Essay On Military Presence

It is said that with great power comes great responsibility. The United States is the world superpower, a role model for the rest of the free world. Our democratic form of government is a goal many countries strive to emulate and model their governments after. Because of our position as the sole world superpower, weaker countries depend on us. Therefore, it is beneficial that the United States maintains our global military presence. Doing so will create positive political, economic, and moral implications for our country and others. It is imperative that we do not let the burden of military involvement rest on the shoulders of other countries if we want to maintain our position of power and way of life. Our status as the leader of the free world …show more content…
Getting involved internationally only to be unethical can be worse for our image than not getting involved at all. An example of this is our involvement in the Iraq war and the Prisoner of War camps at Abu Ghraib. Although we were involved for the purpose of the “War on Terror”, this became a scandal in which US soldiers engaged in what President George W. Bush called an “alternative set of procedures” (CITATION). They were really ghastly incidents of torture on innocent Iraqi citizens (CITATION, MOVIE). The photos exposed inhumane actions taken against prisoners of war. Their distribution was a public relations disaster for the US military, and it fueled widespread Arab disdain for the US (CITATION). Whereas the Arab world and US did not have an especially positive relationship before the Abu Ghraib fiasco, its occurrence only further soured our relations with these countries and their many civilians, negatively affecting us politically. Therefore, this instance of US intervention was unethical and