Controversial issue with foreign policy and U.S response to terrorism before 9/11

Introduction

A proactive foreign policy would let us take action to make peace a reality in areas around the world, particularly looking for ways to build sustainable roots for peace in conflictive areas. In order to prevent the need for military strikes in future crises, we need to first deploy a wide range of American "peacemakers" in order to strike against poverty, unjust rule, human rights violations and despair. In addition, it would allow America to gain a level of prestige unprecedented in both American and world history as being a leader of peace and cooperation in a land possessed of war and mistrust. Finally, it would steer America to incorporate itself into a multilateral system that would have far reaching benefits especially with how the United States deals with other countries and how countries deal with the United States on trade, international law, and security.

Controversial issue with foreign policy and U.S response to terrorism before 9/11

Already the true believers in the Bush Administration are talking about ways to use the Iraq war to further their campaign to intimidate and coerce others in their growing "axis of evil." However, actions against Syria, Iran, or North Korea would be even more unwise than our unilateral war against Iraq, which at least was covered by the fig leaf of twelve years of UN Security Council resolutions. The collateral damage from such a unilateral campaign of preemption is exceedingly dangerous. India, Pakistan, Russia, China are only a few of the armed and dangerous powers that could use our action as precedent for their own preemptions. We need to discredit this flawed policy, which is without root in American history or values. Force should used in self- defense, not in response to a hypothetical threat that could one day threaten us.

History is filled with several instances to support why the United States should pursue a proactive foreign policy. One example is the Korean War, which was a joint venture of several nations under the guide of the U.N. to save a people from an unprovoked attack by a government that treated its own people with no respect for human rights. Though it was an act of war, it ultimately served not only to save the South Koreans but also a true testament of what humans can do when they unite under a common goal to help those who cannot help themselves. Another example is containment of Communist expansion through the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and Kennan's "X" article to help rebuild war torn Europe and help countries who we felt were under Communist threat, in a sense America "cared" for the people that would fall victim to the red flood and tried firmly to protect them from it.

The events, which happened on September 11, 2001 (9/11), were terribly unfortunate. These events were a series of terrorist attacks conducted upon the United States of America. Nineteen hijackers took control over four US commercial ...