Karina Figueroa
U.S. History
Period 4
October 11, 2014
U.S. Foreign Relations
The United States of America is known worldwide as one of the greatest powers when it comes to contemporary international politics and economics, but although it leads the world forward in many ways, it sometimes causes mass destruction and ruin through its role in foreign relations. I believe that that U.S. has international influence through its actions in war, attempts at peace, and economic power.
Our nation has been involved in more than 26 wars overseas, and many of those wars were begun as a way to protect the innocent lives of people around the world. Each battle resulted in more aggression and the fight for dominance grew ever stronger. For example, the U.S. remained peaceful throughout the Soviet War, raising arms only when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, but allying with the Soviet Union brought the two nations to the brink of aggression in what became known as the Cold War.
The Cold War was essentially a struggle for world influence between opposed political ideas, with democracy and capitalism on one side and communism on the other. Nuclear weapons also came into play after the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan, but the Soviet Union had also gained nuclear weapons, which they then used over the next forty years in an attempt to overpower several countries. All this resulted in the death of thousands, possibly millions of innocent lives. I believe that the outcome could have differed if the U.S. had acted differently against the Soviet Union when the two nations were still allied. I understand that the protection of our nation comes first, but reckless bloodshed is not necessary.
Beginning in 1968 with the leadership of President Richard Nixon, the U.S. attempted to ease the...