Is U.S. Intervention in Foreign Affairs Justified?
I am participating in a debate on this topic, so I’m interested in all that you know. It would be very helpful to post links. Please state facts about the subject, I don’t have time to read through posts that say I should be more spacific or any of that crap.
Hey Jantom, here on the Straight Dope we don’t do people’s thinking, or homework, for them.
UnuMondo
I like your businesslike approach. Since we’re being businesslike, how much are you offering to pay for this help?
First, define “intervention”.
Even though it seems at first appearance to be nosy for one country’s government to be saying that another country’s government is the legitimate government , every nation by its nature must decide which nations it will recognize as nations (that is, engage in diplomatic relations) and form basic treaties such as those for extradition, postal, wireless, aviation, etcetera.
Lots of countries have foreign aid, whether it be grants or loans, and whether it takes the form of money, goods-in-kind (grain, etc.), or services (Peace Corps). It’s not unusual for that assistance to have multiple motives and to have implicit or explicit strings attached.
And declaring embargoes on trade are a part of each nation’s inherent power to regulate which nations its citizens and companies may trade with.
There are all sorts of “intervention” short of sending in the Marines, and none of them are particularly unique to the U.S…
To elaborate on this a bit what country doesn’t try to intervene in foreign affairs? Country’s rightly look out for their own interests and that of its citizens (usually). Anytime anything happens in the world you often hear every country and its mother chime in with their opinion. Some, like the US, are quite large, economically and militarily powerful countries that affect world foreign affairs to a great degree. Other countries, such as Swaziland, have little in the way of economic or military power and thus have little global reach such that other countries will pay any attention to them. Nevertheless even Swaziland probably has things to say about policies in, say, South Africa.
Yes.
I think that adequately covers the OPs question:)