American Exceptionalism: US International Interventions Since 1990

Going through the history of International relations inanywhere; burying soldiers alive, deliberately;
the post- cold war era, you can observe severalsanctions continued to this day multiplying the health
political crises originating from the military andproblems; perhaps a million children dead by now
clandestine operations of the United States. Thisfrom malnutrition and disease. Iraq was the strongest
overflow of international crises dealing with America'smilitary power among the Arab states. This may
operations are better defined as" US interventions".have been their crime. Another reason dealing US
This concept of intervention is a well- known term inintervention in pulling out Iraq from Kuwait is "not to
the political history of the world, especially during thekeep oil prices low, but to keep Washington, Wall
90s in the United States, George H. W. Bush and BillStreet, and their allies in charge of setting oil prices"
Clinton's presidency. Not a single country has ever(qtd. in. Noam Chomsky, 1991)3. "It's been a leading,
meddled with international affairs irrelevant to itsdriving doctrine of U.S. foreign policy since the 1940s
country than the United States, However, in somethat the vast and unparalleled energy resources of
periods Soviet Union was playing US exceptionalthe Gulf region will be effectively dominated by the
current role in the world. Through history, it has beenUnited States and its clients, and, crucially, that no
proved that US foreign policy is basically laid upon itsindependent, indigenous force will be permitted to
national interests, whether political or economical.have a substantial influence on the administration of
These policies are mostly legitimized by expressingoil production and price." (qtd. In. Noam Chosky,
moralities and ethical issues. But the motivation1991)4.
attracting US to persue such policies is to introduceThe other crucial intervention which is called a
himself as a new economic and political ruler for the"humanitarian intervention" ocuured in Bosnia and
world, as William Blum indicated; "The engine ofYugoslavia during 1993- 1995 and 1999. Other
American foreign policy has been fueled not by aso-called "humanitarian interventions" were centered
devotion to any kind of morality, but rather by thein the Balkan region of Europe, after the 1992
necessity to serve other imperatives".1breakup of the federation of Yugoslavia. The U.S.
The end of Cold War provided United States with awatched for three years as Serb forces killed Muslim
kind of unprecedented preponderance over othercivilians in Bosnia, before its launched decisive
countries. US economy and its defense spending abombing raids in 1995. Even then, it never intervened
much greater than its rivals, "its economy is 40%to stop atrocities by Croatian forces against Muslim
larger than the second country. U.S. military spendingand Serb civilians, because those forces were aided
($343 billion in the year 2000) is 69 percent greaterby the U.S. In 1999, the U.S. bombed Serbia to force
than that of the next five highest nations combined"President Slobodan Milosevic to withdraw forces from
(qtd. in. Zoltan Grossman, 2001)2. US is now ruling thethe ethnic Albanian province of Kosovo. The bombing
world in higher education, scientific research andintensified Serbian expulsions and killings of Albanian
advance technology so that others can hardly catchcivilians from Kosovo, and caused the deaths of
up with this superpower. This extraordinary strategicthousands of Serbian civilians, even in cities that had
position of the US is a great implication for its foreignvoted strongly against Milosevic. When a NATO
policy. When Soviet Union has gone, US leaders canoccupation force enabled Albanians to move back,
pursue their goals without worrying how others willU.S. forces did little or nothing to prevent similar
respond and these goals will undoubtedly affect otherbrutality against Serb and other non-Albanian civilians.
countries. During the 90s, United States had the mostThe U.S. was viewed as a biased player.
number of international interventions all over the1998, in Sudan the US had missile attacks on a
world, approximately 17 cases in which the mostpharmaceutical plant alleged to be "terrorist" nerve
important ones occurred in Middle East. The majorgas plant. Over 30000 civilians were injured. US blocks
interventions are as follows: 1990 in Iraq (Gulf War),UN war-crimes inquiry at the Security Council.
1991 in Haiti, 1992-1994 in Yugoslavia, 1993- 1995 inThe last but not the least intervention is still going on.
Bosnia, 1994- 1996 in Haiti, 1995 in Croatia, 1996- 1997In 2003, to pursue its post 9/11 policies, US invaded
in Zaire (Congo), 1997 in Liberia, 1998 in Sudan, 1998Iraq with large ground, air and naval forces oust
in Afghanistan, 1998 in Iraq, 1999 in Yugoslavia, 2001government of Saddam Hussein and established a
in Macedonia, 2001 in Afghanistan and so many othernew government. Since the September 11 attacks on
sanctions signed in UN Security council against Iran,the United States, most people in the world agree
Iraq and Cuba. All of these military interventions canthat the perpetrators need to be brought to justice,
be defined through the idea of New World Orderwithout killing many thousands of civilians in the
first stated by George H. W. Bush, which USprocess. But unfortunately, the U.S. military has
administrators have always been thinking "they" arealways accepted massive civilian deaths as part of
to realize this "Order"- believed to be a real disorderthe cost of war. The military is now poised to kill
by others- by all means.thousands of foreign civilians, in order to prove that
Here, we will be discussing some more importantkilling U.S. civilians is wrong.
interventions. 1990, After Iraq invades Kuwait, the"It is a big idea: a new world order... only the United
U.S. deployed forces in the Persian Gulf which turnedStates has both the moral standing & the
Washington against its former Iraqi ally Saddammeans to back it up."
Hussein. U.S. supported the Kuwaiti monarchy and theFormer President George Bush, USA Jan. 29, 1991
Muslim fundamentalist monarchy against the secularWhat is today very much apparent is that US is
Iraq regime. US drop more bombs than in all ofshowing its crisis management all over the world
Vietnam or World War II, the air campaign killsroling as an international police. The final goal US is
between 100,000 and 200,000 Iraqis and destroystrying to obtain is "the extension of its political and
civilian infrastructure. US allow Iraqi helicopters use ofeconomic hegemony as wide as possible".
"No-fly Zone" airspace to crush the uprising.References:
Relentless bombing for more than 40 days and1. Blum, William. "A Brief History of US Interventions:
nights, against one of the most advanced nations in1945 to the Present", Z magazine, June 1999. See
the Middle East, devastating its ancient and modernalso Blum
capital city; depleted uranium weapons incinerating2. Grossman, Zoltan. "A Century of US Military
people, causing cancer; blasting chemical and biologicalInterventions: From Wounded Knee to Afghanistan",
weapon storage and oil facilities; poisoning theZnet, September 2001. Web Site:
atmosphere to a degree perhaps never happenedAcademic.evergreen.