US Foreign Policy Analysis

Great Essays
This research examines several cases of US humanitarian intervention in the 1990s, focusing on the transformation of United States foreign policy goals between George H.W. Bush’s “New World Order” platform in 1991 to Bill Clinton’s “Policy on Reforming Multilateral Peace Operations,” in 1994. These polices starkly contrast one another—the first offered preventive, non-combat measures while the latter focused on combative peacekeeping missions—although both are guised as humanitarian aid. The paper examines how the US loss of life in Somalia 1993, impacted two subquent peacekeeping operations in 1994, Haiti, and Rwanda. This research seeks to examine the factors behind the American response to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and the 1994 military …show more content…
The US had also refocused its considerations in foreign policy away from state security in 1990 while the Soviet Union was still a state. The US intervened in the Middle East because the Bush Administration felt that Iraq had violated Kuwait’s sovereignty. In 1990, George. H.W Bush made a speech to Congress to provide justification on why the US was involved in the Middle East that would be called a New World Order. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush made a passionate speech to a joint session of Congress about establishing a New World Order, built on world peace and nations working together to end domestic conflicts. Although the speech was geared towards Operation Desert Storm, this speech reveals Washington’s shift of its foreign policy following the Cold War. It is vital to note that Bush stressed the point of the UN maintaining a “moral authority” in the world with the United States being the superpower (www.millercenter.org). The important point of study during the US involvement in Iraq and Kuwait War in 1990 was that the Cold War was still in effect. However, the US was able to gain political support in stopping Saddam Hussein’s invading forces. It was a watershed moment in US foreign policy that shifted the US commitment from containment to …show more content…
At the start of the peacekeeping operation in early 1994, Dalliare understands that the US 1993 debacle in Somalia has changed the landscape for peacekeeping operations. He states if he would have asked for a peace enforcement operation, he would have been on a plane back to Canada. While he was the force commander of the UNAMIR, he received intelligence that the Hutu government supported Interharmwe militia was preparing for a slaughter against the Tutsi’s from an informant in January 1994. The informant stated that the Interharmwe milita was stockpiling massive amounts of machetes and guns. He then cabled the UN asking for clearance to raid the warehouse. This information is supported in the UN head of peacekeeping operations memoir Interventions: A Life in War and Peace which at the time was Kofi Annan. Kofi Annan cabled Dalliare back and stated that he was not to commence in the raid. In the chapter, “Rwanda: In the Shadow of Somalia,” Annan explains that at the start of 1994, the UN had thousands of troops working in different peacekeeping operations, and the political climate had changed due to the recent events in Somalia. Moreover, Annan states that US experience in Somalia dictated the international community’s

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