Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq. Stephen Kinzer - Essay Example

History and Political Science December 05, Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq Stephen Kinzer Stephen Kinzer, who has worked as a foreign correspondent with The New York Times in more than fifty countries on different continents, has not for the first time wrote on this issue. In this book however he has detailed all the fourteen overthrows by the American Government from Hawaii (1893), to Puerto Rico (1898), Philippines (1902), to Nicaragua (1910), Honduras (1911), Iran (1953), to Guatemala (1954), Vietnam (1963), Chile (1973), Grenada (1983), to Panama (1989), to Afghanistan (2001) to Iraq (2003). As Kinzer puts it in his book, ‘No nation in modern history has done this so often, in so many places so far from its own shores.’   Through in this book Stephen Kinzer gives us an insight on the big picture on how the American Government overthrew not just one or two but fourteen foreign governments, in more than 110 years for its personal, economic and political aim. The arguments have varied from civilizing others, to protecting others, to Christianize others and guard and liberating others, often leaving the countries in a state worse off. Whereas, in reality, America has been trying to have control over the natural resources of other countries and stretch their regime of power over the world at the same time crushing enemy ideologies. Kinzer opines that the results have however been damaging to the target nation and for America as well, in terms of human lives, security and the economic state of the country. This has, instead of strengthening the country, weakened its stability and has lit the fire of anti-Americanism across many nations. Kinzer explains why a range of invasions and operations were planned and pursued, which ultimately led to catastrophic turning point in the history of America. Kinzer’s American history of invasion tells us a tale of its bold lies, immorality and illegality. The first overthrow mentioned here is that of the coup at the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, it was for sugar, in Cuba, it was for mafia and land occupation, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras happened for United Fruits and ITT, Panama for canal and the last one being the invasion of Iraq in to ouster the regime of Saddam Hussein, mainly to have control over the oil reserves of the country. It has been the part of the US foreign policy for over a decade to elevate them, to spread their power, even if it takes them to curb other nations, while showing an innocent face to the world over. The motives of American intervention abroad have ranged from banal and trite to calculated and strategic, but the reason has always been greed. Kinzer’s Overthrow has been divided into three sections of America’s century old politics to change of hands of power, with the power always residing in the hands of America. The century saw three eras of America’s regime change, beginning with the imperial era, which witnessed the downfall of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Nicaragua and Honduras to American military, the era of cold war, which swayed action against Iran, Guatemala, Vietnam, and Chile, the era of invasion saw the American troopers barging the lands of Grenada, Panama, Afghanistan and Iraq. It tells us about the audacity of military commanders, spies, politicians and businessmen, who took it upon themselves to overthrow monarchs and presidents of nations, where America deemed a war necessary to attain political power. America’s intention was to install in their places a puppet of their own, who at times, rather than working alongside the American Government have proved to be causing problems for their foreign policy. Talking about Hawaii, Hawaii was a big time producer of sugar but they never refined it. When the American missionaries working in Hawaii saw this prospect, they manipulated Hawaii to export sugar to the US. All was going smooth but then a new regulation came up, which prevented them to do so, thus creating panic. It was here that the US suggested a coup against the monarchy in Hawaii. The revolution was a cakewalk and this also marked a downfall of the Hawaiian monarchy and finally Hawaii merged into US. Similar is the story of sugar producing Cuba. By 1898, the Cuban economy was completely dominated by Americans. It was also the market of 85% of American goods. This was the time of a rebellion against the Spanish colonial rule in Cuba, which bothered America and to help Cuba America sent its troops promising complete independence, but later they changed their minds. In Iraq, America stepped in with the facade of freeing the country from the clutches of the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, but the tortures that were indicted by the American troops were far grotesque that the people of Iraq had ever suffered. America likes to portray one person as a tyrant and then attack that regime to help and free the people of that nation from that one man’s brutalities. These demons have varied from Fidel Castro, to Khomeini, to recent ones like Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein. About the Spanish American war, America was looking for a face of demon to curb but the queen or her son of 12 years weren’t the kind of people they could have chosen, so they instead chose General Weyler and casted him as the archetype of brutality and the rest is history. Similarly, America funded and nurtured Taliban in Afghanistan to thwart off the Soviets, but essentially did so to have a secure route for oil pipe line. But the plan backfired and a decade later, now Taliban is the biggest threat to America. When Iran nationalised its oil industry than to have it exploited by foreigners, America intervened and the Iranian democracy was overthrown in 1953. Shah was placed on the throne by the US, but the 1970s saw the Islamic revolution and a particular clique of Islamists who tried to oppress the interest of America and Americans in whichever way possible, sometimes violently resulting in a world crisis about nuclear issue. Had America not intervened, they would have had a friend democratic nation right in the middle of Middle East. Juxtaposing all the fourteen incidents in great detail, Kinzer believes that to satisfy the quest of power, America made some frenetic decisions. America’s strategy has always been to target small nations, mostly democratic countries. It’s a pattern that got followed from Hawaii to Iraq. Keeping the Iraq war in perspective, Kinzer informs us that the after-math of 9/11 is not an innovation, but regime change has been a mainstay of the US foreign policy. Later, the US looses its interest and the target countries are left to suffer a fate witnessing extreme terrorism and corruption. With each conquest, US saw some immediate gains, mainly corporate interests but failed to foresee the tragic long term consequences, which surfaced a few years later. Kinzer argues that the US interventions has disturbed and destabilized the world politics and have besieged the target countries into a state of complete despair. This argument is not new, but the calmness and moderate way with which Kinzer has delivered it, has gained him a larger addresses. Yet, Kinzer do not completely disagree with US imperialism, but opposes imperialism when carried out for unjustified and unfair reasons, mostly when the reasons are far away from protecting its own corporal interest and developing friendships with other regimes. Interestingly, he seems to regard the tragedy of US imperialism only because it cast a negative light on its fore bearers, thus in case of Vietnam, it was a tragedy; because it down casted President Kennedy and Johnson as administrators and only incidentally because it led to the deaths of innumerable innocent Vietnamese, as part of US war-making policies, which come as somewhat surprising to the reader. Kinzer further says that though America has fairly succeeded in ousting a foreign leader, but it has undermined its own security. Significantly, he gives the answer to the ‘Why?’ of the reader. Assessing the operations and the covert actions of regime change by American administrators, he convinces the reader with the reason why as there is so much of widespread anger and distrust about America in Europe and why the American administration’s soothing talks about spreading and restoring concord and democracy have met with scepticism across the globe. Showcasing the destructive role of American foreign policy, the book lifts the blame from former President George W. Bush, and distributes it evenly amongst all the Presidents of USA, who have held office in the past 110 years and have time and again planned and practised a regime-change of their own on governments who have displeased them with various ideologies, whether social, political or economic. It comes as an eye opener to any American who wishes to understand the historical record of their country and its international political discourse over the century. Overthrow is the answer for those entire patriot Americans who want an answer to their question, ‘Why do they (the world) hate us (the Americans)?’ Work Cited Kinzer, Stephen. Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq. Times Books. 1st Edn. Print. Read More