Milestones in American History Since 1865 - Essay Example

American History Since 1865 Table of Contents I. Introduction 3 II. Differences in CIA Interventions Between the Cold War Era and the Imperial Era 4 III. Continuities in CIA Interventions Between the Cold War Era and the Imperial Era 7 IV. Assessment 8 References 9 I. Introduction This paper examines the continuities and differences in the interventions that the Central Intelligence Agency took in two distinct eras in American history, the Cold War era and the Imperial Era. From this initial examination, the paper makes an assessment on whether the interventions during the two periods lean towards being different or towards being like each other in a fundamental sense. The observation is that America has had a history of aiding or instigating the overthrow of political regimes in different countries through time, and certainly the Americans have had many successes in this regard, having been responsible, in most cases, in being able to effect the deposing of regimes and rulers through various means, among then covert acts to achieve their ends, and making use of a wide array of figures in public American life, including business people, spies, government people, politicians, and military leaders. Tracing the history of American action, Kinzer notes that American action goes back to the deposing of the Hawaiian monarchy, and the actions that led to the effective annexation of the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Cuba during the so-called Spanish-American War. These initial successes led to the emboldening of the American effort and the extension of is interventions southwards of the American continent, making use of its intervention powers to depose the leaders of Honduras and Nicaragua via successful coup detats. When the Cold War with the Soviet Union kicked into high gear, on the other hand, American interventions in country affairs took on the flavor of an ideological and power struggle to one-up the Communist enemy in a global power struggle, with the United States identified as instigating the collapse of Chilean, Iranian and Guatemalan democratic institutions on the one hand, and the downfall of the president of South Vietnam in a successful assassination effort. Post Cold War, the US has been identified as having played a big hand in overthrowing existing regimes in Iraq, Grenada, Afghanistan, and Panama via invasion exercises (Kinzer 2006). II. Differences in CIA Interventions Between the Cold War Era and the Imperial Era Tactical differences in the interventions of the United States in general and the Central Intelligence Agency in particular during the Imperial Era and during the Cold War Era involved either instigating and leading regime change wholesale, or in providing ammunition either financially or materially or both, to existing rebellions and underground anti-establishment groups to foment dissent and catapult the dissenting parties to power, at the expense of the incumbents. There were differences too, in another classification with regard to the justifications for interventions during the two eras, with the Imperial Era dominated by talk relating to the role of America in relieving the suffering of oppressed peoples outside of America, and of being guides and helpers to presumably inferior societies that do not have the superior free market and democratic institutions that America possessed. Underneath of course the motivation was economic, as the United States, according to Kinzer, saw territories outside of the United States as potential new markets for excess American goods or as sources of new wealth via the resources of those countries, as well as potential new territories for annexation. On the surface the rationalization came in the form of a kind of evangelization premised on the superiority of the American white race as well as the superiority. The supposed motive was altruistic, high-minded and noble, and this kind of justification was said to have dominated the discussions on intervening in the affairs of other countries during the Imperial era. The real rationale, from the point of view of power politics on the other hand, was more mundane. America was testing its power, and had an interest in expanding its political and economic power, via the securing of other territories for American business interests to profit from. Kinzer notes that during the Imperial era, the interventions were tinged with shades of paternalism as well as a notion of racial superiority on the part of the American whites On the other hand, during the Cold War ear, there are shades of the same motivations, stated and actual, in the American language of intervention done on its behalf in part by the CIA. The expansionist drive to protect and expand American business interests in other parts of the world were motivated by a competition with the Cold War enemies of the United States in the Soviet Union and its allies. True there are genuine ideological differences between the two protagonist groups during the Cold War, but those differences and the power struggle that ensued were as much due to ideology as much as to the desire of the United States to make sure that its economic and political interests prevail in the world, against Communist ideology. Taking a step back, in the case of the Imperial era, CIA interventions were geared towards the explicit overthrow of existing regimes largely through the actions of the American government itself, as in the case of Hawaii when the monarchy there was overthrown from largely American efforts, whereas in the Cold War era there were campaigns where, as stated above, the goal was to effect the overthrow not through direct and primary effort but through providing financial and moral support, as well as physical infrastructure, to make sure that local rebellions and resistance efforts thrive and succeed in bringing about lasting changes to those regimes. The CIA actions in Cuba during the Cold War, on the other hand, reveal a different side to CIA interventions from the government efforts during the Hawaii episode, in that the CIA deployed exiles into Cuba to depose Castro, who had aligned his country with the Soviet Union and had decided to take an adversarial stance towards the United States and its citizens. Variations in the CIA interventions also included effecting changes in government regimes, and then changing the leadership with appointees who would then in turn plunder the countrys wealth and establish themselves as corrupt overlords with the blessing of the CIA. The Philippines is said to be a prime example of this. In these cases the CIA tact was to err on the side of caution, by propping up corrupt regimes and favoring them over radical grassroots groups that may usurp power and turn countries against American and democratic ideals. In contrast, during the Imperial era, there was more emphasis on CIA and American interventions geared towards letting the foes of the incumbents have their shot at usurping power and toppling governments with the CIA largely on the sides and placing their bets on the revolutionary forces. Moreover, the case of Puerto Rico stands out as an alternative means of intervening in the affairs of a territory, by propping an entire territory as a counterfoil to the rise of a government against American democratic ideals. This is the case in the Cold War era of the Americans propping up Puerto Rico to counteract the influence of a suddenly Communist and hostile government in Cuba, under Castro. The differences in the results of American interventions in Puerto Rico and in other parts of the world, such as the Philippines during the Colonial era, also shows the contrasts in strategies during the Cold War and the era that preceded it. In Puerto Rico during the Cold War era the CIA interventions resulted in Puerto Ricans acting in a relatively peaceful manner with regard to the encroachment of American governmental control. In the case of the Philippines on the other hand, the effect was the emboldening of armed action by the locals against the United States, and of a decidedly negative reception to the idea of American rule with the contrary positive inclination towards the achievement of self-determination on the part of the Philippine natives (Kinzer 2006). III. Continuities in CIA Interventions Between the Cold War Era and the Imperial Era American government interventions in outside territories in the two identified eras also had marked continuities in many respects. One here was the sanction of the government with regard to the interventions themselves, justified via recourse to motives of altruism and high-minded ideals of emancipation, democracy, and big white brother acting as steward and harbinger of a superior way of living and a superior means of organizing economies and the political order. In both eras there was the belief on the part of the CIA and the American government, on the surface, that democratic ideals were superior and needed to be propagated, while also affirming that the Americans altruistic motives were genuine. Also in much the same manner, there was a continuity of this rationalization and justification through to the Cold War era, when the threat of a global order dominated by Communist ideology threatened the free market and democratic ideals that the Americans represented. Meanwhile, as in the Imperial era, there was an observed continued interest in making sure that American democratic and free market ideals flourished, essentially because that flourishing also implied the flourishing of American business interests and the general economic interests of the United States. In terms of methods too, there were observed continuities in the means that the CIA and the government in general utilized in order to effect changes in regimes. The support for rebel groups and the institution of regimes friendly to the United States were employed in various contexts of American-initiated or backed overthrow efforts through time, preserving what the Americans saw as ideologically and economically justified mores to continue to assert itself internationally and to make sure that other countries do not fall into the hands of the Soviet Union and is communist and controlled economic paradigms that were antithetical to the American stance (Kinzer 2006). IV. Assessment Though the contexts have change, there are many underlying continuities in the manner and thinking of the CIA and American governments in the affairs of foreign governments during the Imperial and the Cold War eras. Even as the specific circumstances for the countries are different, through time the CIA interventions leveraged a number proven methods from Americas bag of tricks, among them supporting rebel groups, and overtly acting to topple regimes and installing new ones that are more sympathetic to American interests and ideological thinking. These continuities reflect the constancy of the American drive to protect its economic and political interests through the eras, and through changes in the world order and the rise of the communist threat during the era of the Cold war. The short of it is that the interventions are more alike than they are different, both in their methods and their stated justifications and actual reasons (Kinzer 2006). . References Kinzer, S. 2006. Overthrow: Americas Century of Regime Change From Hawaii to Iraq. New York: Times Books Henry Holt and Company Read More