Was the American War an Independence War - Essay Example

?To what degree was the American war an independence war? The American revolutionary war is without a doubt vital piece towards the culmination of American history. After the colonists have arrived in America from Britain, the settlers looked for a new direction in their life (Meyer 9). However, many grievances accumulated which lead to tensions between colonists and their own home nations. Hence, the root causes of the revolutionary war consisted of geographic issues, the oppression by the King, and salutary neglect. One of the main causes that initiated the revolutionary war was the geographic distance that separated the colonies from Great Britain (“Boston Tea Party”). Many colonists migrated from Great Britain to gain independence and to seek their own personal freedoms that the King George III clearly neglected. The desire to colonize the new world generally meant more liberation and strong urgency of independence (“Boston Tea Party”). Another root cause of the American Revolutionary War was the colonial legislatures that were enacted by the King The enactment of these laws meant that that the colonies continued to be pass laws and pay taxes to atone the sins of the Great Britain. Tom Paine’s in his literary work the “common sense” described King George as a “royal brute.” King George III can be considered an “unfit leader” in many aspects. First and foremost is the fact that he used the colonist’s tax money to fund his poor decisions as a King but also to pay for his son’s misfortunes (Meyer 12). Hence, the colonist fought the revolutionary war to ooze the ideals of Democracy and to break away from the traditional suppression of the king. What political tasks did Mao assign the red army? Mao as a leader was very disciplined and organized. Hence, he assigned many political tasks for his army to conduct in an efficient manner. One of the primary focus of Mao was to incorporate superior strategies to defeat the Nationalists in civil war. Thus, propaganda became a crucial factor. Moreover, he wanted to create a strong sense of discipline in the army that can incorporate his agenda from higher lever to a lower level. His intention was to concentrate on the ills of the country itself and use himself as a positive and confident leader. Moreover, Mao wanted the red army to be extremely organized and collaborative. His idea of network branched beyond the traditional methodology (Abbott 19). Mao also wanted to speed up the economic growth as the industrial development and agriculture was launched. Since Mao and Stalin did not trust each other, China became under the strong control of Mao himself. The Red Army of China became his face of power throughout most of his military career. What was worse was the fact that the Red army excelled in blackmail tactics under his supreme command. If any individual was to protest against Mao’s rule, he or she would be indefinitely executed. These type of tactics were adapted from Stalin and Hitler that Mao utilized to implement in his red army. Although later in career, Mao’s leverage over the army was lost, his army continued to have a strong alliance with Russia. His intention was not to rebuild China but utilize his power to compile an efficient army that can assist him during his need (Abbott 13). In essence, Mao’s power manifested itself into the red army and became the embodiment of power, confidence, control and leverage for him. What were the key organizational and strategic problems of the US Army in the years immediately after the Vietnam War? The aftermath of the key organizational and strategic problems of the US Army were numerous. One of the key organization problems that Americans had was to establish themselves in the international sphere. Another strategic problem that posed for the Americans was the fact that they lost key position in the spheres of containing communism. The mere idea that communism will continue to thrive in Asia served as a huge threat to United States. Without a doubt, the Vietnam was an ideological struggle between the Soviets and the United States of America. The Containment Doctrine undoubtedly as suggested by Kennan was an accurate assessment of the Soviets. The theory was based upon the “domino effect,” in which if one nation fell under the cruel regime of communism, others would follow. Kennan’s perspective was to call for a policy that was designed to counter combat the Russians along with defending the interests that were only critical towards USA. Hence, this was the key organizational problems that Americans faced after the Vietnam war (“Isolationism”). The Cold War was a catalyst towards the whole essence of American Democracy and its citizens because of many variables. First and foremost, the American citizens could not underestimate the decisiveness of the Russians[5]. The Russians had many nuclear weapons that could potentially pose a huge risk to Americans. However, the bigger risk was the fact that these warheads could have been distributed to the potential enemies of USA. Imagine a scenario in which the Americans had to fight wars in two fronts. It could have been a detrimental risk for not only politically but economically as well. The nuclear threat that was emerging could potentially have dynamic ramifications for Americans. Hence, the understanding drastically changed for the Americans. What were the difficulties executing an exit strategy for Vietnam? The difficulty for executing an exit strategy for Vietnam was extremely difficult for numerous reasons. First and foremost, it would clash against the traditional mindset of the containment policy (“Isolationism”). Since Vietnam was a war that deemed as a failure for the United States, it also made America seem vulnerable to other communistic countries. In addition, many historians feel that that the exit strategy was executed in a hasten manner and was different than the exit date. Both Kennedy and Nixon felt that Vietnam could be saved even though that was not the case as the pressure from American public continued to mount (“Isolationism”). As a world power, it was crucial that the United States made a stand to solidify their position as a world superpower. When JFK ordered his troops to withdraw from Vietnam in 1963, it was a clear symbolization that Johnson would have executed the same order. According to many historians, the judgment was derived through the Johnson’s statement as he states, “To Kennedy and his fellow New Frontiersmen, it was a doctrine of faith that the problems of Vietnam lent themselves to an American solution” (Perkins 20). The Kennedy administration in essence felt that the problems associated with Vietnam were in geopolitical terms. As part of the containment policy, Kennedy considered Vietnam to be highly risky. As the toll of death count continued to stagger, the American public became weary of the Kennedy administration (Perkins 24.) The implications were endless because South Vietnam remained to be in chaos and could have fallen under the rule of communism (Brooks 8). These developments came into reality as the exit strategy came with many several ramifications. First and foremost, it made America compromise with North Korean leaders, a scenario that they were not prepared for. Moreover, domestic affairs such as discrimination and modernization haunted America at the worst time. Both of these movements became a lagging factor that literally have huge several consequences (Brooks 14). Is their jihadists way of war of have jihadists mere modified their strategy? Jihadists from the perception of many, tend to modify their theory of war in many basis. The jihadists tend to use religious persuasion to fuel their thoughts and motivate their behavior. The derived verses that are used from Quran and Hadith as references are often misconstrued and taken out of context. I think their strategy is desperate but effective. Since many individuals need some sort of justification to logically support their opinion, they often use as religion as an ultimate means to support their own agenda. Behind every jihadist lurks a motive of power and authority. It is clear that leaders such as Osama Bin Laden used this theory to fuel his own injunction and get support from his followers (Barber 22). The Quran does speak of peace and war both as traditions also imply that Islam had been also a pinnacle of teaching peace. This misconstrued interpretation by jihadists, who are often unguided, illiterate and unknowledgeable about the religion always have their own channels to fuel their agenda. The real concept of jihad is “inner struggle.” Even if an individual is to launch jihad according to Islamic principles, he must follow certain guidelines. For instance, a jihadist can never kill a child, women, or a senior. The modern perspective of jihadist completely violates this guideline established by sharia due to the fact that jihadists kill for pride and power, not for religious purposes (Barber 16). Another reason why modern day jihad is not a justified means of achieving a particular is aim is due to the fact that it takes the lives of innocent citizens. One cannot diminish the fact that terrorism leads to innocent lives of victims (Barber 15). The victims in terrorist attacks are killed merely because they were present at that moment. The attack was not focused in military personnel or anyone, which makes the attack seem illogical Works Cited Meyer, Alfred G.. Communism. 3d ed. New York: Random House, 1967. Print. "Boston Tea Party Facts | American History | Tea Party Boston." Boston Tea Party Blog | Tea Party Boston | Things to do in Boston | Boston. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 July 2011. . Brooks, Philip. King George III: America's enemy. New York: Franklin Watts, 2009. Print. Isolationism." United States American History”. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2011. . Perkins, Dexter. A history of the Monroe doctrine. Boston: Little, Brown, 1963. Print. Abbott, Jacob. American history,. New York: Sheldon & Co.;, 186065. Print. Barber, Benjamin R.. Jihad vs. McWorld. New York: Ballantine Books, 1996. Print. Read More