I do not often write about foreign policy matters on this blog. Foreign policy is not my main area of expertise or interest. However, foreign policy is still an important aspect of statecraft/politics.
Unfortunately, the “neo-conservative” brand of conservatism has dominated the foreign policy discussion in the post-Cold War era. So, I decided to dedicate another post to pointing out how terrible American foreign policy has been for the past thirty years.
One major part of America’s recent foreign policy is encouraging regime change around the globe. The United States’ emphasis on ridding the world of “dictators” and “non-democratic governments” has led to catastrophic consequences. That’s a “red-pill” most Americans are not ready to swallow.
US foreign policy in recent years has followed a “neo-conservative” approach. For the uninitiated, this brand of conservatism emphasizes spreading liberal democracies across the globe–even in places that don’t desire to embrace Western value and culture. In essence, the American foreign policy establishment suffers from a bit of hubris.
At the end of the day, it’s my hope that America’s leaders adopt a realist, America-First foreign policy in the coming years. Who knows: maybe this post can play a small role in that change?
Anyways, the first part of this post will discuss how “neo-conservative” foreign policy is not based in reality. Then, the second section will list five examples of US-caused regime change. So, let’s dive right in!
It’s not about “White Hats vs Black Hats”
If you’ve paid attention to the news media’s recent coverage of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, then you probably have seen the “white hat-black hat” metaphor at play.
The idea is simple: we (“the white hats”) are the good guys, and they (“the black hats”) are the bad guys. It’s that simple, right?
In 2003, the news media (from Fox News to CNN) convinced us that Saddam Hussein & Iraq were the bad guys while we were the good guys. This year, the media has convinced a vast majority of the US population that Russia & Vlad Putin are the bad guys while Ukraine & Zelensky are the good guys.
Simply stated, the world of foreign affairs is a lot more complicated than that. When it comes to power politics between nations, the distinction is not between “good guys and bad guys”. Instead, the distinction is between one country’s interests and another.
The same people who lied to the American populace about Iraq’s “weapons of mass destruction” are the same people shilling for a global conflict over Ukraine. Just remember that.
Life is not a Western move. Life is not a video game. America’s rivals are not evil incarnate. Viewing foreign affairs through the lense of “we’re the good guys & they’re the bad guys” is not based in reality.
In short, International diplomacy exists as a means to further a nation’s/world power’s interests–nothing more, nothing less.
Most Americans in the post WWII era (myself included) were taught to view the United States as the undisputed champion of freedom and liberty throughout the world. The past two years have shattered that image in my mind. But in reality, America’s foreign policy in recent history contradicted that image a long time ago.
To close this post, I wanted to list two examples of US-induced regime change throughout the world
A Recent History
1. 2011: US’s assistance in overthrowing Muammar Gaddafi during the Libyan Civil War
One of the biggest screw-ups in recent American foreign policy was its decision to help overthrow the Libyan government under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
In March 2011, President Obama decided to militarily intervene in Libya basically because Muammar Gaddafi was a “despot”. Prior to American involvement, rebel forces in Libya attempted to take over the country and oust Gaddafi from power. Pro-Gaddafi forces nearly defeated the rebel forces until NATO-led forces began to attack Gaddafi’s forces. Not long late, the Libyan rebels took over the country and killed Gaddafi.
Within the next ten years, Libya has experienced a second phase of the Civil War (from 2014 to 2020) and is still a highly unstable nation.
Simply put, America helped initiate a decades-worth of instability in Libya as well as an on-again-off civil that has ruined the nation.
Now, I am not saying Gaddafi was a great guy. However, the consequences of President’s Obama’s decision have been catastrophic. Libya was a much more stable, functional country under Gaddafi’s rule in comparison to the past decade (after his death in 2011).
Libya is a perfect example of American-caused regime change going amuck. It’s hard to look at the situation in Libya and think that the Globalist American Empire was on the right side of the conflict. This whole debacle just shows that regime change is not all that it is chalked up to be.
2. 2003: US Invasion of Iraq. Primary purpose: to topple Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq
In March 2003, President George W Bush authorized a military invasion of Iraq. Initially, the purpose of this invasion was due to Iraq’s support of Al-Qaeda and its possession of “weapons of Mass destruction” under Saddam Hussein’s regime (both claims turned out to be untrue). In just about a month’s time, the United States basically defeated all major opposition Iraq and eventually captured Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
After the initial military invasion, the United States spent the next decade fending off armed forces in Iraq and attempting to implement “democracy” in Iraq. After the 2011 withdrawal of the US Military from Iraq, the ensuing power vacuum in Iraq led to the rise of the infamous Muslim terrorist group ISIS.
Similar to Libya, American foreign policy caused Iraq to go from being a relatively stable country to an unmitigated dumpster fire for the next 20 years. Good job, George Bush (that’s sarcasm by the way).
American foreign policy for the last 20+ years honestly feels like Groundhog Day at this point.
Takeaway
It’s time to come to grips that America has meddled in the internal affairs of other nations for far too long. We haven’t always been the good guys in every single international conflict. That much is true.
If we want to start fixing America’s domestic issues, then our leaders must adopt an America-First view of foreign policy. Let’s start by focusing on America’s Southern border instead of Ukraine’s border with Russia. The interests of the American people MUST COME FIRST–before Foreign nations (namely Ukraine currently), the Military Industrial Complex, and the Global Financial System.
Only America First!