Military adventurism is a loaded term that is used to describe different activities in which military force is applied. This term can mean a coup. It can mean a preference for invading other countries. Yet other meanings are over eager use of force or interventions that victimize weaker countries.
During the 2012 Presidential campaign Rick Perry, the Governor of Texas, was noted for using this term. He later clarified he was referring to the use of force abroad, when no vital interests needed to be defended. The President of Uganda also used this phrase, but in a different context. In a speech at the Non Aligned Movement summit he criticized adventurist aggression of western countries, including the United States. He described this conduct as a way to impose hegemony over developing countries once again in the post colonial era. Meanwhile in Ghana and similarly afflicted countries, this expression has described a national history of domestic coups.
The types of activity that fall within this description have led to further problems. In light of hindsight, a wasteful exercise is often the result if such action. Take for instance the present friendly relations of the US and Vietnam. Not long ago, they were engaged in a bitter and damaging conflict. Meanwhile civilians in Vietnam are still suffering grievously from the pollution of their habitat by Agent Orange used to clear dense forests during combat operations.
Cordial relations between Russia and America belie the fact they were bitter rivals for decades after the Second World War. To defeat the Soviets in Afghanistan, American trainers used proxy fighters. Among these were Islamist Jihadis who established Al Qaeda. Following the Russian defeat, the extremists turned against the Americans. So, former allies are bitter enemies today in an expanding conflict.
The world would have been better off the United States had never intervened in Afghanistan. How much more peaceful it would have been if it had been spared the spreading poison of Al Qaeda and sympathizers. Interventions in Iraq, Libya and Syria have all seen Al Qaeda and its sympathizers become powerful actors that reek for years to come. Iraq and Pakistan are still suffering and now Libya has joined this club. Libyan arms have spread to Mali where Islamic militants forced France to intervene to push back advances in Mali, a former French colony.
The latest development is the exposure of surveillance on a grand scale undertaken to catch terrorists. There has been dismay and surprise and the reputation of the country has been tarnished. People have wondered how the cherished ideals contained in the Bill of Rights have been disregarded to catch a few terrorists. America has paid dearly for an action that with hindsight appears to not have been needed any way.
Countries that have often seen military coups have demonstrated an inability to develop a healthy political culture. Pakistan, Turkey, countries in Africa, including most recently Egypt, illustrate that a whole nation suffers when military government steps in to control domestic government. The military is not trained for civilian government, so the country as a whole suffers its scars. These can last long after such activity has ceased as revealed by The Act of Killing, a recent documentary on dark period in the history of Indonesia.
The term military adventurism mocks a policy of military interventions. As our world becomes increasingly unstable, it is a good way to describe reckless conduct. Use of force inhibits peaceful resolutions that are more beneficial.
During the 2012 Presidential campaign Rick Perry, the Governor of Texas, was noted for using this term. He later clarified he was referring to the use of force abroad, when no vital interests needed to be defended. The President of Uganda also used this phrase, but in a different context. In a speech at the Non Aligned Movement summit he criticized adventurist aggression of western countries, including the United States. He described this conduct as a way to impose hegemony over developing countries once again in the post colonial era. Meanwhile in Ghana and similarly afflicted countries, this expression has described a national history of domestic coups.
The types of activity that fall within this description have led to further problems. In light of hindsight, a wasteful exercise is often the result if such action. Take for instance the present friendly relations of the US and Vietnam. Not long ago, they were engaged in a bitter and damaging conflict. Meanwhile civilians in Vietnam are still suffering grievously from the pollution of their habitat by Agent Orange used to clear dense forests during combat operations.
Cordial relations between Russia and America belie the fact they were bitter rivals for decades after the Second World War. To defeat the Soviets in Afghanistan, American trainers used proxy fighters. Among these were Islamist Jihadis who established Al Qaeda. Following the Russian defeat, the extremists turned against the Americans. So, former allies are bitter enemies today in an expanding conflict.
The world would have been better off the United States had never intervened in Afghanistan. How much more peaceful it would have been if it had been spared the spreading poison of Al Qaeda and sympathizers. Interventions in Iraq, Libya and Syria have all seen Al Qaeda and its sympathizers become powerful actors that reek for years to come. Iraq and Pakistan are still suffering and now Libya has joined this club. Libyan arms have spread to Mali where Islamic militants forced France to intervene to push back advances in Mali, a former French colony.
The latest development is the exposure of surveillance on a grand scale undertaken to catch terrorists. There has been dismay and surprise and the reputation of the country has been tarnished. People have wondered how the cherished ideals contained in the Bill of Rights have been disregarded to catch a few terrorists. America has paid dearly for an action that with hindsight appears to not have been needed any way.
Countries that have often seen military coups have demonstrated an inability to develop a healthy political culture. Pakistan, Turkey, countries in Africa, including most recently Egypt, illustrate that a whole nation suffers when military government steps in to control domestic government. The military is not trained for civilian government, so the country as a whole suffers its scars. These can last long after such activity has ceased as revealed by The Act of Killing, a recent documentary on dark period in the history of Indonesia.
The term military adventurism mocks a policy of military interventions. As our world becomes increasingly unstable, it is a good way to describe reckless conduct. Use of force inhibits peaceful resolutions that are more beneficial.
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