The purpose of Khong in this majestic publication is to analyze the mind of a decision-maker throughout the process that he/she must go through in order to determine the most appropriate policies during times of conflict. Within the application of the AE Framework, Khong is successfully displays how policymakers determine the stakes involved, the decisions that are to be made based on past events and the likely outcomes. The analogies, as suggested by the AE Framework, are used in assisting with the crucial steps that are to be taken by the policymaker before making concrete decisions (10).
According to Khong, human beings use analogical reasoning to make sense of new situations and of incoming information (105). In the case of policymakers, …show more content…
The mighty internet is a fast and powerful source for policymakers and nations as a whole to make use of for many purposes. Consequently, the public is now well informed and puts decision-makers in a situation where they can no longer easily conceal information. More so than improving their use of history, policymakers have learned to use history to defend their foreign policy decisions. As was the case of the Iraq War of 2003, in which the Bush administration used the pretext of Hussein’s hidden stash of “weapons of mass destruction” to invade the country once more. The decision of invading Iraq the second time around was rather justified by emphasizing Saddam’s history of defiance and …show more content…
I dare to use the Vietnam War as an analogy because Syria has an issue of civil war. The U.S. has not necessarily been attacked by Syria. However, President Obama insists that the instability in Syria is to blame on none other than Bashar al-Assad himself and that he must step down (BBC). It could be that today’s policymakers still take into account the events of the 1930s as Khong suggests, because “…aggression unchecked is aggression unleashed” (175). Intervening in a civil war sounds all too familiar and may bring back that anti-war notion of the “Vietnam syndrome” (Khong, 258).
Whether or not the Vietnam analogy aligns with the present U.S. intervention in Syria we can be sure that Russia (former Soviet Union) and China are again supporters of a regime that we see as threatening (Khong, 101; Investors.com). I am not sure which analogy our current government is relying on for guidance while in Syria, but today Obama is in a position of either continuing with the operation or pulling out of
According to Khong, human beings use analogical reasoning to make sense of new situations and of incoming information (105). In the case of policymakers, …show more content…
The mighty internet is a fast and powerful source for policymakers and nations as a whole to make use of for many purposes. Consequently, the public is now well informed and puts decision-makers in a situation where they can no longer easily conceal information. More so than improving their use of history, policymakers have learned to use history to defend their foreign policy decisions. As was the case of the Iraq War of 2003, in which the Bush administration used the pretext of Hussein’s hidden stash of “weapons of mass destruction” to invade the country once more. The decision of invading Iraq the second time around was rather justified by emphasizing Saddam’s history of defiance and …show more content…
I dare to use the Vietnam War as an analogy because Syria has an issue of civil war. The U.S. has not necessarily been attacked by Syria. However, President Obama insists that the instability in Syria is to blame on none other than Bashar al-Assad himself and that he must step down (BBC). It could be that today’s policymakers still take into account the events of the 1930s as Khong suggests, because “…aggression unchecked is aggression unleashed” (175). Intervening in a civil war sounds all too familiar and may bring back that anti-war notion of the “Vietnam syndrome” (Khong, 258).
Whether or not the Vietnam analogy aligns with the present U.S. intervention in Syria we can be sure that Russia (former Soviet Union) and China are again supporters of a regime that we see as threatening (Khong, 101; Investors.com). I am not sure which analogy our current government is relying on for guidance while in Syria, but today Obama is in a position of either continuing with the operation or pulling out of