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Should US Enforce Regime Change Term Paper

American history should remind us of the dangers of overzealous interest in foreign affairs. Especially when the United States has a vested financial concern with another country, it should practice an ethical, perhaps hands-off, foreign policy. The lessons of Guatemala, Chile, and Nicaragua (to name but a few) should apply to the current state of affairs in Iraq. When the United States acts with self-serving interests its regime changes usually fail with dramatic and fatal consequences. Mass disenfranchisement is the unfortunate result of forced regime changes, contrary to the government's propaganda. Central and South America display prime examples of this unfortunate fact. Surely, when the United States has genuinely altruistic motives, interference may be deemed necessary. However, Iraq seems to be more a propaganda war than an actual war of necessity. Any supposed humanitarianism is overshadowed by the United State's oil interest in the region. Saddam Hussain serves as a convenient scapegoat; his political evils are real but the U.S. has no right to demand his abdication....

In general, militarily enforced regime changes by the United States should be rarely undertaken and only attempted in the absence of blatent avarice or self-interest.
Regime changes based on economic self-interest almost always fail to achieve humanitarian needs. Of all nations in the world, the United States should be acutely aware of the primacy of self-determination. This Star Trek-like "prime directive" is the bedrock of our nation. When the United States government interferes too much with the natural evolution of other nations, we undermine fundamental rights and freedoms. This is not to say that laissez faire is necessarily the way to proceed. Sitting by and witnessing gross human rights violations runs counter to our conscience. However, the global community must be taken into account. If powerful nations like France and Russia oppose military action in Iraq, the United States government has an obligation to listen. The United Nations in part exists to keep a system of checks and balances in place so countries like the United States don't abuse…

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An abuse of power would be the consequence should the United States enforce an Iraqi regime change. Not only would the U.S. acts a world bully; it would abuse the privilege of righteous use of American tax dollars. Too much money is already spent on the military-industrial complex. Perhaps our fair nation should devote these self-same dollars to the eradication of AIDS, to the elimination of poverty, or to the promotion of positive education. Money could be better spent on humanitarian causes instead of on contrived regime changes. A plethora of altruistic organizations need the funding that would be unnecessarily spent on fabricating another puppet world leader.

At the core of the problem with United States-backed and orchestrated regime changes is the illusory connection between the current "war on terrorism" and Saddam Hussain. Fear mongering is an effective tactic to spur the American public into supporting military action in Iraq. Ousting Saddam Hussain is appealing on many levels, especially following the disastrous events of September 11, 2001. The general public still recalls the horrors of that day and the media has done an effective job in promoting the idea that Iraq is involved. Perhaps the Iraqi government was and is connected with Al Qaeda. What then?

There certainly exists a real and present danger. Not only do terrorist groups like Al Qaeda pose a threat to the United States and sister nations, but also enemy regimes like that in Iraq may possess weapons of mass destruction. These weapons can potentially wipe out the entire human race; their presence threatens the globe. The United States does have the responsibility to take action against nuclear proliferation and the possession of biological weapons. But the United States also has the responsibility to act with caution and conscience, always keeping peace and human rights in the forefront. Democracy and peace can be encouraged without an aggressive and forced regime change. The United States should serve as an example to the world without falling into the arrogance trap.
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