Roosevelt Corollary and Monroe Doctrine - Essay Example

Although the US would be neutral in any war between European countries and their colonies, any action happening on American soil would be viewed as hostile. The Roosevelt Corollary to this doctrine was added during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, during the Cold War, ostensibly to combat the Russian Communist influence. Roosevelt asserted the right to militarily intervene in the Caribbean, Central America and in Latin America. Although it was initially seen as a step taken by the US to morally oppose Colonialism, Roosevelt completely turned the Doctrine on its head, by reinterpreting it as a right to intervene in the economic affairs of smaller/ less powerful nations if they were unable to pay their foreign debts.

This was also referred to as the Big Stick Policy, especially by the media and in cartoons. (Spiritus-Temporis.com, 2005) Early during Roosevelt's tenure, when Venezuela defaulted on loan repayments to Great Britain, Italy and Germany, they erected a blockade to fire upon Venezuelan coastal fortifications. This led to Roosevelt's retaliation, and he succeeded in driving out the Germans and all other European interests from Venezuelan waters. From this incident, the US became more and more ambitious, resulting in interventions in Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

There were also attempts at assassination of foreign political leaders, who refused to toe the line. (Spiritus-Temporis.com, 2005) Subsequently, t. The US has used its veto power in the UNO, and influential position in world bodies like the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO to economically gain control over the weaker economies of the Third World. In the guise of bringing about fairness and equality in international trade, the US has forced weaker countries to break down trade barriers, so that it could have entry into their markets.

It has cannily used the IMF to forward its interests. When the IMF gives loans to developing economies, and in case they default on these, terms and conditions of these agreements force these nations to accept economic and trade practices that are detrimental to them. (Tyehimba, 2004)Even in the case of the Iraq war, it is common knowledge that the war was waged as an attempt to gain control over Iraqi oil. No traces of weapons of mass destruction were found, although this was given as the reason for going to war.

(Tyehimba, 2004) As a matter of fact, the cause of the unfortunate 9/11 incident may be traced to the US itself. The incident is unpardonable, and the perpetrators deserving of stringent punishment; but the reason for events having come to such a pass is the US' cold and calculating exploitation of poorer nations. Unfortunately today there is violent opposition between Islamic interests and the West, destabilising life for everyone. We have slid back into the era of the Crusades, and it is difficult to see whether various countries and religious groups will ever be able to co-exist peacefully.

All this is a consequence of expansionist US foreign policy, which has its roots in the Roosevelt Corollary to the Munroe Doctrine. Works CitedSpiritus-Temporis.com, The Roosevelt Corollary, 2005, , retrieved 26th July,