Us Foreign Policy Essay
Jeff Green
Mrs. Carr
Eng. 4
9/9/12
Should the U.S. Be Involved in Foreign Affairs?
“Overgrown military establishments are, under any form of government, inauspicious to liberty, and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty.” George Washington, having just fought against militaristic tyranny, knew well the dangers it posed. Over the past century, the United States has used its increasingly powerful military industrial complex to enforce its political opinions, and policies upon the peoples of the world. For the American people, war has become an everyday occurrence. We talk about people dying as if they were bad weather. The United States must remove itself from foreign conflicts before it becomes the next Nazi Germany. The first step of US military domination occurred at the beginning of the twentieth century in the Philippines. The US was going to annex the Philippines as a result of the Spanish-American War; however, the Filipinos wanted independence, so they resisted the annexation. War erupted as Filipino forces, led by Emilio Aguinaldo, clashed with the US at the Battle of Manilla in 1899. Shortly after the war began, Aguinaldo sent a plea to General Otis, leader of the US forces, to end the fighting. Otis declined stating, “fighting, having begun, must go on to a grim end (Wikipedia, 1).” Otis also suppressed news leaks of American tactics, having all reports sent to his office before being published. By November or 1899, the Filipinos could see that they were at a disadvantage and resulted to guerrilla tactics. The US then declared “total war” and sent Filipino citizens to concentration camps where thousands died from the poor conditions. Everyone outside the camps was to be shot on sight. US soldiers burned entire villages including women and children, and practiced inhumane tactics like “scorched earth.” On July 4, 1902, the war officially ended and 34,000 Filipino soldiers and over 200,000 Filipino civilians were dead.
Mrs. Carr
Eng. 4
9/9/12
Should the U.S. Be Involved in Foreign Affairs?
“Overgrown military establishments are, under any form of government, inauspicious to liberty, and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty.” George Washington, having just fought against militaristic tyranny, knew well the dangers it posed. Over the past century, the United States has used its increasingly powerful military industrial complex to enforce its political opinions, and policies upon the peoples of the world. For the American people, war has become an everyday occurrence. We talk about people dying as if they were bad weather. The United States must remove itself from foreign conflicts before it becomes the next Nazi Germany. The first step of US military domination occurred at the beginning of the twentieth century in the Philippines. The US was going to annex the Philippines as a result of the Spanish-American War; however, the Filipinos wanted independence, so they resisted the annexation. War erupted as Filipino forces, led by Emilio Aguinaldo, clashed with the US at the Battle of Manilla in 1899. Shortly after the war began, Aguinaldo sent a plea to General Otis, leader of the US forces, to end the fighting. Otis declined stating, “fighting, having begun, must go on to a grim end (Wikipedia, 1).” Otis also suppressed news leaks of American tactics, having all reports sent to his office before being published. By November or 1899, the Filipinos could see that they were at a disadvantage and resulted to guerrilla tactics. The US then declared “total war” and sent Filipino citizens to concentration camps where thousands died from the poor conditions. Everyone outside the camps was to be shot on sight. US soldiers burned entire villages including women and children, and practiced inhumane tactics like “scorched earth.” On July 4, 1902, the war officially ended and 34,000 Filipino soldiers and over 200,000 Filipino civilians were dead.