Kuwait the General Belief Everywhere

Kuwait

The general belief everywhere in the world is that the U.S. Foreign Policy or, as it is otherwise known, the 'country-by-country policy', is one that proves to be of great advantage to that country that it is supposed to help. However, the true fact today is that the U.S. does not have, any longer, a really unified foreign policy, and nowhere is this exemplified better than in the case of Kuwait. The policy followed here is that of keeping the moderates happy, so that the U.S. is also happy by keeping the oil flowing into that country. (What is the Official U.S. Foreign Policy?) for example, the U.S.A. has in fact launched more than a few large military strikes against Iraq and her neighbors, and has finally managed to capture and even overthrow Saddam Hussein, the Iraq military leader. (Background on Foreign Policy)

As far as the scourge of terrorism is concerned, it is a sad but true fact that no leader has managed to succeed in getting to the very root of the problem and thereby finding an appropriate solution to it. There may be a satisfactory explanation for this fact; it may be that the very nature of terrorism being what it is: quite unpredictable and also very asymmetrical, it is virtually impossible to find an adequate solution to the problem, and the underlying issues are so many and so widespread that it is an unattainable goal to hope to find an ideal solution to combat 'terrorism'. In fact, it can be safely stated that the West has actually and virtually outstayed its welcome in most parts of the world, especially in the Middle East, rich in oil as it is, and the leaders in those parts of the world, fuelled by their innate greed, grew from being mere allies of the West to real and true despots, and this because of the one thing that all the world needs: Oil. In fact, Osama bin Laden, as well as Saddam Hussein were allies of the U.S.A. In both the U.S. war against Afghanistan as well as in the U.S. war against Iraq respectively. (Going Tactical)

It is also true that it was with the wealth acquired with this oil that these leaders were able to indulge their greed and amass weapons of mass destruction, thereby giving the Middle East an important position of power, and therefore making it a necessity for the U.S.A. To concentrate its foreign policy and its strategies on this region. For example, why did the First Gulf War of the U.S.A. against Saddam Hussein occur? The real reason for this war was the fact that Saddam Hussein had decided that he wanted to acquire the oil rich fields of Kuwait for himself, and not part with them to the U.S.A., who also desired the same oil fields of Kuwait, even terming it as a 'Vital National Security Interest'. In a similar manner, Osama, who had been an ally of the United States for as far back as one can remember, suddenly became a fearsome enemy of the U.S., that led him to launch the terrorist attack on the Twin World Tower Centers in the U.S.A. On September 11, 2002, which had the impact of leaving more than a few thousand innocent American citizens either mortally wounded or dead. (Going Tactical)

The President of the United States of America, George Bush, in an address to the nation in 2002, emphasized that the people of the United States must well and truly become independent of the phenomenon of utilizing imported oil form the Middle East; when this is achieved, he stated, only then will the issue of national security become stabilized. However, this is not possible, especially at the present time, since the U.S.A. seems to be becoming more and more dependent on oil, especially of late. For example, the U.S. has now progressed to Alaska in its search for oil. In the year 2003, just before the launch of the attack on Iraq by the U.S.A., it was quite evident and obvious to anyone truly aware of the actual situation, that it was only for the oil that America was indulging in this attack, so that, in fact, she would be able to secure one of the largest oil fields in the world for itself. What must be remembered is that these actions has done nothing but delay the progress of terrorists and their various activities, and not put a stop to them.

This further goes on to mean that the very core of the problem, which is that of the acquisition of oil, is as yet left un-addressed by all the various world leaders who have been involved in the problem. The fact is that the entire world is quite desperate for oil, and large quantities of it. The basis of energy supplies that has as its basis the various resources of oil, coal, and gas, means that there will inevitably be a large disparity in the world, wherein more than two thirds of the entire population of the world will permanently be in a position of poverty when compared with the rest of the world. Neither the invasion of Iraq launched by the United States of America in 2003, nor the success in establishing 'democracy' in the Middle East has in any way helped in solving this very real problem, and what is actually desperately needed and required at this point of time in the history of the world is a well and true leader and excellent strategic plans and diplomacy in its true sense. (Going Tactical)

The creation and the development of an appropriate and an adequate 'International Strategy Equation' is by no means a simple or an easy task. In fact, were the plan for the security strategy to be good, then there is no question that this would in itself go a long way towards influencing the very outcome of the war. One perfect example of this is the strategy that was adapted by the French after the First World War. This was a weak strategy dominated by the idea of 'forward defense', a strategy that they had been following for many centuries previously. In fact, it was Germany that had actually made all the right choices of defense strategies, and this in no small way contributed to her success. Her strategy was that of defensive 'war fighting', an extremely bold and an offensive strategic plan. Today, with all the numerous advances being made day by day in the information technology area, what is absolutely necessary is for the leader to make full advantage of these modern day strategies that are readily and freely available to him at all times. In fact, there are some leaders who advocate the development of a virtual 'capstone' of knowledge technology based on the information age of today, which would inevitably make full use of the ways and the means of information and the technology related to it. (Knowledge Strategies, Balancing ends, ways and means)

Foreign Policy, in essence, means the entire gamut of the complexity of all the actions and the reactions that have been undertaken at various times on the part of the government for that particular state that they are meant to represent, formulated as a part of the various conditions or events existing outside their own borders and at most times, out of their control. The aim of the said government in the creation and the development of a foreign policy is therefore, most of the time, that of self-interest and self-gains. In general, certain specific instruments are made use of in the quest of the goals of the foreign policy to be adapted. The use of force, for example, is a time-tested instrument in the defense of the rights of the state, and forces were more often than not used in the invasion and conquer of another territory. (International Relations in Historical Perspective)

The capture of Kuwait by Iraq demonstrates this particular aspect of the utilization of force to capture a neighboring territory that does not belong to one. The U.S.A. has been a true exponent of the usage of force, either on her own or by the appointment and sponsorship of a proxy power, like for example, the sponsorship of guerilla powers, in order to claim what is not by right hers. This has had the natural and inevitable result of the third world or undeveloped countries resorting to force in order to protect and claim what is theirs by right, and also to, in some instances, to punish the Western powers. A perfect example of this phenomenon is that demonstrated by Iraq, which has been indulging in more and more violent acts of terrorism against the United States of America.

However, what must be remembered is the fact that though violence and terrorism does play a very important role in the foreign policy of any country, and this must not be allowed to overshadow the acts of peace and the various interactions that take place between the concerned countries at times of peace. The various peaceful means that are to be found in a typical foreign policy is, for one, the act of offering grants of varying degrees to these underdeveloped countries. This type of economic policy may also include technical assistance and aid, the decisions to either raise or to lower tariffs, and also to deny or to grant access to foreign markets. The management or the manipulation of information is also another important aspect of the foreign policy of a country through the system of 'diplomacy'. This plays a very important role in the development of the foreign policy of a nation, as it has the power to make or break the policy. (International Relations in Historical Perspective)

The handling of the various sources of information, what with all the advancements in the acquisition of information in this information age of today, if conducted well, will prove to be the biggest asset of the country in its development of its foreign policy. The powers of persuasion must also be taken into account at this juncture, and it is the duty of the various diplomats who have been appointed by the state to make full use of this power to get their point across and cast a major influence over the other country. Another area where focus is to be laid is in the area of policy-making. The wider and more complex the political institutions of the country, the more complex will be the policies that are to be associated with these countries.

However, more often than not, foreign policy is meant to serve as the primary controlling device of the government in its attempts to exert any type of influence on the country it is meant for. USA, for the most part, believes in the policy of following secrecy where the issues of national interests and security are concerned. Bureaucracy is an important aspect of her foreign policy, and this has been supposedly achieved by the process of numerous negotiations conducted over the years with other competing bureaucracies that are at the same time concentrating on their own self-interests. (International Relations in Historical Perspective) When the September 11 terrorist attacks carried out by a militant outfit Al-Qaeda took place, there was widespread contention that it was the foreign policy of the United States of America that was in fact directly responsible for the attack. (American Foreign Policy in the Middle East, designed to create enemies, not friends)

The United States has been playing a major role in the foreign policy objectives of Kuwait, and this also means that Kuwait has also been playing an important role in its formation of foreign policy wherein it has in some way affected the United States of America. For example, after the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990, the United States did in fact declare that this type of behavior would not be permissible, and did in fact order the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait, the U.S. foreign policy in regard to Kuwait has been at a stagnant point since then, and the U.S. has in fact failed miserably in its attempts to formulate and achieve any sort of clear cut objectives. Aggression has been attempted, as demonstrated by the strategic bombing, the arming of the opposition, and so on, but the fact remains that there has been no visible progress, and the U.S. foreign policy is now being faced with an indecision and a lack of adequate and appropriate progress. For example, after the capture and overthrow of the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, the question most frequently asked was whether the U.S. was really justified in the overthrow of an international member, albeit intractable, in her pursuit of moral good, when it was quite evident that this act would in fact only serve to have a devastating impact on Iraqi society. (Moral Dilemmas of U.S. Policies towards Iraq)