Essays on Military Action

Introduction

Domestic terrorist acts in the United States have been committed by a combination of native ideological sects, individuals representing what are considered to be extremist ideologies, and internationally-based terrorist organizations, such as Al-Qaeda. In the aftermath of the September 11, 2011 Al-Qaeda sponsored terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was implemented (Furlow, 2005). The primary objective of the Department of Homeland Security can be seen as terrorism prevention. Although prevention of terrorism does not eradicate its ideological causes per se, the act of prevention can aid in the identification and ...

Democracies do not go to War with One Another

The correlation between democracy and war has been a major concern for various political commentators globally. The statement that democratic states rarely go to war is correct and is supported by many scholars. According to Rummel (1999, p. 10), democracy abhors any conceivable form of politically instigated violence. The statement that democratic states do not go to war is, therefore, justified and this behavior can be attributed to the makeup of a normal democratic country. Aspects such as respect for human rights, compliance with the rule of law and the presence of a competitive political setup have arguably contributed ...

For long, the war on drugs has been fought through many fronts such as the criminalization of certain drugs, harsh penalties for drug possession and military confrontation. The military is being used to combat drug trafficking since it is now believed that drug trafficking has become a national security issue. This is because drug trafficking has caused widespread corruption, undermining of democracies and has sometimes been used to finance terrorism. Military action mainly targets capturing or killing of leaders of major drug cartels. Military operations have also helped in chasing, tracking and capturing of drug smugglers. Military success can ...

EU Common Security and Defense Policy

Increasing threats of the terrorism and insecurity have thrown the world into a frantic run of securing countries and regions. For the last few years, many countries have anchored their primary policies around the issue of security. Increasing cases of radicalization among the youth in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East have forced policy makers to rethink their strategies of curbing insecurity. To ensure increased protection of the citizens, governments, and regional blocs have taken to developing systems and policies that safeguard the people from acts of terrorism and insecurity. However, these policies are confronted with challenges and obstacles ...

The president of United States also acts as the Commander in Chief of its military. This gives the president the authority to command and use the troops as per his will. But does this makes him the supreme authority or is he constitutionally required to seek out Congress’ approval before taking any military actions abroad into imminent hostilities? I believe that as the Commander in Chief, the president is required to guide the military to achieve a win. But this does not give him the power to start a war or any other military action for that matter. The ...

Introduction

The greatest challenge of JFK’s presidency came in October 1962, as U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. were on the brink of a possibly a nuclear face-off over the presence of Russian missiles in Cuba, while the President had to decide whether to engage or maintain peace with their adversary. Thirteen Days provides a historical account of events transpiring during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The book is written from the point of view of RFK (Robery F Kennedy), the U.S. Attorney General under his brother’s leadership. The book highlights the events of 13 days where decisions were made by the ...

Taiwan’s Independence Status

Politically speaking, there are two distinct voices in Taiwan: the first group is for independence while the other is for the status quo (unification). The Pan-Blue group of parties support the unification idea. On the other hand, the Pan-Green coalition is seeking independence. The KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) are the largest Pan-Blue and Pan-Green parties respectively. The issue of independence or unification dominates the politics in Taiwan. Despite some nations treating Taiwan as independent, international law would classify the state as not independent. Internationally, the PRC is considered the country and that Taiwan is its twenty-third ...

Since September 11, there has been a proliferation of programs to fight terrorism, accompanied by a tremendous increase in the resources allocated for the same purpose. However, not much effort has been directed towards determining the effectiveness of the programs. The question of effectiveness must be raised because if the programs are ineffective, the massive resources that have been allocated have been going down the drain. It is only recently that serious attention has been paid to this question (Lum, Kennedy, & Sherley, 2009). The paucity of research in the area is testament to this. Measuring effectiveness of terrorism strategies ...

It has been close to two years since Malaysian Boeing MH17 being downed over the disputed territory of eastern Ukraine. In the early hours and days of the tragedy, the media of most world countries, whether print, online, or television, seemed to be trying nothing else other than to cover the continuous story. While journalists are not tripping over each other in a bid to publish the sensational materials presently, the interest in the story has not ceased completely, neither has the investigation that is still to name the guilty party. Until it has, media will continue their coverage ...

Introduction

The Falkland War of 1982 was an undeclared war between the United Kingdom and Argentina and lasted for about ten weeks. The main reason for the fighting was because of two islands under British control that the Argentines insisted were supposed to be theirs since they were located only 300 miles from their coast (Ashton, 2018, 1). These islands were South Sandwich and the Falkland Islands. In response to the above prompt, the essay will look at the war in detail, both from the military perspective and diplomatically, to uncover why the war broke out and the liability that ...

The most complete role of the Congress in the system of separation of powers is in the functions vested in it by the Constitution. Summarily, they may be represented as follows:

1. Adoption of the legislation; 2. Budget and Finance; 3. Formation of the executive and judiciary branches; 4. Control over the activities of the government apparatus; 5. Implementation of the quasi-judicial functions; 6. Regulation of intergovernmental relations.

In the lawmaking, Congress is involved in issuing bills (laws), resolutions and orders.

Bills, that after the approval by president or on overcoming his veto become laws (acts, statutes), are divided into public bills and private bills. The ...

The success of military action during the war times has leadership as the main component. The leaders are therefore shaped in relation to the situations they face in their life and daily life activities. The leaders have a great effect on the outcomes during their interaction with the diverse information, people, resources and the general environment they operate in. This movie also shows the first phase relating to the Second World War. The situation exposed to General Frank Savage while leading the bomber squadron in England during the Second World War. This therefore helps in demonstrating the leadership styles of ...

Introduction

Terrorism has been a long-standing problem of globalization, with radical militant groups inflicting coercion upon civilians to push for political, social and religious goals. Arguably, however, terrorism has reached its zenith in recent times when the September 11, 2001 (9/11) attacks in the United States (US) happened. The intensity of the attacks cast the image of the US as the most powerful nation in the world into serious doubt, considering the fatal breach of security involved (Kean, 2004).

Undoubtedly, 9/11 shook the US towards creating new strategies to counter future cases of terrorism. However, there is an understanding that the ...

- Mission/ Purpose of the Agency

The Department of Defense had been established to sustain the country's need for military strength to deter war and protect the nation from any threat, may it be internal or external threat. According to Trask and Glennon (2008) the department is also created to maintain and continue employing Armed Forces or military personnel to support and protect the Constitution from any threat. In addition to this, the department is also tasked to ensure that military action is done effectively and efficiently to ensure the security of the nation and all its national interest. Finally, the DoD is also ...

(Course/Major)

On the 15th of December 2011, American troops lowered the US flag from their base in Baghdad, signaling the end of the American military and peacekeeping mission in Iraq. After a year short of a decade of military missions in the country, the dismantling of the regime of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein as well as the explosion of sectarian violence and civil disturbances, the situation was further aggravated by the continuing involvement of the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization. In this light, the official departure of American troops from Iraq, and the cessation of active US participation in keeping the peace ...

Introduction

The paper is a review of the writings of Kenneth waltz and Alexander Wendt. The two differ in the approach of discussing the anarchical realms of the world. They agree on the use of force as a method of survival for the states. Thesis Statement The main argument of the paper is the contention that anarchy is relative a states. The paper takes the social constructivism approach is discussing anarchy in the world. International political arena is equated to a jungle where there are no rules.

Body

The paper delves into the discussion of the three principles of political structures ...

Richard Nixon became the 37th president of United States of America after the presidential elections of 1968. He successfully served his first term as president and was reelected overwhelmingly into office in 1972. He, however, did not complete his second term in office due to allegations of involvement in Watergate scandal. He resigned as the president of US on August 9, 1974 after the Judiciary Committee had recommended his impeachment to the Congress over Watergate Scandal (Vile 30). Before Nixon became president, he served as the vice president during Dwight Eisenhower’s presidency between 1953 and 1961. In 1960, ...

Part 1

Mass media is extremely useful in defining how certain issues are handled in the society. The flow of information in the media has influence various activities and decisions in the past following the sensitivity of the kind of information that members of the society release. However, different people will have variant views on certain issues as they are reported by the mass media. Recently, there have been extensive reports on revolts in North Africa, as well as the Middle East. These reports have led NATO interventions as the solution to the rising levels to a country like Libya. Based ...

Introduction:

This research paper examines and discusses the economic links and conflicts prevailing between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) – mainland China – and its much smaller island neighbor, Taiwan, which calls itself the Republic of China (ROC). The two countries enjoy an uneasy truce – fundamentally because China does not recognize Taiwan as an independent nation, and has an ongoing ambition to bring Taiwan back as part of one unified China. Taiwan and China are a little over 100 miles apart across the Taiwan Strait, which is part of the South China Sea and connects in the north to the ...

Introduction

US have been involved with more than 50 military actions in the past half century. On average, this means that they are involved in military action to other countries every year. Countries that have experienced significant fighting are Afghanistan, Vietnam and Iraq, while countries like Bosnia, Libya, Haiti and Kuwait have experienced lesser incursion. This total does not count simple military action like the airstrikes it carried out to suspects Taliban rebels in the Middle East. Throughout history, US have often deployed their army to other countries. US have been recorded as victors in both world wars, but they ...

Introduction

NATO or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an agreement between participating countries to support and give assistance to other allied countries who have signed treaty to the agreement. This concept of supporting each other and giving each member a sense of security when it comes to attacking elements from external parties give members of the organization a chance to grow and give attention to aspects of development without necessarily being fully or over-concerned about how they are going to fair in case military operations rise against them. Considerably, NATO’s role is to serve as the safety-net that every country ...

Under the leadership of President, Dwight Eisenhower, the United States developed the need to use military action to prevent the spread and impact of communism or any other radical movements. Eisenhower used the doctrine that asserts that use nukes and spooks to prevent communists or any other radical takeovers. The doctrine was created after the U.S had realized that is was likely for a global takeover by communists. President Eisenhower had massive military experience in military action, and he knew the importance and effectiveness of military action when an impactful intervention was required (Jones, 2008). At the time of ...

The military video game is a very popular type of interactive entertainment, a specific genre of the medium of relatively recent realm of video games primarily centered around plots and characters dealing with the armed forces of a nation, usually the United States military (Breuer, Festl and Quandt 1). Given the relatively new and developing nature of the military video game genre and its popularity, its sociological effects and inspirations (especially as it pertains to race relations and foreign policy) are still unknown. While games like Medal of Honor, Call of Duty, Rainbow Six and more have begun to bring in tremendous ...

The military video game is a very popular type of interactive entertainment, a specific genre of the medium of relatively recent realm of video games primarily centered around plots and characters dealing with the armed forces of a nation, usually the United States military (Breuer, Festl and Quandt 1). Given the relatively new and developing nature of the military video game genre and its popularity, its sociological effects and inspirations (especially as it pertains to race relations and foreign policy) are still unknown. While games like Medal of Honor, Call of Duty, Rainbow Six and more have begun to bring in tremendous ...

Introduction

President Obama's announcement on military action in Iraq raised controversy and criticism over its validity and legal issues. The idea to deploy American troops (300 military advisors) whose intention is to help the Iraqi forces to maintain control over the rebel Islamic militants is considered by the Congress, as unconstitutional. The statement revealed that he planned on consulting the Congress and Iraq leaders for the appropriate course of action when a situation is considered delicate. He mentioned in his speech that the U.S is ready to take targeted military action to combat rebel militants in Iraq after consultations with ...

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: THE IRAN NUCLEAR CRISIS

Iran’s burgeoning nuclear activities seem to bear a threat as well as a challenge to international order. Iran has continued to mock the rule-based traditional system for preventing nuclear proliferation. In case the Islamic Republic decides to take a step further and weaponize the nuclear abilities of the country, the threat of war in the Middle Eastern region will become enhanced since Iran as well as its neighbors continue to modify themselves with the constant shifts in power and the stakes continue to grow higher.

Background

Nationalism in Iran coupled with the prevalent religious and ethnic tensions within the land could very ...

History : the bonus marchers

Background and Opinions on “The Bonus Army” At the turn of the century, The United States of America was facing large-scale changes at all levels of society, as a traditional urban families procured work in cities where those at the top prospered while those at the bottom often worked long hours in difficult jobs for measly incomes. At the end of the first world war, many veterans were dispossessed by the state of affairs in the US and the struggles that came with the economy when the Great Depression strut. An assemblage of marchers, 43,000, a quarter of which ...

‘Instructor’s Name’

The influence and role of Virginia leading up to and in the American Revolution The American Revolution was the singularly important event of the modern history, as it marked the birth of a government which was responsible to the will of the people. The revolutionary war which lasted between the years 1765 and 1783, ended with the colonies separating from the British Empire and the new nation of Unites States of America being born. Virginia had a huge role to play in this revolutionary war, by producing some of the great revolutionary leaders and orators like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson ...

The United Nation can be equated with peace and security, although its objectives are wider and entail promotion of human rights, social and economic development as well as self-determination. Nonetheless, the United Nation is the main collective security institution. The United Nation has a world-wide membership and various competences in security, peace as well as matching powers which entail the capability to make decisions on non-forcible measures as well as authorize various military actions that range from consensual pacification to full scale fighting. The United Nation has an ardent diplomatic function which is often channeled through the United Nation Secretary-General ...

The Arab Spring has been going on for the last two years. While the peaceful protest that started in Tunisia was over in the country after about 3 months, it took Libya about 6 months to finally stampede over the authoritative regime of Kaddafi. Kaddafi’s fall however, did not actualize the desires of a liberal and progressive democracy. Libya’s revolution backfired as the absence of a central authority led to civil unrest and the rise of extremists’ movements. In Egypt, the fall of Hosni Mubarak in 2011 was seen as the culmination of freedom and the triumph of democracy ...

Barbara Mikulski was born in Highlandtown, East Baltimore, in 1936. She is now 77 years old. Her parents are William Mikulski, a grocer, and Christine Eleanor. She has two sisters. She went to high school at the Institute of Notre Dame and college at Mount Saint Agnes, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. She also has a social work master’s degree. After finishing her studies, she ventured into social activism. She became the face of social activism in her neighborhood in Baltimore. As a community organizer, one of her successful stories was lobbying against the construction ...

President Obama’s administration has consistently advocated for the resignation of Syria’s President Assad and urged the United Nations Security Council to act in order to restore peace in the country. Presently, debates on whether the United States should strike against Damascus for having deployed chemical weapons have advanced to a Congressional level. The use of chemical weapons in Syria or anywhere else in the world could have unimaginable consequences for the rest of the world. The fact that Assad’s government recklessly deployed chemical weapons to strengthen their attack flies in the face of the United States’ abhorrence ...

U.S. Keeps Eye on Iran Policy The September 2, 2013 news article in the New York Times namely “Drawing a Line on Syria, U.S. Keeps Eye on Iran Policy” says that as the US government pushes for punitive actions against the Syrian government; majority of the proponent of military action against Syria are of the opinion that a message should be conveyed to Iran in order to succeed. Unless the US enforces the sanctions against the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian administration; Iran may smell the weakness in the actions and instead push on with its nuclear threats. ...

In the wake of 9/11, many new military advancements were created in order to fight a brand new enemy: extremist terrorist groups. Terrorism is defined as “premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents” (Jordan, p. 267). Instead of country fighting against country, the adversaries the American military face are smaller, splintered, and not affiliated with any specific government. They fight for an ideal, not for land, and the governing bodies of the countries in which they reside have no official political or economic ties with them. As a result, it is far easier for ...

LOST IN TRANSLATION

“On the principle of infallibility there rests the iron discipline of the Communist Party. In fact, the two concepts are mutually self-supporting. Perfect discipline requires recognition of infallibility.” - George Kennan, “The Sources of Soviet Conduct” George Kennan wrote these prophetic words in 1946 as part of the famous “Long Telegram,” a document that was made public in 1947 by Foreign Affairs magazine. Kennan’s treatise on the Soviet Union, the nature of Communism and the expected physical manifestations of that nature became the most impactful work on what would become the Cold War and the courses of ...

S O

HUM 225

Ethics: War on Terrorism In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Americans pondered the thought that the war on terrorism is unjust. Many Americans believe that our government’s reasons for fighting this war are for money, greed, and oil reserves. But truth be told and if Americans and the world at large could consider the interests and safety of the wider society against the terror groups, then there could be no question as to why America is so serious about the post 9/11 war on ...

On the 1st day of May 2013 the president of Guatemalan, Otto Perez Molina, declared a military action on four municipalities of his nation which would last for 30 days. They included the places surrounding El Escobal Silver mining. The El Escobal Silver mining is under the control of mining experts from Canada who were hired by the government. According to the Cultural Survival Organization the State of Siege suspended essential lawful rights of the indigenous people. The State of Siege banned any public assembly as well as peaceful protests, authorizing the military to search and lock up individuals protesting. ...

The president of Guatemalan, Otto Perez Molina, on the 1st day of May 2013 made public military action on four municipalities for a period of 30 days. The municipalities included the areas around El Escobal Silver mining which is under the control of mining experts from Canada. According to the Cultural Survival Organization the State of Siege suspended essential lawful rights. The State of Siege banned any public assembly as well as peaceful protests, give the military the authority to search and lock up individuals. The president further explained the state of Siege was not aimed at barring any ...

Terrorism is a situation whereby certain individuals use violence to intimidate innocent civilians or a government into giving into their demands. Terrorists have different objectives. Some may want that only their religion should be recognized in their state and only the laws of that religion should be passed. Others may want their regions to secede from the parent state so that they can manage their resources on their own. Counter terrorism refers to actions which are being taken to combat terrorism. The word is preferred to the term “war on terror” because of its active connotation. Despite the dangerous activities terrorists ...

Sputnik was a milestone in the world technological development after it became the first artificial satellite of the earth. The Soviet Union was the country associated with the milestone having launched Sputnik 1 on the fourth day of October 1957. The first artificial satellite was spherical covering a diameter of 58 centimeters and weighing 83.6 kilograms. It was made from a shiny metal so that it could be easily visible, with radio antennae attached to its surface for transmission of radio signals. It went round the earth on an elliptical path within a time period of 98 minutes. On the 26th of October ...

During the end times of the World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was quoted for saying that the Britons would not stop fighting for their country. They would fight on the hilltops, in the plains, in the valleys, in the skies, and every other front that could help them to achieve their goal. This phrase might have been taken to mean that the war was to go on, but looked from the modern perspective, it is clear that the prime minister implied that they could use any means possible to win the war. This is actually what ...

The invasion of Iraq was not morally just as it was a preemptive attack on a sovereign state. While international law recognizes the use of preemptive military action, the same ought to be sanctioned by the Security Council (Devetak et.al, 2011). The invasion was devoid of this international law requirement thus a moral justification would suffice only if Iraq had attacked any of the invading country; which would make the invasion a just war. Again, religious groups, more so the Catholics opposed the invasion on the basis that it was morally wrong to use preemptive and unilateral military action (Fleishman, 2008). This lack ...

Current Events and US Diplomacy

United States presidential doctrine refers to course of action that a particular president in power adopts in dealing with in handling foreign policies. It is an ideological ground from which a US president executes a policy on a foreign country or region in an attempt to accomplish the US foreign objectives. Most if not all United States presidents had their own presidential doctrines. In fact, there have been many presidential doctrines in the United States. Nearly all the United States presidents have had their doctrines of dealing with their foreign policies. President J. F. Kennedy’s doctrine was a foreign policy that he ...

Introduction & Background

Since the onset of the 2000s, possible nuclear arms race in the Middle East region has been the focus of the international community. The past decade saw Iran attempts to install nuclear weaponry face harsh criticism and opposition from the western powers. The west believes that if the Persian state succeeds, the already volatile Middle East would be a threat against international peace. Presently, according to intelligence reports, Israel is believed to possess nuclear weaponry though the current regime led by Benjamin Netanyahu continues to deny this. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty does not recognize Israel as a Nuclear Weapon State because ...

Sikhism is one of the six largest religions in the world and Guru Nanak founded it in the 15th century. It originated from Punjab, an area in the North West India. Guru Nanak was born to a warrior caste (Kshatriya) of the Hindu community but later faced influence from the Muslims (Kalsi, 2004). Sikhism has had ten Gurus, Guru Nanak being the First, and the last Guru being Guru Gobind Singh (Mann, 2004). They believe in one Supreme Being and that all human beings are equal. Most males have Singh (lion) as their middle name and most females middle name ...

JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban missile crisis was the gravest “clash” for the duration of the cold war, the Soviet Union and the United Sates of America came dangerously close to dreadful confrontation when the USSR in an extraordinary hazardous move had begun concealed effort to establish a chief offensive military presence in Cuba in 19621. This potentially outrageous move by the Soviet’s brought the policy makers of both countries to a seriously question their use of military force and diplomacy.

The crisis was a significant event of the cold war which prolonged the hostility period between the Soviet Union the United States. Being ...

Ethics Violation in Abu Ghraib

The word ethics spans an adage of definitions advanced by various scholars in the world. Right from the days of Emmanuel Kant and other notable Geek philosophers, the term ethics has been accorded with the treatment or the study of the moral right or wrong of human actions. It is in this trajectory that this paper tries to establish the moral wrong or right that is advanced by the American soldiers in the Iraqi Abu Ghraib Prison, also called Baghdad correction facility. The paper tries to establish the various ethics and human rights violation in the prison and the ...

Analysis of the international response to the Suez Canal Crisis

On the 26th of July 1956, the president of Egypt at that time, Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal seizing it from international firm which was under the Anglo French control. The Suez Canal existed in Egypt but it was run by an international company which received the rights to run the company under the Constantinople Agreement of 1888. Under the arrangement that existed prior to the crisis, the international company received $31 million from the Canal while Egypt received $ 17 million from the Canal..The nationalization of the Suez Canal was the beginning of a diplomatic row between Egypt ...

In the past few years where Afghanistan has gained some impressive achievements at the same time the country still remains amongst the list of world’s poorest countries. Not only the poorest, in fact Afghanistan has been considered as the second worst corrupted country of the world due to the rule incompetent government who is unable to make decisions on its own and in the right path. The country has suffered from destruction, war and terrorism since a decade due to the hold of Taliban who shattered every nook and corner of the country to the worst extent. But since ...

1) Similarities and Differences between the Bush and Obama Doctrines When Barack Obama took office in 2009, he decided to make substantial changes to national security strategy and policy that were present under Bush’s reign, while still remaining true to many of the core principles, in order to avoid alienating those who had already committed to the previous administration’s strategies. According to both Bush and Obama, there are many threats to American prosperity and security still present in the world. First and foremost is the continued interference and resistance from terrorist organizations such as al-Qaida ...

Abstract

The disarmament policy has been unavoidable in many UN Security Council and G20 meetings recently. It has even caused the drafting and signing of many Non-proliferation treaties in the world of late. However, as much as the world security councils and conferences focus on these it of paramount importance to look back into history of what these weapons of mass destruction can do. This write up focus on the pros and cons of the bombings of the two cities of Japan: Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War.

Background information

During the course of the Second World War, On August ...