Should the U.S. be the World Police?
9/11/01 is a date everyone in the world knows. This is the date of a major terrorist attack on the United States. We lost over 3,000 people that day, including more than 400 firefighters and police officers. Not only is terrorism happening in the U.S., there have been many acts of terrorism around the world within the past century. During conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, 2,017,600 people have died and that number is still climbing. Currently, there is conflict in Syria as a result of chemical weapon use. Over 70,000 Syrians have been killed in this conflict so far. It is also causing a lot of civilians to be forced from their homes into refugee camps in other countries. 9/11, Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq all have two things in common: terrorism and the U.S coming to their aid in varying degrees. There have been thousands of lives lost and trillions of dollars spent in these conflicts, and no resolutions has been reached so should the United States be the world’s police in this age of terrorism?
In a smaller perspective, say, everyone’s day to day life. While driving, many motorists may hit the brakes or look down at their speedometer when passing a police officer. When the police officer pulls them over for exceeding the speed limit, he or she will receive a plethora of insults and excuses as to why the individual was not following the law. If the pleading does not work and the police officer sends the motorist on their way with a ticket, in many cases, the police officer will not receive any appreciation expressed by a “Thank you officer for making the road a safer place,” or “Thank you for doing your job.” There are only more insults.
In another situation, a thief breaks into a house and steals that persons belongings. Those no good police officers now become the greatest civil servants known to man. Police officers are the ones civilians trust to do the dirty work. The argument then arises, that of course, people may want police within the United States but why should one country care about what another country does?
In another situation, a thief breaks into a house and steals that persons belongings. Those no good police officers now become the greatest civil servants known to man. Police officers are the ones civilians trust to do the dirty work. The argument then arises, that of course, people may want police within the United States but why should one country care about what another country does?
Wars and Terrorism
There were 37 million casualties in World War I, 16 million deaths and 21 million wounded. During World War II, there were 50 to 65 million people killed. Approximately 81 million people died from both wars. To put this into perspective, that is like California being wiped out twice. Where does morality enter into the equation in regards to whether there should be a world police? If people did not care about each other, from country to country, at least a little bit, if only because we need goods from each other, then there would be a different war or battle everyday. If there had been a type of police that could have stopped Hitler and Gaddafi from committing heinous acts, maybe all of those people would have been saved or at least most of them.
There were 37 million casualties in World War I, 16 million deaths and 21 million wounded. During World War II, there were 50 to 65 million people killed. Approximately 81 million people died from both wars. To put this into perspective, that is like California being wiped out twice. Where does morality enter into the equation in regards to whether there should be a world police? If people did not care about each other, from country to country, at least a little bit, if only because we need goods from each other, then there would be a different war or battle everyday. If there had been a type of police that could have stopped Hitler and Gaddafi from committing heinous acts, maybe all of those people would have been saved or at least most of them.
The U.S. had to drop two atomic bombs on Japan to stop all of the killings that the Japanese Military Regime was committing all around the world. It is estimated that from 1937 to 1944 Japan individually killed a minimum of 3 – 10 million people. The Japanese lost close to 2,500,000 people and over 630,000 of them were from air raids and atomic bombs. America might not have needed to drop atomic bombs on Japan if they were not scared to join our alliances sooner because of the impact from WWI.
President Gaddafi was very vocal in support of terrorism. He stated, “ I will do everything in my power to divide the world into imperialists and freedom-fighters.” He did what he stated by supporting terrorist groups like the IRA (Irish Republican Army), The Red Army Factions in West Germany, the Red Brigades in Italy, ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna) in Spain and the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) in Colombia with money, weapons and intelligences. He even let them train in Libya. With all of this support, he was able to assist multiple terrorist organizations that killed tens of thousands of people. More lives may have been lost if the United States did stepped in. The United States bombed and assisted with the removal of President Muammar Gaddafi after the embassy in Benghazi was attacked on 9/11/12. The problem of terrorism did not start then, in actuality, President Gaddafi has been one of the biggest contributors to terrorism by allowing Libya to be a central hub for terrorism. On April 5, 1986, a bomb exploded in West Berlin that killed two American soldiers and a Turkish woman. The same bomb also injured 229 civilians, 79 of those being Americans. President Gaddafi was found out to be the mastermind of these attacks. “We have done what we had to do and if necessary, we shall do it again, ” said President Reagan right after he bombed Libya for the attack in West Berlin.
Human Nature
Policing the world is neither a popularity contest political debate. This is about human lives. Americans are risking their lives to save lives, and helping others improves mankind in the end. As the saying goes, “Keep your friends close but your enemies closer” (Machiavelli). With America policing the world, there is the chance that new alliances will be formed. We U.S can be seen as the “superpower” of the world. They jump in to save or bring aid to another country to protect foreign resources and raw materials from being stopped to a grinding halt. Here is an analogy: An innocent male bystander witnesses another man beating a woman. If the innocent male bystander has the power to stop it without worry of injury upon himself, why would he not help? The U.S looks at it the same way. If we have the power to stop people from killing each other, then why not help? Caution is urged against a growing belief that scaling back American power in the world has often caused higher risks and cost. When America withdrew from Somalia because 18 American lives were lost, it caused a huge ripple effect and the Al-Queda network was born. This unfortunately led to the terrorist attacks in the 1990’s and September 11, 2001. In this situation, Voltaire’s saying, “With great power comes great responsibility,” may hold some truth. As of today, America is the only country that possesses the means and is willing to help other countries and try to be the peacekeeper, which they have been trying to do in places such as Afghanistan.
Policing the world is neither a popularity contest political debate. This is about human lives. Americans are risking their lives to save lives, and helping others improves mankind in the end. As the saying goes, “Keep your friends close but your enemies closer” (Machiavelli). With America policing the world, there is the chance that new alliances will be formed. We U.S can be seen as the “superpower” of the world. They jump in to save or bring aid to another country to protect foreign resources and raw materials from being stopped to a grinding halt. Here is an analogy: An innocent male bystander witnesses another man beating a woman. If the innocent male bystander has the power to stop it without worry of injury upon himself, why would he not help? The U.S looks at it the same way. If we have the power to stop people from killing each other, then why not help? Caution is urged against a growing belief that scaling back American power in the world has often caused higher risks and cost. When America withdrew from Somalia because 18 American lives were lost, it caused a huge ripple effect and the Al-Queda network was born. This unfortunately led to the terrorist attacks in the 1990’s and September 11, 2001. In this situation, Voltaire’s saying, “With great power comes great responsibility,” may hold some truth. As of today, America is the only country that possesses the means and is willing to help other countries and try to be the peacekeeper, which they have been trying to do in places such as Afghanistan.
Over the past five plus years, Afghanistan has been one of the top countries tied to terrorism, civilian deaths and injuries. Not all of the deaths are from Al-Queda or the Taliban, but is believed that terrorists groups cause 4 out of the 5 deaths. With the chart below, shows how their death tolls have increased over the past few years, and there is a reason for that. The United States has been slowly pulling out our troops and closing bases in Afghanistan. These numbers show there is a risk that civilian deaths will keep on rising as America pulls out of Afghanistan completely. The information below from October 2011 shows how many people were killed, injured or kidnapped in acts of terrorism. The definition of “Terrorism” is: the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purpose. A world at terrorism is a world with war, thus terrorism should be stopped. Especially, when the act of getting rid of terrorism benefits both the country from being terrorized and the country playing “police”. Take for instance a current issue in Syria.
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Figure 1. Afghan Civilian Deaths 2006 to 2011. Source: www.bbc.co.uk
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Figure 2. Syria’s Shocking Civilian Death Toll. Source: http://mwbnews.com
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If the United States helps Syria establish a stable and democratic government, that could mean one fewer enemy for the United States and new economic trading partner. Although it could take years or even decades for Syria to get to that point, there could be a very effective, long-term, beneficial outcome for the United States. The United States stepped to the Iraq-Iran war when the country was killing its own people and right now, Syria is massacring its own people. The United States could gain a new economic partner and Syria’s own government would no longer slaughter the Syrians so everyone wins, right?
When the United States helps a country during a time of terrorism, we tend to leave behind a type of American government, which some might argue is an issue because they |
assume other countries do not want a democracy set in place without the country’s consent, but there are more pressing issues in these countries. Here is a poll taken by the Afghan people from 2005 to 2010 on what they fear as the biggest danger to Afghanistan. As seen by this chart, being controlled by the Taliban is what they fear the most, not the United States.
Figure 3. Afghan Public Opinion on the Bigger Danger of Afghanistan. Source: http://www.intellectualtakeout.org
In fact, there are more benefits for countries which the United States has helped, take into account education. Look at the drastic educational change the United States has caused in Afghanistan. In 2001, there is reason to believe that less than 1 million kids were attending school and of those kids, a very small number are believed to have been girls. There is now believed to be more than 8.2 million students enrolled in school in Afghanistan with around 40% of them being female. The rise in education means the rise in wealth for a country.
Figure 4. Source: http://www.intellectualtakeout.org
Gross Domestic Product
The World Bank estimates that Afghanistan has gone from under $2.5 billion in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to over $17 billion at the end of 2011. This is all thanks to the United States, of course, but a great deal of leadership and help was from the United States and its military has been offered. This in itself is worth about 40 times more than the entire GDP of Afghanistan. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and the U.S Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) say that the United States spent $668 billion dollars on its military in 2012, which is actually a decline from 2011 ($711 billion). This is more than all the other countries including the United Nations (U.N) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) combined. The world needs a “policeman” that would be able to handle anything. Which the United States would seem likely to be the candidate for it, that is, if the soldiers in the military are seen only as robots.
The World Bank estimates that Afghanistan has gone from under $2.5 billion in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to over $17 billion at the end of 2011. This is all thanks to the United States, of course, but a great deal of leadership and help was from the United States and its military has been offered. This in itself is worth about 40 times more than the entire GDP of Afghanistan. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and the U.S Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) say that the United States spent $668 billion dollars on its military in 2012, which is actually a decline from 2011 ($711 billion). This is more than all the other countries including the United Nations (U.N) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) combined. The world needs a “policeman” that would be able to handle anything. Which the United States would seem likely to be the candidate for it, that is, if the soldiers in the military are seen only as robots.
Risks of War
After men and women have served their country during a time of war, many suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or depression. Among the 2.3 million veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, 20% of them suffer from PTSD and/or depression. Often marriages and relationships are ruined. For some veterans, the quality of life dwindles and they commit suicide. Many would say that this is a tragic consequence of war and it makes sense, considering what the veterans have been through.
In WWI, as noted by the United States Department of Justice, of the 37 million casualties, 320,000 were United States military personnel and 53,000 of those were deaths. During WWII, the number of military casualties more than tripled and the deaths were almost the same as the number of casualties in WWI, at a staggering, 292,000 deaths. Keep in mind that this was a World War, yes, but the United States did not even enter until halfway through the war. And we were not yet considered the “World Police.” Numbers within which the U.S was the “police” are not World War number but they are still shocking. Since the year 2001, the United States has lost 2,277 military personnel in the “War On Terror.” The majority of those losses came after the initial fighting started. It is no wonder why the Veterans of the United States military come back home and fall into a pit of depression because of the awful things they have seen. At times the government has even used our “policing” duties for selfish gains.
After men and women have served their country during a time of war, many suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or depression. Among the 2.3 million veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, 20% of them suffer from PTSD and/or depression. Often marriages and relationships are ruined. For some veterans, the quality of life dwindles and they commit suicide. Many would say that this is a tragic consequence of war and it makes sense, considering what the veterans have been through.
In WWI, as noted by the United States Department of Justice, of the 37 million casualties, 320,000 were United States military personnel and 53,000 of those were deaths. During WWII, the number of military casualties more than tripled and the deaths were almost the same as the number of casualties in WWI, at a staggering, 292,000 deaths. Keep in mind that this was a World War, yes, but the United States did not even enter until halfway through the war. And we were not yet considered the “World Police.” Numbers within which the U.S was the “police” are not World War number but they are still shocking. Since the year 2001, the United States has lost 2,277 military personnel in the “War On Terror.” The majority of those losses came after the initial fighting started. It is no wonder why the Veterans of the United States military come back home and fall into a pit of depression because of the awful things they have seen. At times the government has even used our “policing” duties for selfish gains.
In 1979, there was a revolution in Iran and Iran cut ties with America because of its foreign policies. Iran took Americans hostage and then banned American embassy workers from the country. Iran didn’t want to be manipulated and America wanted oil resources, power, and a large influence over the Middle East. America saw that the best way to have power over the Middle East was to divide and conquer by supplying varies countries with weapons and letting them go on killing each other. America then began to bomb both countries over the years, which lead up to their unprovoked invasion of Iraq. The United States supported Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war so we could counterbalance the post-revolutionary Iran. Siding with Iraq was the only way the United States saw as feasible to gain back our oil resources in the Middle East. The war on Iraq has put quite a toll on the Unites States’ bank account. Every hour, United States citizens pay about $824 thousand dollars on the war.
The United States is currently trying to withstand a debt of 14.3 trillion dollars. Before the “War on Terror,” the debt was under 6 trillion dollars so in approximately 12 years the debt has more than doubled. The outlook on the situation is strictly from an American standpoint because the foreign countries may not care how much in debt America is. Americans are the ones who are affected by the debt. The main debt payment obstacle is our military’s expenditure. When spending upwards of 680 million dollars a year on the military the debt of the country is not going to go away anytime soon. With the United States accounting for about 46% of military spending on the planet and the next highest being China with 6.6%, there is some room to make cuts and bring the debt down. This would create an opening for another country to come to the America’s by serving as the world’s police alongside us.
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Figure 5. Military Spending. Source: http://www.ritholtz.com
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Is a World Policeman Needed?
Many people say China does have the economic means to become the next global superpower. Their economic growth of 7.75% - 9.8% is estimated to overtake the United States by 2016 – 2019. They rank number one in reserves of foreign exchange and gold, exports, labor force and investments. But in other important issues for their economic growth, they are ignoring are air and water pollution. China is now the largest emitter of CO2 gases, and 60% of their groundwater is not safe to drink. Due to water and air pollutants, there are 750,000 premature deaths a year. With their growing elderly population and working age group declining, the labor costs will increase and their savings will decrease.
Many countries around the globe do not see China as a partner, like United States, but they do not see China as an enemy either. China could not overtake the United States by military means alone. China definitely has the manpower but it has questionable equipment. China has been improving its equipment for years but is still using antiquated weaponry. Recently, China has taken the path of cyber hacking to improve its drone program. China went after 20 foreign contractors to obtain the Unites States sophisticated drone technology. Even with the drone intelligence, there is still a lot of ground China will need to cover to overtake the Unites States’ military.
There are many candidates who could potentially take the job of a world policeman, if they would be willing. The main assumption of who should take the job would be the U.N, NATO or China. Some may not even know that the U.N, NATO or China is not the supposed “policeman.” Currently the United States has assumed the role, being the only country willing to do so. It has been the benefit of many countries from Japan, to Afghanistan and even in some sense the United States itself, with the potential of future benefits Syria if they continue to govern the World. If the debt, death of active military personnel and other symptoms of non-active military can be withstood, then the U.S remains an ideal world policeman. For that matter, the rest of the world seems set on letting America handle it. There may be no direct economic reasoning about why the U.S. should step in and help Syria, or any other country, for that matter. It becomes more of a question about what kind of world we want to live in and how we are going to help everyone else get there, whether that be by acting as policeman or not. “You cannot avoid war in life, you cannot avoid fear of terrorism, you cannot avoid those things now, they are a part of everyday demeanor.” John Mayer.
Many people say China does have the economic means to become the next global superpower. Their economic growth of 7.75% - 9.8% is estimated to overtake the United States by 2016 – 2019. They rank number one in reserves of foreign exchange and gold, exports, labor force and investments. But in other important issues for their economic growth, they are ignoring are air and water pollution. China is now the largest emitter of CO2 gases, and 60% of their groundwater is not safe to drink. Due to water and air pollutants, there are 750,000 premature deaths a year. With their growing elderly population and working age group declining, the labor costs will increase and their savings will decrease.
Many countries around the globe do not see China as a partner, like United States, but they do not see China as an enemy either. China could not overtake the United States by military means alone. China definitely has the manpower but it has questionable equipment. China has been improving its equipment for years but is still using antiquated weaponry. Recently, China has taken the path of cyber hacking to improve its drone program. China went after 20 foreign contractors to obtain the Unites States sophisticated drone technology. Even with the drone intelligence, there is still a lot of ground China will need to cover to overtake the Unites States’ military.
There are many candidates who could potentially take the job of a world policeman, if they would be willing. The main assumption of who should take the job would be the U.N, NATO or China. Some may not even know that the U.N, NATO or China is not the supposed “policeman.” Currently the United States has assumed the role, being the only country willing to do so. It has been the benefit of many countries from Japan, to Afghanistan and even in some sense the United States itself, with the potential of future benefits Syria if they continue to govern the World. If the debt, death of active military personnel and other symptoms of non-active military can be withstood, then the U.S remains an ideal world policeman. For that matter, the rest of the world seems set on letting America handle it. There may be no direct economic reasoning about why the U.S. should step in and help Syria, or any other country, for that matter. It becomes more of a question about what kind of world we want to live in and how we are going to help everyone else get there, whether that be by acting as policeman or not. “You cannot avoid war in life, you cannot avoid fear of terrorism, you cannot avoid those things now, they are a part of everyday demeanor.” John Mayer.