Unintended Consequences - Essay Example

Unintended consequences After the World War II and the Cold War, The United s of America was faced with therising Soviet Union. The US aimed at limiting the Soviet by having as many nations as her allies. The country, therefore, actively sought allies through subsidizing them with military and “foreign aid”. The spread of communism by the Soviet prompted the US to develop a new strategy known as containment. Developed by U.S. diplomat George Kennan, containment characterized the Soviet Union as aggressive and anti-Western power that necessitated for containment.

The US managed to “convert” a lot of nations and almost subdued communism. Although some countries like Cuba and China maintained it. The aim of the country was not to create enemies and stir conflicts such as the Korean and the Vietnam Wars but, such were the unintended consequences. One notable blemish that the US sustained was the infamous massacre in Mr. Lai. In this incidence, platoons marched into the village and killed every person in the village including mothers, children, and infants.

Since such occurrence was not something to be proud of, the country imprisoned the man who commanded the execution of the locals in the village. President Richard Nixon, sometime later, ordered that he be transferred to a better and comfortable apartment under house arrest. Ultimately, his sentence was reduced, and he served three years only. The deaths of such huge numbers of innocent people forced America, however powerful it was in the Vietnam War, to retaliate.The idea of subduing more nations through “foreign aid” and military is still witnessed today, something that is currently referred to as “Neocolonialism”.

The rivalry between the capitalist US and the communist China is still witnessed today.