American Empire by Andrew J. Bacevich - Book Report/Review Example

American Empire by Andrew J. Bacevich Much has been written and debated since the mid-1990 about globalization, the unparalleled America’s military strength and its emergence as an empire. But these works such as the works of Noam Chomsky, Charles Krauthammer and Michael Mastanduno talk about the supremacy of America but have avoided analyses of American policy. Andrew J. Bacevich’s book, American Empire, is a critical and a rather provocative examination of America’s post-Cold War strategy. Andrew Bacevich is a professor at Boston University and author of several books that include American Empire: The Realities and Consequences of US Diplomacy (2002), The New American Militarism: How Americans are Seduced by War (2005) and The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism. In this book Bacevich shows how America’s desire for greater prosperity has influenced it to adopt a position of global economic and military dominance. According to Bacevich, this desire to create an empire has been seen in the policies of both Bush and Clinton. Their policies show that the imperial aspirations of the United States have been deliberate and that even the elite and ideologically diverse members who are responsible for the American foreign policies share these aspirations. Bacevich begins the book by debunking “the myth of the reluctant superpower.” According to this myth the United States achieved superpower status through selfless and humanitarian exercises it undertook on behalf of the rest of the world. The Monroe Doctrine that defended Latin America from Spanish colonizers, the American intervention in World War II that was undertaken on humanitarian grounds, and America’s role in the Cold War in defending the ideals of freedom from the expansionist efforts of communist Russia are all cited as examples. But Bacevich begs to differ. According to him altruism has rarely been the sole purpose of American military intervention. For example the Monroe Doctrine also led to American adventurism in the region. Or even though in World War II the United States helped liberate Europe from the Nazis, it succeeded in establishing itself as the leading power in Europe. And during the Cold war though it curbed communism it practiced its own economic and military expansionism. Bacevich portrays the United States as a “globe-straddling colossus”. According to him the American colossus’ desire for prosperity and wealth warranted continuous economic growth. America cared above all for itself, and any gains the rest of the world gained from its behavior was incidental. Bacevich further argues that the United States has without hesitation always defended and expanded its extra-territorial interests. Examples of this are the colonization of America, the Mexican War, NATO intervention in the Balkans, and the first Iraq War. The Superpower status has been deliberately pursued and its achieving this status has not been accidental. It is not a reward for altruism as it is made out to be. According to Bacevich America has pursued the policy of openness aggressively. Elimination of barriers to the movement of capital or trade or even ideas has resulted in progress and affluence no doubt. However the aggressive pursuit of openness has met with considerable resistance. In order to overcome this resistance U.S. policymakers have frequently resorted to force and consequently military power has now become the chosen instrument of American statecraft. This has in turn resulted in the progressive militarization of America’s foreign policy. Bacevich in a significant portion of the book analyzes the military’s role in formulating and implementing foreign policy. He writes that after the Vietnam War, “the ideal of the soldier as self-effacing servant of the state guided by an austere military professional ethic no longer explained the actual behavior of increasingly partisan officers who did not consider themselves bound by the once-hallowed tradition of remaining aloof from politics.” According to him 171 military officers joined civilian government as in the case of Colin Powell and regional commander in chiefs (CINC) began to play an increasing role in shaping and executing U.S. foreign policy. While analyzing post-Cold War American foreign policy refers to the most recent invasion of Iraq by the United States.. According to him, the “liberation” of Iraq was not because of weapons of mass destruction and al Qaeda as claimed by the administration but because the Bush administration was interested in oil. The invasion of Iraq is nothing but an attempt to further extend the American Empire. In this challenging book, Bacevich takes a look at the way America exercises global power. Here he examines George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton’s administrations. He also examines George W. Bush's first year in office. Successive administrations posts Cold War have stuck to a “strategy of openness." The desire for economic expansionism has made it imperative for administrations to follow an open and integrated international policy that will help in retaining the undisputed primacy of the superpower. According to him the policy of openness is not a new strategy. It has been there in the minds of policymakers since the time of Woodrow Wilson. America's objective has always been to promote global openness. Here he writes "this book finds continuity where others see discontinuity," he writes. He differs from those who believed that essentially it was globalization that reshaped American foreign policy. According to Bacevich, the necessity for continuous growth is because of “far-reaching changes “in the nation’s culture especially after the Cold War. Here Bacevich writes: “In a society in which citizens were joined to one another by little except a fetish for shopping, professional sports, and celebrities along with a ravenous appetite for pop culture, prosperity became a precondition for preserving domestic harmony”. It is clear that uninterrupted economic growth is necessary to keep up the American standard of living. The would-be-statesmen also found this necessary to retain their popularity. Explaining this Bacevich says “For the would-be statesman the implications were clear: an ever-expanding pie satisfying ever more expansive appetites was the only ‘crusade’ likely to command widespread and durable popular enthusiasm”. Most proponents of globalization say that it will benefit the rest of the world. But here Bacevich is of the opinion that “Openness would benefit the entire world economically and politically, but it would benefit the United States most of all.” He believes that the United States will shape the system in such a way that it is advantageous to it. Here he gives the example of the World Trade Organization. According to the WTO stipulations all players must follow the same rules. Hence the United States which is by far the worlds most powerful and productive economy will be able to out-compete all other countries especially small countries. The United States is not only a rule maker but also the rule-enforcer. The end of the Cold War did not see a reduction in the use of military power by the United States. In fact there was an unprecedented increase in military intervention .Here Bacevich cites a 1999 report which says: “since the end of the Cold War, the United States has embarked upon nearly four dozen military interventions . . . as opposed to only 16 during the cold war”. According to Bacevich, Bush and Clinton thought that “military intervention was simply a part of the inevitable price of doing business”. However they saw to it that lives of the American troops were not endangered. Bacevich points out that the United States enforced the rules in proportion to the American interest in the particular region. For instance when with the end of the Cold War, NATO’s role was questioned the United States reworked NATO transforming it from an alliance against communism to one against “creeping instability”. By reworking NATO it was able to justify its military presence in Europe. Bacevich toward the end of the book compares the Clinton and G. W. Bush administrations and shows that there in not much difference in their basic convictions. What Bacewich says in his conclusion is an eye opener. Here he says, “The question that Americans can no longer afford to dodge—is not whether the United States has become an imperial power. The question is what sort of empire they intend theirs to be. For policymakers to persist in pretending otherwise—to indulge in myths of American innocence or fantasies about unlocking the secrets of history—is to increase the likelihood that the answers they come up with will be wrong. That way lies not just the demise of the American empire but great danger for what used to be known as the American republic.” Bacevich believes like many others that America may not be an empire in the traditional sense where empire means territorial control or expansion. Bacevich believes that in today's world there are many ways of control, and that territorial control need not necessarily be the most desirable or the most effective. The word "empire" today relates to expressions like "hegemony" or "dominance. Bacevich's American Empire may first seem to be a book on the thesis that the United States is an empire, whose global power is unequalled and that its aim to dominate and control other countries by making the world behave in the way it does. However it is much more than that. He makes an in-depth analysis of the American foreign policy. He demonstrates how the policies of globalization and openness have been used by America to promote the empire. He gives us an insight into contemporary military policy. Bacevich's analysis provokes us to assess the long-term impacts of America’s foreign policies. Bacevich substantiates his theory about the relative continuity of American foreign policy by providing us with historical quotes and examples and a whole lot of evidence from the last twenty years. He shows that foreign policy goals have always been the same no matter which party was in power. Leaders have realized the usefulness of pursuing the path of American empire and how difficult it is to retreat from that path. This book is of interest even to non-specialists as well to anyone who is concerned about American foreign policy and the implications of it. Many questions have been raised about the feasibility of this project of openness and also about its financial, human and moral costs. By removing some of the illusions surrounding the reality of U.S. policy, this book takes the first step toward finding the answers to some of the questions raised. Andrew Bacevich's American Empire is a truly realistic book. This extremely informed book makes for some enjoyable reading with its crisp lively prose. The author being a former soldier takes a tough approach to the uses of military force. His grasp of American history is exceptionally clear. This book helps us understand the background to U.S. world hegemony at the start of the 21st century and the dangers of the pursuit and maintenance of this supremacy. It is remarkable that Bacevich has refrained from being judgmental and has tried to remain neutral. References 1. Bacevich, Andrew J. American Empire: The Realities and Consequences of U.S. Diplomacy. Cambridge: Harvard, 2002. Read More