Is U.S. Foreign Policy Moral?

Paper Summary:

The paper looks at America's past foreign policy regarding the Soviet Union and Communism. The paper also discusses the war against terrorism today and reveals that the true incentive behind the war in Iraq may have been financial, although there were moral victories attained as a result. The paper concludes that while morality should certainly have a substantial role in U.S. foreign policy strategy, in recent years, the financial goals of the United States seem to outweigh the altruistic ones.

Outline:
Introduction
The Past and U.S. Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy and Communism
Morality, Foreign Policy, and Terrorism
Moral Victories May be the Outcome of Financial Gain
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"United States foreign policy has always been about political relationships for financial gain combined with moral idealism (Fox 2000). Therefore, morality has played a substantial role in U.S. foreign policy strategy, and should continue to do so. Whether this "morality" is genuine is questionable, and lately the U.S. has appeared to many to be the equivalent of a greedy bully, seeking financial benefits with no care for assisting the impoverished, oppressed, and/or those who may benefit from a morality driven U.S. foreign policy. These U.S. foreign endeavors are done under the guise of morality, which often result in more harm than good for the citizens of nations that such U.S. foreign policy is choosing to target, which is immoral in its very nature."

Sample of Sources Used:

• DeCosse, David E.. 2006. Authority, lies, and war: democracy and the development of just war theory. Theological Studies. (June): 378-394.
• Forsyth, Michael. 2004. Finesse: a short theory of war. Military Review (July-August): 17-19.
• Fox, Jonathan. 2000. United States foreign policy in the twenty-first century: the crisis and renewal of the republican empire. Journal of Power and Ethics 1.3: 194-201.
• Hamid, Mohsin 2007. Why do they hate us? Washington Post, July, B01.
• Ledeen, Michael A.. 2003. The war against the terror masters: why it happened. Where we are now. How we'll win. New York: St. Martin's Press.

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