French Minister Hubert Vedrine has admitted that since the fall of the Soviet Union's America is the only "superpower". The United States is no longer in competition with other countries. America seems to be invulnerable and rules over international relationships because of which America has been nicknamed "the world's policeman". Unfortunately, this invulnerability has become an illusion since the 09/11 attacks. After this tragic and traumatic episode, the United States realizes that their national interests, especially their national security, are threatened. Bush Administration, under the neo-conservative ideology's influence, revolutionizes the foreign policy and introduces a messianic conception based on military power. The American foreign policy is particularly influenced by the religious morals. The references to God, democracy and peace are very frequent. Richard Perle even talks about a "world of peace thanks to the American military power".
[...] Because of the AIPAC's lobbying, George W. Bush unconditionally defends the state of Israel. He also supports Japan and South Korea in Asia because they contribute to the regional stability and, therefore, defend the regional American interests. In order to preserve this global stability in those two key military and economic areas, the United States must settle the Iranian and North Korean nuclear-weapons programmes' issue. The nuclear proliferation embodies a crucial threat for international order. In Asia, the latent rivalry between China and America and the Chinese territorial ambitions worry the American strategists. [...]
[...] It is the Great Middle-East project elaborated by Condoleezza Rice. Democracy can't be imposed by the use of force. After Abu Ghraib, Washington must rebuild the American moral credibility. Consequently, America cannot support pro-American dictators. It is the case in Egypt where Moubarak fights against Muslim Brotherhood but where democracy is an utopia. This position is morally unsustainable. This is the American foreign policy's paradox : the perpetual hesitation between idealism and pragmatism. Moreover, Bush Administration must put a lot into israelo-palestinian conflict again. [...]
[...] In order to preserve their national interests in an unstable world, the United States must imagine a new strategy after the use of force's failure. The main immediate threat is Islamist terrorism. Washington must tackle to terrorism's roots : economic failure and poverty in Africa and Asia. Therefore, development aid is crucial. The United States must finance fight against AIDS and other diseases. In particular, the American market must be accessible to poor countries. This aim forces the United States to decrease farm subsidies and duties for those countries. [...]
[...] The new Bush Administration seems to be more pragmatic than idealistic and seems to restore dialogue with Muslim world and Europe. Since the Republicans' battering in the mid-term elections, this tendency could be accentuated because the president is totally liberated from the election contingencies. The United States' priority is to preserve the national interests thanks to a new strategy but this strategy is particularly difficult to define. Nonetheless, in The Great Chessboard, the clever intellectual and Carter's consultant Zbignew Bzrezinski formulates the most coherent work about the United States' power. [...]
APA Style reference
For your bibliographyOnline reading
with our online readerContent validated
by our reading committee
