W. W. Norton & Company | We the People, 6th Edition

Chapter 18: Foreign Policy and Democracy

If you had to choose between having a strong economy and a weak military or having a weak economy and a strong military, which would you choose?

This textbook emphasizes the themes of democracy, equality, and liberty. Do you think you have a better understanding of those concepts today than when you started this course? Do you think the United States has a moral responsibility to spread democracy throughout the world? If so, how should it be done? How could we export our strengths (freedom) without exporting some of our negatives, like low voter turnout?

In past years, the U.S. armed forces have been called on to perform duties that are more humanitarian than militaristic, such as hurricane and flood relief, relieving starvation in Somalia, and restoring democratic government in Haiti. Should the U.S. military perform humanitarian roles, or should that be left to private relief agencies such as the Red Cross?

There are many cruel regimes in the world, in Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia, among other countries. Should the United States attempt to remove those in charge of such regimes as we did in Iraq? If so, how would you go about doing that? What do you think of the way the United States removed Saddam Hussein?

In his autobiography, Robert McNamara, secretary of defense under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, revealed that he had serious reservations about the war in Vietnam even while he was involved in prosecuting it. His defense was that voicing his disapproval would have been an act of disloyalty to the president and would have given “aid and comfort to the enemy.” Several Bush administration and CIA officials, as well as several retired generals, have condemned the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Do you think these criticisms are unpatriotic, giving “aid and comfort” to the enemy, or are they demonstrations of patriotism?

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