No one could deny that Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden are real threats to humanity. In addition to that many believe that today’s wars happen because of Islamofascism but does this reasoning solely explain why the United States remains present in seemingly endless wars? The historian Andrew Bacevich states that these figures, though dangerous, do not fully explain the full story and motives of the United States of America.
According to Bacevich, the real reason for that is the core value of freedom instilled in America and its citizens. They believe that to secure liberty in this country abundance must be met. And the way to meet that is through expansion as domestic resources were deemed not to be enough. Freedom is a mission that created our nation” (George W .Bush)
The U.S. wanted to feel more stable in having access to natural resources and energy at home. Hence, they felt the need to create an empire abroad by expanding into the Persian Gulf to meet those needs and to feel more sustainable. It even goes further to say that in 1899 Theodore Roosevelt declared that: “ Our whole national history has been one of expansion”. This expansion was achieved by diplomacy, hard bargaining, bluster, chicanery, intimidation, naked coercion and ethnic cleansing. (Andrew).
There are efforts by the nation to justify these actions. My favorites are claiming to be god’s new chosen people and calling it “the war to end all wars”(Senator Robert La Follette).
In reality, the goals are fixed: the main concern is to enhance America’s influence and multiply its wealth and power.
To this day, there is a constant growing spending for the US military. But Why? If the goal was to end these wars and to achieve a more sustainable home then maybe the solution is to lower defense spending and to invest more in local and domestic issues. In addition to that, is freedom defined only by how much a person or a country owns, how about embracing the moral aspect of it?
Will Wright 