the U.S. government to protect its citizens. If that means airport security is tightened up, then that’s what it takes. If they feel they need to register or somehow keep track of anyone who is suspected of being involved with terrorism, then that is their duty. With all the issues and threats there is against the nation, we need to be checking all suspects. Yes, they are all innocent until proven guilty. However, we should be doing all we can to find out if they are truly innocent or guilty. That way we will keep our nation a little bit more secure.
Foreign policy is a detrimental to how other nations will treat and regard your country. The United States of America’s foreign policy should be to help other faltering countries to establish democracy and a stable economy. For those who already have this, the U.S. should establish peaceful and good economic relations. And those states that are in any way affiliated with terrorism or any form of suspicious behavior that could potentially harm our country. We should cut ties and not provide them with any form of support intentionally or unintentionally. Our biggest foreign policy objective should be promoting and helping to establish peace in the Middle East. As we are one of their biggest customers when it comes to buying oil it is in our best interest to achieve this goal and insure we will not lose our main source of fueling our nation. The Middle East is a breeding ground of terrorists, so peace and stable government would help to keep tabs on what is going on. An example is Iraq; we are heavily invested with our time, money, and loss of lives. According to NBC, the Obama administration’s plan for ending the war in Iraq is a four-fold process. First withdrawing 1-2 brigades a month, effort to enforce political stability, increased regional diplomacy, and finally financial aid. Without our military presence and with the lack of political stability the country would fall into the hands of the strongest terrorist organization. We must keep our military in until the Iraq military and government is strong enough to avoid corruption and fight terrorism. Another foreign policy objective is to decrease the amount of nuclear weapons available in the world. North Korea is a particularly big threat to several other countries with its trying to develop nuclear warheads. In a report by the NPS foundation they talked about North Koreas most recent nuclear test. The North Korean government claims they developed the bomb “to enhance the Republic’s self-defensive nuclear deterrent.” A major step for our foreign policy would be to get them to dismantle their nuclear weapons and get rid of the waste as cleanly as possible. In conclusion, I’ll talk about our policy of just war. Foreign policies do not always work as planned. When things go off track and need to be fixed, in extreme cases, war is declared. For us to go to war, we have to make sure we calculate everything to see if there are any other options and the probability of success. In the Bible, in Exodus 15:3, it says “the Lord is a man of war.” War is not a thing that should not be thought of lightly but when protecting those in need and defending against a foreign invader of whatever kind we must stand up and do what is right.
Foreign Policy is the actions or strategies that a country takes to help interact with other countries. The United States is well known for their current foreign policy with Iraq, because we are currently at war with them. In our foreign policy with Iraq there are a few goals we are trying to reach. The main goal is to end this war, and to get our troops back home. President Obama said that he wants to end all combat missions by August 31, 2010. That is approaching us very soon, and so far it does not look like we are getting anywhere. The reasoning behind ending the combat missions is so that Iraq Security will have full responsibility when it comes to combat missions. The main mission for the United States right now in Iraq is to train, equip, and advise the Iraqi Security forces. By the year 2011, President Obama plans to remove all troops out of Iraq and have this war over with. One problem that I see here is that we keep sending more and more troops to Iraq, that it is going to be so hard to get them all out of there in such short time. Iraq has pretty much dug themselves a hole when it comes to foreign policy. During the 1970’s the United States has sort of a friendship with Iraq, and was helping Iraq with some of the war problems during this time. By the end of the 1970’s however, Iraq and the United States friendship and been destroyed. Today though people feel that the United States has failed with our current foreign policy with Iraq, the war has changed everybody’s out look on things. In conclusion, the United States and Iraq have been on rocky grounds for quite some time now when it comes to our foreign policy. It may take some time to patch things up, but I feel the best thing to do right now is to solve our problems with the War.
One of our country’s largest threats on national security is North Korea. Our foreign policy towards North Korea needs to be comprehensive, because there are many challenges to overcome in order to have good relations with a communist country. With Kim Jong Il as the leader of North Korea, we must be willing to compromise. If we can somehow encourage North Korea to come back to the six-party talks, then we will be able to compromise with them and theoretically make North Korea denuclearize. Recently, North Korea’s Kim Jong Il met with Chinese president Hu Jintao. Kim Jong Il arranged this meeting because he might want North Korea to re-enter the six-party talks conditionally. It has been said that North Korea will return to the six-party talks and make somewhat of a peace treaty with the United States. North Korea will only do this if the United States ends the conflict on the Korean Peninsula and removes the United Nations sanctions against North Korea. The United States should take this as a golden opportunity to improve our foreign policy with North Korea. The United States should try to change the conditions a bit, because if the U.S. were to lift the U.N. sanctions, then North Korea would have free reign to export weapons as well as sail ships around carrying many nuclear weapons. Because North Korea is such a nuclear threat to the U.S., we cannot simply lift the U.N. sanctions. The United States should do their best to get North Korea back to the six-party talks, but they need to keep the relative safety of their country in mind. By getting North Korea to join the six-party talks again, the United States, Russia, China, Japan, and South Korea can work with North Korea and try to make them reduce their number of nuclear weapons. This would be a huge step towards good foreign policy with North Korea. Because there are no other posts, I cannot comment on other students’ ideas.
When America began to grow into such a dominating country, their relationship with foreign countries became increasingly more important. Early American leaders had to develop relationships with leaders from Spain and other countries in able to insure that they would maintain the safety and success of the country. Today foreign affairs are still very important. We are dependent on other countries for both protection and also for different supplies. However, whether we deal with other countries in the best way is debatable. It is undeniable that the U.S. needs to have the relationships that it has with other countries. Our relationship with Great Britain has been vital to the success of many military operations as well as the many advancements made in nuclear technology. I believe that it is necessary to work with other countries on many things and it is important to have treaties and be able to work with other countries. If we shelter ourselves from the rest of the world, not only will we be even more likely to be attacked, but if we need help, there won’t be anyone who is prepared or even willing to help us. However, there are some obvious problems with the U.S. foreign affairs as well. An obvious problem is the concern that so many hours, dollars, and people’s minds are occupied with helping other countries that we don’t fix the problems our own country is dealing with. Most people would agree that because America is the powerhouse of the world they should be the first country to step up and help others. I completely agree that a country that is economically stable should reach out to other countries, but I also think that, considering our current economic crisis, America needs to fix America before putting as many resources into other countries as we have the tendency of doing. Other problems such as money, a president’s ability to deal with foreign ambassadors and spending so much effort on a cause that may never come through also contribute to the difficulties of the U.S. Foreign Affairs. Though the U.S. has a mostly successful system, it is, like all systems, sometimes faulty. I feel like America should prioritize its own safety and well-being before handling foreign affairs of somewhat lesser important things. However, I do realize that those things are also vital to America’s success. In conclusion, I think that America’s foreign policy is effective, but more focus should be put on our safety and in building protective relationships with other countries.
*I wrote my blog entry before any others were posted so there are no responses
The United States has done a great job of foreign policy. The government did not just sit back when we were attacked, but retaliated. The United States is now trying to solve this increasing problem of terrorism. We as a nation have the right idea of foreign policy and I will discuss what the current policy is and what good foreign policy looks like. Also I will discuss the Biblical view of War. Our current foreign policy is most active and evident in the war on terror. The United States is currently at war against terrorism. This war is being fought in Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. We are trying to root out terrorist leaders to put a stop to the threat they pose to the well being of America. Many do not think that the war is just or a good idea for us to go through with. The United Nations, which is like a major regulator for foreign policy, even opposes the war. In my opinion the U.S. has all the right to go to war and protect t ourselves. Just last week there was a car bomb in New York. The perpetrator was a U.S. citizen and according to the article by Omar Waraich in Times magazine had gone to Pakistan and got training and then came back to the U.S. to wreak havoc. This is a concrete example of why the army should be in the Middle East protecting U.S. citizens from escapades like this. The United States is a good model for countries to follow. The government is taking steps to protect its citizens by eliminating those who wish to cause harm. Also the U.S. does not go and needlessly kill people but has clear objectives and protects the native citizens. Countries should take a realistic or realpolitik approach to foreign policy. This approach is taking steps that are small but practical and have been shown to work. This approach does not wield huge prominent results but does produce good reliable results none the less. The other approach that countries can take, which I do not recommend, is an idealistic approach. In this approach a country sets a goal that is there vision of perfect conditions and then takes steps to achieve that goal. This approach is not wrong but often a country can set an unrealistic goal or take too big of steps that are not practical or accepted by the native citizens. I suggest a country takes small steps that that work toward a better future instead of setting an unrealistic goal that does not get put into place and leaves everyone dissatisfied. The United Nations has set up guidelines that they see as just causes to go to war. These guidelines are very good to follow and to look at and see if war is the right answer for the country. They include aspects of just cause, right intention, probability of success, and proportionality. All of these reflect what stands for good reasons to go to war. The Bible supports war in the, used over and over again in these blogs, Ecclesiastes 3:8, "There is a time for war and a time for peace." This verse explains itself. another times in the Bible that reference war is Deuteronomy 20 which is a chapter dedicated to the correct way to go to war. This shows that God knows war will happen and he shows the correct way a country should handle war. The United States is a strong country and will continue to be a world power and a refuge for many if they continue on the path of foreign policy it is on.
The United States foreign relations with Iran have been rocky. According to the American Foreign Policy Project, the U.S. government has missed several opportunities to peacefully negotiate with Iran over the past three decades. The U.S needs to open up negotiations with Iran for their nuclear program, democracy, and other country disputes. Despite attempts to negotiate with Iran over their nuclear program, the overall affect has been almost nonexistent. The U.S. should try to negotiate with Iran to put their nuclear program under international surveillance. Iran would still be allowed to run their program at a limited scale with stricter safety rules. This would at least be a start to convincing Iran to get rid of their program. Stopping Iran’s program cold turkey is not rational. Attempting to get them to do this may cause even more problems than there already is. The main idea is to convince them to not make nuclear war heads. That is the only thing the U.S. should be concerned with now as far as the nuclear program goes. Iran has an issue with democracy and freedom in general. The U.S. should help promote freedom throughout Iran as well as other countries. If the U.S. tries to force freedoms upon the Iranians, they will only reject it because it won’t seem free. The U.S. should only help Iran with democracy and freedoms if they ask for it. Iran has had natural problems with other countries. It has a great influence over its neighbors Iraq and Afghanistan. After 9/11 Iran showed that they can be a powerful ally or a thorn in the side. Israel sees Iran as a threat even when they are not threatened. It is easy to understand how this is possible with the current state of Iran’s nuclear program. Israel is concerned that Iran is trying to set themselves up as a world power according to the former foreign minister of Israel. The U.S. should try to aid Iran in making negotiations with other countries they are having problems with. Steven makes a valid point in stating that we cannot let other countries see us as weak. Weakness would almost invite them to attack. However, we should be focused on making negotiations with them to better our relations. Good relations with other countries will lessen the threat from them.
One of the biggest threats to our national security today is north Korea. With the access that North Korea has to Nuclear Weapons, we need to crack down on them and try to get those weapons out of their possession. According to cbs, North Korea has failed to come to an agreement on nuclear weapons with the united states and several othe participating countries.
President Obama has been working on trying to make a truce with the unstable country, but the united states has so far been unable to achieve this goal. North Korea has been doing weird things for years and they could make an unexpected attack on us if we let our guard up. America has been successful in reducing some of the nuclear weapons, but that still isn't all of them and leaves margin for attack.
Also, ever since September eleventh, we have cracked down on airport security, but what good does that do when we have nuclear weapon threats that can't be prevented like a terrorist on a plane. We need to work on having security and a watchful eye on our enemies. In Ecclesiastes 3:8 it says there is “a time for war and a time for peace," well now we have been shown that this is a time for war with all the threats from North Korea and especially after the bombing of the twin towers.
Our defense and national security for foreign policy is a huge thing for the United States. We went to war with Iraq in order to secure our safety and so we wouldn't have to relive 9/11. If we leave North Korea too much power then we could be going to war all over again which probably is one of the only ways to ensure that we will be safe here in America.
Our U.S. foreign policy is a very difficult balance so maintain. We have to take out all threats without racial profiling or following certain stereotypes. We need to seem strong to all other countries so they will not be encouraged to attack us. We also need to be able to react quickly and effectively to terrorist attacks. A very difficult situation is attempting to stop all terrorist attacks without racially profiling or stopping certain actions and people that are stereotypical of terrorists. Because on those occasions when our people are wrong a lot of trouble occurs even though a majority of the time we are correct. So possibly a more effective and secretive way of checking people and catching terrorists before it happens would be very beneficial to our country. We need to as a country keep our appearance to other countries as strong. People may see this as wrong but having a strong country in all aspects will possibly deter other terrorists from attacking us. I mean no one wants go against an insanely strong force. Even if we are not that strong just the appearance along could help, and striving to be our best as a country never hurt. Having a quick reaction time to terrorist attacks are crucial either catching the terrorists or acting upon strong counter measures. We need to fight back so the terrorists don’t think they can do whatever they want with no other effects. Also dealing with the damage of what has happened quickly will make us stronger as a whole and seeing it not hurting us as much will make it less worth it for the terrorist. Because the terrorists just want to hurt us and if we make it seem less painful it will help. Strengthening these areas will very much help which I believe we are. So I think we should continue on our course but improve in these areas. By taking away the pain from their attacks and being able to fight back to them or even stop them before they start will most defiantly slow down the attacks
I think that our foreign policy should ensure our nation’s security with countries not only across the Atlantic, but also close to home. Security issues between the U.S. and Mexico have become even more hectic as the number of illegal immigrants that enter the U.S. every year increases as well as the amount of violence due to drug trafficking. In order to effectively cripple the increasing rates of these two problems the United States must increase the amount of security along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The U.S. has tried various ways of preventing illegal immigrants from crossing the border such as the Secure Border Initiative (SBI) or commonly known as the “great wall of Mexico”. The completion of at least 700 miles by December 31, 2008 was the goal of the Department of Homeland Security but the actual completion of 643.3 miles of fencing was completed on January 22, 2010. As effective as the wall is expected to be, I think that increasing security on the border would still be best because if a person wants to gain entry into a country illegally, that individual will do so by any means necessary. Scaling a wall or fence would be relatively easy depending on where the wall or fence is located. However, scaling a wall or fence that is continually watched by guards is much harder to accomplish. I also think that Arizona’s new immigration law that makes it a crime under state law to be in the country illegally should be implemented in every southern state connected with the U.S.-Mexican border. The federal government estimates that Arizona has lost approximately 18 percent of its population of illegal immigrants because of Arizona’s laws against illegal immigration. The implementation of this law to all states would greatly lower illegal immigrants.
Another problem the U.S. faces with Mexico is drug trafficking across the border. On May 5, 2010 Senators Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Grassley co-chaired a senate meeting about reducing the violence brought on by drug trafficking. Sen. Feinstein confirmed that the drug trafficking related violence was mostly on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border. However, the FBI is, according to Kevin Perkins of the FBI, working with all levels of law enforcement to fight these crimes. The moves the government is hoping to make with this problem will be to acquire more agents to deal with kidnappings that have been happening as a result of the cartels form from the drug trafficking as well as help the Mexican government better educate their officers. I think that the movements being made for this situation will work out for the benefit of both countries.
From a Christian perspective I think that defending our land is very biblical. In the bible it talks about how you should obey the laws of governments and be a good citizen, to me entering a country illegally and then expecting to gain the benefits of being a citizen is wrong. You are not following the rules of another government which you should especially respect because it is not yours. In Hebrews 13:17 it says “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.” By illegally crossing our borders, the immigrants are not submitting to our leader’s authority thus burdening them with having to make laws that will be of no advantage to them.
In conclusion, I think that the government is putting a good amount of effort into stopping the violence brought on by drug trafficking by identifying the sources of the problem and formulating a do-able solution. However, I do feel that the government could still be doing a better job of enforcing security along the border rather than simply placing the issue on “the back burner”; As controversial as the issue might be, I still think that the government should take a definite stance on it rather than just avoid it altogether.
The United states foreign policy is something that has many different ways of handling it. I think that we are way too focused on the countries across the Atlantic, and not worried enough about the countries next to us, like Mexico. THere have been a lot of people who have issues with racial profiling, but in my opinion, this is somthing that is definately neccessary. I personally do not find it to be very racist at all, and I feel that we need to do something different than what we currently are doing in order to get anywhere with our foreign policies. I think the United states is too concerned with making everyone happy. We dont want to offend anyone with racial profiling, but ultimately we need to protect our citizens, and this may be a step we have to take in order to do so. However, there are some good things about our foreign affairs. The United States is one of the most powerfulcountries in the world, and a lot of the reason for that is because of all of our foreign relations. The relations we have With China is a good example. We are able to get a lot of products from them, and I think that one of the main reasons for this is because of our relations with them. Another thing that is important to keep in mind with foreign relations is our national debt. We have borrowed a lot of money from a lot of countries, and we need to have really good foreign relations for them to be willing to give us as much money as they have. One thing our country is doing a good job to protect our citizens is being extremely strict in airport security,as it is extremely difficult to get anything into the country. This has been something our country has gotten strict about since 9/11. We continue to come up with better ideas for ways to protect our country.
Because the U.S. is a leading world power with the ability to affect other countries, foreign policy is an extremely crucial tool we need to use to ensure our standing in todays world. The U.S. needs to make sure we are doing a good job in three areas of foreign policy. First, we need to help needy countries as best as we can. Second, we need to keep our allies happy with us. Third, we need to make sure our enemies fear us and that we have strength to back up this intimidation. We need to make sure we help needy countries because we need to try to keep the world as healthy, safe, and peaceful as we possibly can. When parts of the world fall into despair, it affects everyone. For example, the recent earthquakes in Haiti sent the country into a state of turmoil. This country should not be left to stand alone to try to handle this because it is not the right thing to do but also because it affects other countries, especially neighboring countries. When refugees from this country are unable to survive in Haiti they will seek other places to stay and find shelter, namely neighboring countries. This puts a burden on those countries, which affects their economies, which affects everyone's economies. If the U.S. is able to supply any type of relief for Haiti, this could help them get back on their feet faster and would be healthier for their economy and everyone else's as well. My second point is in line with one of Steven Bosma's arguments; that is to keep our allies happy. But I do not agree with his suggestion of eliminating a new president every four years, our country needs that to function well. It is impossible to be a world power and stand alone. The U.S. must ensure that we have strong allies. We can accomplish this by keeping our word with what we tell them and not trying to please their enemies. The third and final aspect of foreign policy is perhaps the most important one; national security. We need to keep our country safe inside and out. This means we need to be intimidating to deter possible attacks. But, we also need to have strength to back up our intimidation in case we are attacked. One major factoir in this is our military strength. We need to keep our armies strong and well supported, we also need to let our troops know we are behind them one hundred percent. One way we can keep our country safe from the inside is through things like the Patriot Act and the Surveillance Act. Some people disagree with these things, however while they may sometimes be inconvenient, they are necessary. In an overview of the basics of what our foreign policy should look like there are three key points. First, helping needy countries, second, keeping our allies happy, third, intimidate enemies and have strength to back that up. If we do these things, it should lead to a safer and more prosperous U.S..
With threats of terror across the world rising, our country has been extremely cautious in the area of national security. The Middle Eastern powers and the communist countries of Asia are very critical of the western world. After the September eleventh attacks on our country we started war with terrorist groups in some of these countries. In some ways, this increased the threat of these groups to attack our American soil. In the issue of foreign policy, our country should increase its security and keep a right level of privacy for its citizens.
ReplyDeleteSince September eleventh, America has upgraded its security to a great extent and is trying to make strides to control other countries in four major ways. First, airport security has upgraded to make sure that no terrorists enter airplanes to crash them into buildings. Second, the government is monitoring citizens of the United States to make sure that terrorist activity and bombing threats are not taking place. Third, the American soldiers have invaded in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to stop terrorism and take down terrorist groups. Finally, on April 7, 2010 the United States and Russia have signed the Nuclear Arms Reduction Pact, a treaty reducing the two countries’ nuclear arms and initiating working together to reduce nuclear arms in the world.
However, American citizens have taken great concern with some of these tactical ways of the government. For example, the USA PATRIOT Act and the Foreign Surveillance Act were signed into law by President Bush and are under scrutiny. As stated in the Acts themselves, these laws give authorities more availability and legality to search telephone, e-mail, medical, financial, and other personal and private records, and if a person is found suspicious, they can be monitored by the government. Americans argue that this takes away certain freedoms and can be considered profiling because they target certain people. However, if people are found and targeted by the government and found guilty, then the American people should accept these laws because they are keeping America safe.
Thousands of people have also taken issue over the war on terror. They protest that it is not justifiable and we do not need to have our troops risking their lives over there. They believe these matters should be settled more by diplomacy and less by the bloodshed of innocent people. Some will even argue that biblically this war is not justifiable. However, In Ecclesiastes 3:8 it is says there is “a time for war and a time for peace.” When the World Trade Center was blown to bits, God was telling us it was a time for war.
Until the war on terror is officially finished, wiretapping and civilian surveillance will continue to ensure our safety. The war should not finish entirely either until terrorist powers are brought to justice, but as we read in class in the article “President Obama’s Stance on National Security,” President Obama has announced that he plans to end the war starting in August of 2010. This will not completely ensure American peace. Only elimination of the enemy powers will end this need for strong national security.
To be safe, we must be strong. We must be trusted by our allies and feared by our enemies. To do this we must be consistently stead with the obligations we make to other countries. For example, Bush promised to put a missile defense shield around Poland and then Obama backed out of that obligation. That is not good. That will make our allies not trust our word. Plus, it does not help possibly having a different president every 4 years. Without strong allies, we have to stand alone in the world and this is not a safe situation.
ReplyDeleteWe also need to be feared by our enemies. In the above example, we backed out on a promise to Poland to appease Russia who is an enemy. Even though we are not in a military engagement with them, they are jealous of our position and want to harm us. We look weak by giving into their demand to pull out of the agreement with Poland. Actions like this make other enemies like Iran feel confident in overcoming us.
Enemy nations, like North Korea, China, Russia, and Iran, want us to be diminished so they can be bigger in the world. They hate us because of jealousy. They want us to be weak. Weakness encourages attack, which is what we need to avoid. For example, China recently threatened to sell off all of our bonds that they hold because they wanted us to behave differently in foreign affairs. This is a financial threat that was levied against us because we looked weak militarily with Russia and Iran.
President Reagan believed in peace through strength. The stronger we are, the more secure our allies will feel and the more our enemies will fear us. In the 1980’s he was accused of being a war monger and of putting America in danger. But, he ended the cold war with Russia, brought unity to Germany, and kept us safe for decades. His ideas were proven effective. We need to follow Reagan’s example. We need to be tough on our enemies and take care of our friends. Today, we are picking on Israel and appeasing Iran. This is backward. Iran openly seeks our destruction and the destruction of Israel, our closest ally in the region; therefore, we should not bother Israel to please Iran.
The only way to peace is through strength. In America, peace is kept in our streets through the strength of the police. The idea is that the fear of police action will keep the criminals in check. In international affairs, there is no police force to do this like within our own country. The only way to be safe internationally is through strength that makes our enemies too afraid to attack us. If we want to be successful, this concept is the key to our international affairs.
Our foreign policy needs and national security needs to be somewhat strict. We need to be able to feel safe and know that our country is doing its best to protect us from terrorists and any other countries that might try to harm us. If the U.S. is involved in other countries and is promoting stability in those countries, then it is doing its job.
ReplyDeleteOne really important thing to consider in keeping the country safe is the definition of terrorism. If there is no set definition, then there is no standard for when the U.S. should attack. We need to know what exactly defines terrorism so the country as a whole can be in agreement on when we attack. If all are in agreement then everyone will work harder and make our efforts more successful in general.
War is a necessary thing to achieve some goals. It does need to be just and there needs to be a legitimate cause. Even the Bible says that there is a time for war and a time for peace. If other countries attack us, then we need to go to war to defend ourselves. We can threaten all we want, but without actually acting on it once in a while, those other countries will learn that the U.S. is just giving empty threats that really don’t affect them.
Again, it is the duty of the U.S. government to protect its citizens. If that means airport security is tightened up, then that’s what it takes. If they feel they need to register or somehow keep track of anyone who is suspected of being involved with terrorism, then that is their duty. With all the issues and threats there is against the nation, we need to be checking all suspects. Yes, they are all innocent until proven guilty. However, we should be doing all we can to find out if they are truly innocent or guilty. That way we will keep our nation a little bit more secure.
Foreign policy is a detrimental to how other nations will treat and regard your country. The United States of America’s foreign policy should be to help other faltering countries to establish democracy and a stable economy. For those who already have this, the U.S. should establish peaceful and good economic relations. And those states that are in any way affiliated with terrorism or any form of suspicious behavior that could potentially harm our country. We should cut ties and not provide them with any form of support intentionally or unintentionally.
ReplyDeleteOur biggest foreign policy objective should be promoting and helping to establish peace in the Middle East. As we are one of their biggest customers when it comes to buying oil it is in our best interest to achieve this goal and insure we will not lose our main source of fueling our nation. The Middle East is a breeding ground of terrorists, so peace and stable government would help to keep tabs on what is going on. An example is Iraq; we are heavily invested with our time, money, and loss of lives. According to NBC, the Obama administration’s plan for ending the war in Iraq is a four-fold process. First withdrawing 1-2 brigades a month, effort to enforce political stability, increased regional diplomacy, and finally financial aid. Without our military presence and with the lack of political stability the country would fall into the hands of the strongest terrorist organization. We must keep our military in until the Iraq military and government is strong enough to avoid corruption and fight terrorism.
Another foreign policy objective is to decrease the amount of nuclear weapons available in the world. North Korea is a particularly big threat to several other countries with its trying to develop nuclear warheads. In a report by the NPS foundation they talked about North Koreas most recent nuclear test. The North Korean government claims they developed the bomb “to enhance the Republic’s self-defensive nuclear deterrent.” A major step for our foreign policy would be to get them to dismantle their nuclear weapons and get rid of the waste as cleanly as possible.
In conclusion, I’ll talk about our policy of just war. Foreign policies do not always work as planned. When things go off track and need to be fixed, in extreme cases, war is declared. For us to go to war, we have to make sure we calculate everything to see if there are any other options and the probability of success. In the Bible, in Exodus 15:3, it says “the Lord is a man of war.” War is not a thing that should not be thought of lightly but when protecting those in need and defending against a foreign invader of whatever kind we must stand up and do what is right.
Foreign Policy is the actions or strategies that a country takes to help interact with other countries. The United States is well known for their current foreign policy with Iraq, because we are currently at war with them.
ReplyDeleteIn our foreign policy with Iraq there are a few goals we are trying to reach. The main goal is to end this war, and to get our troops back home. President Obama said that he wants to end all combat missions by August 31, 2010. That is approaching us very soon, and so far it does not look like we are getting anywhere. The reasoning behind ending the combat missions is so that Iraq Security will have full responsibility when it comes to combat missions. The main mission for the United States right now in Iraq is to train, equip, and advise the Iraqi Security forces.
By the year 2011, President Obama plans to remove all troops out of Iraq and have this war over with. One problem that I see here is that we keep sending more and more troops to Iraq, that it is going to be so hard to get them all out of there in such short time.
Iraq has pretty much dug themselves a hole when it comes to foreign policy. During the 1970’s the United States has sort of a friendship with Iraq, and was helping Iraq with some of the war problems during this time. By the end of the 1970’s however, Iraq and the United States friendship and been destroyed. Today though people feel that the United States has failed with our current foreign policy with Iraq, the war has changed everybody’s out look on things.
In conclusion, the United States and Iraq have been on rocky grounds for quite some time now when it comes to our foreign policy. It may take some time to patch things up, but I feel the best thing to do right now is to solve our problems with the War.
One of our country’s largest threats on national security is North Korea. Our foreign policy towards North Korea needs to be comprehensive, because there are many challenges to overcome in order to have good relations with a communist country. With Kim Jong Il as the leader of North Korea, we must be willing to compromise. If we can somehow encourage North Korea to come back to the six-party talks, then we will be able to compromise with them and theoretically make North Korea denuclearize.
ReplyDeleteRecently, North Korea’s Kim Jong Il met with Chinese president Hu Jintao. Kim Jong Il arranged this meeting because he might want North Korea to re-enter the six-party talks conditionally. It has been said that North Korea will return to the six-party talks and make somewhat of a peace treaty with the United States. North Korea will only do this if the United States ends the conflict on the Korean Peninsula and removes the United Nations sanctions against North Korea.
The United States should take this as a golden opportunity to improve our foreign policy with North Korea. The United States should try to change the conditions a bit, because if the U.S. were to lift the U.N. sanctions, then North Korea would have free reign to export weapons as well as sail ships around carrying many nuclear weapons. Because North Korea is such a nuclear threat to the U.S., we cannot simply lift the U.N. sanctions.
The United States should do their best to get North Korea back to the six-party talks, but they need to keep the relative safety of their country in mind. By getting North Korea to join the six-party talks again, the United States, Russia, China, Japan, and South Korea can work with North Korea and try to make them reduce their number of nuclear weapons. This would be a huge step towards good foreign policy with North Korea. Because there are no other posts, I cannot comment on other students’ ideas.
When America began to grow into such a dominating country, their relationship with foreign countries became increasingly more important. Early American leaders had to develop relationships with leaders from Spain and other countries in able to insure that they would maintain the safety and success of the country. Today foreign affairs are still very important. We are dependent on other countries for both protection and also for different supplies. However, whether we deal with other countries in the best way is debatable.
ReplyDeleteIt is undeniable that the U.S. needs to have the relationships that it has with other countries. Our relationship with Great Britain has been vital to the success of many military operations as well as the many advancements made in nuclear technology. I believe that it is necessary to work with other countries on many things and it is important to have treaties and be able to work with other countries. If we shelter ourselves from the rest of the world, not only will we be even more likely to be attacked, but if we need help, there won’t be anyone who is prepared or even willing to help us.
However, there are some obvious problems with the U.S. foreign affairs as well. An obvious problem is the concern that so many hours, dollars, and people’s minds are occupied with helping other countries that we don’t fix the problems our own country is dealing with. Most people would agree that because America is the powerhouse of the world they should be the first country to step up and help others. I completely agree that a country that is economically stable should reach out to other countries, but I also think that, considering our current economic crisis, America needs to fix America before putting as many resources into other countries as we have the tendency of doing.
Other problems such as money, a president’s ability to deal with foreign ambassadors and spending so much effort on a cause that may never come through also contribute to the difficulties of the U.S. Foreign Affairs. Though the U.S. has a mostly successful system, it is, like all systems, sometimes faulty. I feel like America should prioritize its own safety and well-being before handling foreign affairs of somewhat lesser important things. However, I do realize that those things are also vital to America’s success. In conclusion, I think that America’s foreign policy is effective, but more focus should be put on our safety and in building protective relationships with other countries.
*I wrote my blog entry before any others were posted so there are no responses
Creo que Estados Unidos debe dejar a todos los mexicanos en el país con el fin de seetle la paz entre los Estados Unidos.
ReplyDeleteThe United States has done a great job of foreign policy. The government did not just sit back when we were attacked, but retaliated. The United States is now trying to solve this increasing problem of terrorism. We as a nation have the right idea of foreign policy and I will discuss what the current policy is and what good foreign policy looks like. Also I will discuss the Biblical view of War.
ReplyDeleteOur current foreign policy is most active and evident in the war on terror. The United States is currently at war against terrorism. This war is being fought in Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. We are trying to root out terrorist leaders to put a stop to the threat they pose to the well being of America. Many do not think that the war is just or a good idea for us to go through with. The United Nations, which is like a major regulator for foreign policy, even opposes the war. In my opinion the U.S. has all the right to go to war and protect t ourselves. Just last week there was a car bomb in New York. The perpetrator was a U.S. citizen and according to the article by Omar Waraich in Times magazine had gone to Pakistan and got training and then came back to the U.S. to wreak havoc. This is a concrete example of why the army should be in the Middle East protecting U.S. citizens from escapades like this.
The United States is a good model for countries to follow. The government is taking steps to protect its citizens by eliminating those who wish to cause harm. Also the U.S. does not go and needlessly kill people but has clear objectives and protects the native citizens. Countries should take a realistic or realpolitik approach to foreign policy. This approach is taking steps that are small but practical and have been shown to work. This approach does not wield huge prominent results but does produce good reliable results none the less. The other approach that countries can take, which I do not recommend, is an idealistic approach. In this approach a country sets a goal that is there vision of perfect conditions and then takes steps to achieve that goal. This approach is not wrong but often a country can set an unrealistic goal or take too big of steps that are not practical or accepted by the native citizens. I suggest a country takes small steps that that work toward a better future instead of setting an unrealistic goal that does not get put into place and leaves everyone dissatisfied.
The United Nations has set up guidelines that they see as just causes to go to war. These guidelines are very good to follow and to look at and see if war is the right answer for the country. They include aspects of just cause, right intention, probability of success, and proportionality. All of these reflect what stands for good reasons to go to war. The Bible supports war in the, used over and over again in these blogs, Ecclesiastes 3:8, "There is a time for war and a time for peace." This verse explains itself. another times in the Bible that reference war is Deuteronomy 20 which is a chapter dedicated to the correct way to go to war. This shows that God knows war will happen and he shows the correct way a country should handle war. The United States is a strong country and will continue to be a world power and a refuge for many if they continue on the path of foreign policy it is on.
The United States foreign relations with Iran have been rocky. According to the American Foreign Policy Project, the U.S. government has missed several opportunities to peacefully negotiate with Iran over the past three decades. The U.S needs to open up negotiations with Iran for their nuclear program, democracy, and other country disputes.
ReplyDeleteDespite attempts to negotiate with Iran over their nuclear program, the overall affect has been almost nonexistent. The U.S. should try to negotiate with Iran to put their nuclear program under international surveillance. Iran would still be allowed to run their program at a limited scale with stricter safety rules. This would at least be a start to convincing Iran to get rid of their program. Stopping Iran’s program cold turkey is not rational. Attempting to get them to do this may cause even more problems than there already is. The main idea is to convince them to not make nuclear war heads. That is the only thing the U.S. should be concerned with now as far as the nuclear program goes.
Iran has an issue with democracy and freedom in general. The U.S. should help promote freedom throughout Iran as well as other countries. If the U.S. tries to force freedoms upon the Iranians, they will only reject it because it won’t seem free. The U.S. should only help Iran with democracy and freedoms if they ask for it.
Iran has had natural problems with other countries. It has a great influence over its neighbors Iraq and Afghanistan. After 9/11 Iran showed that they can be a powerful ally or a thorn in the side. Israel sees Iran as a threat even when they are not threatened. It is easy to understand how this is possible with the current state of Iran’s nuclear program. Israel is concerned that Iran is trying to set themselves up as a world power according to the former foreign minister of Israel. The U.S. should try to aid Iran in making negotiations with other countries they are having problems with.
Steven makes a valid point in stating that we cannot let other countries see us as weak. Weakness would almost invite them to attack. However, we should be focused on making negotiations with them to better our relations. Good relations with other countries will lessen the threat from them.
One of the biggest threats to our national security today is north Korea. With the access that North Korea has to Nuclear Weapons, we need to crack down on them and try to get those weapons out of their possession. According to cbs, North Korea has failed to come to an agreement on nuclear weapons with the united states and several othe participating countries.
ReplyDeletePresident Obama has been working on trying to make a truce with the unstable country, but the united states has so far been unable to achieve this goal. North Korea has been doing weird things for years and they could make an unexpected attack on us if we let our guard up. America has been successful in reducing some of the nuclear weapons, but that still isn't all of them and leaves margin for attack.
Also, ever since September eleventh, we have cracked down on airport security, but what good does that do when we have nuclear weapon threats that can't be prevented like a terrorist on a plane. We need to work on having security and a watchful eye on our enemies. In Ecclesiastes 3:8 it says there is “a time for war and a time for peace," well now we have been shown that this is a time for war with all the threats from North Korea and especially after the bombing of the twin towers.
Our defense and national security for foreign policy is a huge thing for the United States. We went to war with Iraq in order to secure our safety and so we wouldn't have to relive 9/11. If we leave North Korea too much power then we could be going to war all over again which probably is one of the only ways to ensure that we will be safe here in America.
Our U.S. foreign policy is a very difficult balance so maintain. We have to take out all threats without racial profiling or following certain stereotypes. We need to seem strong to all other countries so they will not be encouraged to attack us. We also need to be able to react quickly and effectively to terrorist attacks.
ReplyDeleteA very difficult situation is attempting to stop all terrorist attacks without racially profiling or stopping certain actions and people that are stereotypical of terrorists. Because on those occasions when our people are wrong a lot of trouble occurs even though a majority of the time we are correct. So possibly a more effective and secretive way of checking people and catching terrorists before it happens would be very beneficial to our country.
We need to as a country keep our appearance to other countries as strong. People may see this as wrong but having a strong country in all aspects will possibly deter other terrorists from attacking us. I mean no one wants go against an insanely strong force. Even if we are not that strong just the appearance along could help, and striving to be our best as a country never hurt.
Having a quick reaction time to terrorist attacks are crucial either catching the terrorists or acting upon strong counter measures. We need to fight back so the terrorists don’t think they can do whatever they want with no other effects. Also dealing with the damage of what has happened quickly will make us stronger as a whole and seeing it not hurting us as much will make it less worth it for the terrorist. Because the terrorists just want to hurt us and if we make it seem less painful it will help.
Strengthening these areas will very much help which I believe we are. So I think we should continue on our course but improve in these areas. By taking away the pain from their attacks and being able to fight back to them or even stop them before they start will most defiantly slow down the attacks
I think that our foreign policy should ensure our nation’s security with countries not only across the Atlantic, but also close to home. Security issues between the U.S. and Mexico have become even more hectic as the number of illegal immigrants that enter the U.S. every year increases as well as the amount of violence due to drug trafficking. In order to effectively cripple the increasing rates of these two problems the United States must increase the amount of security along the U.S.-Mexico border.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. has tried various ways of preventing illegal immigrants from crossing the border such as the Secure Border Initiative (SBI) or commonly known as the “great wall of Mexico”. The completion of at least 700 miles by December 31, 2008 was the goal of the Department of Homeland Security but the actual completion of 643.3 miles of fencing was completed on January 22, 2010. As effective as the wall is expected to be, I think that increasing security on the border would still be best because if a person wants to gain entry into a country illegally, that individual will do so by any means necessary. Scaling a wall or fence would be relatively easy depending on where the wall or fence is located. However, scaling a wall or fence that is continually watched by guards is much harder to accomplish. I also think that Arizona’s new immigration law that makes it a crime under state law to be in the country illegally should be implemented in every southern state connected with the U.S.-Mexican border. The federal government estimates that Arizona has lost approximately 18 percent of its population of illegal immigrants because of Arizona’s laws against illegal immigration. The implementation of this law to all states would greatly lower illegal immigrants.
Another problem the U.S. faces with Mexico is drug trafficking across the border. On May 5, 2010 Senators Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Grassley co-chaired a senate meeting about reducing the violence brought on by drug trafficking. Sen. Feinstein confirmed that the drug trafficking related violence was mostly on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border. However, the FBI is, according to Kevin Perkins of the FBI, working with all levels of law enforcement to fight these crimes. The moves the government is hoping to make with this problem will be to acquire more agents to deal with kidnappings that have been happening as a result of the cartels form from the drug trafficking as well as help the Mexican government better educate their officers. I think that the movements being made for this situation will work out for the benefit of both countries.
From a Christian perspective I think that defending our land is very biblical. In the bible it talks about how you should obey the laws of governments and be a good citizen, to me entering a country illegally and then expecting to gain the benefits of being a citizen is wrong. You are not following the rules of another government which you should especially respect because it is not yours. In Hebrews 13:17 it says “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.” By illegally crossing our borders, the immigrants are not submitting to our leader’s authority thus burdening them with having to make laws that will be of no advantage to them.
In conclusion, I think that the government is putting a good amount of effort into stopping the violence brought on by drug trafficking by identifying the sources of the problem and formulating a do-able solution. However, I do feel that the government could still be doing a better job of enforcing security along the border rather than simply placing the issue on “the back burner”; As controversial as the issue might be, I still think that the government should take a definite stance on it rather than just avoid it altogether.
The United states foreign policy is something that has many different ways of handling it. I think that we are way too focused on the countries across the Atlantic, and not worried enough about the countries next to us, like Mexico. THere have been a lot of people who have issues with racial profiling, but in my opinion, this is somthing that is definately neccessary. I personally do not find it to be very racist at all, and I feel that we need to do something different than what we currently are doing in order to get anywhere with our foreign policies.
ReplyDeleteI think the United states is too concerned with making everyone happy. We dont want to offend anyone with racial profiling, but ultimately we need to protect our citizens, and this may be a step we have to take in order to do so.
However, there are some good things about our foreign affairs. The United States is one of the most powerfulcountries in the world, and a lot of the reason for that is because of all of our foreign relations. The relations we have With China is a good example. We are able to get a lot of products from them, and I think that one of the main reasons for this is because of our relations with them. Another thing that is important to keep in mind with foreign relations is our national debt. We have borrowed a lot of money from a lot of countries, and we need to have really good foreign relations for them to be willing to give us as much money as they have.
One thing our country is doing a good job to protect our citizens is being extremely strict in airport security,as it is extremely difficult to get anything into the country. This has been something our country has gotten strict about since 9/11. We continue to come up with better ideas for ways to protect our country.
Because the U.S. is a leading world power with the ability to affect other countries, foreign policy is an extremely crucial tool we need to use to ensure our standing in todays world. The U.S. needs to make sure we are doing a good job in three areas of foreign policy. First, we need to help needy countries as best as we can. Second, we need to keep our allies happy with us. Third, we need to make sure our enemies fear us and that we have strength to back up this intimidation.
ReplyDeleteWe need to make sure we help needy countries because we need to try to keep the world as healthy, safe, and peaceful as we possibly can. When parts of the world fall into despair, it affects everyone. For example, the recent earthquakes in Haiti sent the country into a state of turmoil. This country should not be left to stand alone to try to handle this because it is not the right thing to do but also because it affects other countries, especially neighboring countries. When refugees from this country are unable to survive in Haiti they will seek other places to stay and find shelter, namely neighboring countries. This puts a burden on those countries, which affects their economies, which affects everyone's economies. If the U.S. is able to supply any type of relief for Haiti, this could help them get back on their feet faster and would be healthier for their economy and everyone else's as well.
My second point is in line with one of Steven Bosma's arguments; that is to keep our allies happy. But I do not agree with his suggestion of eliminating a new president every four years, our country needs that to function well. It is impossible to be a world power and stand alone. The U.S. must ensure that we have strong allies. We can accomplish this by keeping our word with what we tell them and not trying to please their enemies.
The third and final aspect of foreign policy is perhaps the most important one; national security. We need to keep our country safe inside and out. This means we need to be intimidating to deter possible attacks. But, we also need to have strength to back up our intimidation in case we are attacked. One major factoir in this is our military strength. We need to keep our armies strong and well supported, we also need to let our troops know we are behind them one hundred percent. One way we can keep our country safe from the inside is through things like the Patriot Act and the Surveillance Act. Some people disagree with these things, however while they may sometimes be inconvenient, they are necessary.
In an overview of the basics of what our foreign policy should look like there are three key points. First, helping needy countries, second, keeping our allies happy, third, intimidate enemies and have strength to back that up. If we do these things, it should lead to a safer and more prosperous U.S..