Posted by
Ivan Simic on Wednesday, December 19, 2007 10:58:35 AM
In our modern world there are 245 entities, which include; countries,
independent states (both internationally recognized and generally
unrecognized), inhabited dependent territories, and areas of special sovereignty.
Almost, all of these entities have fought some kind of war and battle in their
history for various reasons, such as: independence, religion, revolution,
liberation, occupation, among others. According to war history, over 365
million people lost their lives in these wars, including ongoing ones.
Unfortunately, the final number of war victims will never be known.
For
centuries, numerous wars were fought among countries, and in relation to that,
we cannot ignore one country that has participated or had a big influence in
many of them, especially recent ones. That country is the United States of
America (USA).
The
United States proclaimed independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776 but
she was officially recognized on September 3, 1783, and since then, the USA was
involved in over 285 domestic and international military conflicts, some of
which were: World War I and II, Vietnam War, Korean War, Gulf War, and ongoing
wars: Iraq War (Second Persian Gulf War), War in Somalia, War on Terrorism (Operation
Enduring Freedom); Afghanistan, Philippines, Trans Sahara, among others. If we
look through world history for the last fifty years, we can see that no country
has been involved in as many military conflicts as the United States has.
Currently,
the USA has over 369,000 active military personnel deployed outside the USA,
including: around 170.000 troops in Iraq, Japan 48.844 troops, Germany 63.958
troops, South Korea 26.477 troops, the UK 10.967 troops, among others. Also,
the USA has; 27 Air Force Bases, 3 Army Bases, 4 Navy Bases, and 1 Barracks
worldwide. Without these military installations, the USA would be vulnerable
like any other country, and a country without major influence in the
International System.
Therefore,
general opinion would be that; the USA is a very aggressive country, but is
she? For instance, if we compare the world entities to one big family; then we
can say that the USA is like a "big brother" to the remaining
countries. The USA is always there to help and protect small countries, to
support, to give financial aid, but also to discipline some in order to make
them better. The United States likes to be called the "leader of the free
world", while others believe that she is a ruler, perhaps conqueror.
However, many are wondering if she is capable of being a leader. Well, the USA
is one of the youngest countries in the world, but she took that chance and
became a leader, while others didn't. Being a leader is not easy, and
occasionally she makes mistakes, therefore it is up to older and wiser
countries to help her realise them.
We are
evidencing dramatic changes in the world today; China, India, Russia and
European Union are getting economically stronger, and the USA economy is
beginning to stagnate. If this trend continues, then the only way for the
United States to remain a superpower, and dominant economical, political,
cultural, and military force in the world will be to fight wars. It would be
better for the United States to use warfare money and invest in the domestic
economy, instead of spending billions of dollars on useless wars.
In regard
to the above, it looks like American people didn't get anything good from these
hopeless wars, especially recent ones. These days, American citizens lives in
constant fears from terrorist attacks, and they became potential targets for
terrorist worldwide.
However,
there are few very interesting facts: many countries have policy against the
USA, her way of conducting politics and way of living, but at the same time
wants to be like her. It is similar with different nationalities, many of them
don't like Americans, but almost every person in the world would like to become
an American citizen and live in the USA. Take for instance how many Mexicans,
Chinese, Cubans, and even Muslims from countries that the USA army have
occupied live in the United States, and struggle to become citizens. Many
countries have implemented numerous US Laws and regulations, and it is evident
the number of immigrants coming to the United States is increasing every year.
So, what
can we expect from the United States in the future?
No one
knows, let's just hope that she will end this war trend and use her resources
to bring harmony to the world, so that we can enjoy her leadership in a
peaceful and understanding way.