The Truman Doctrine

Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese Admiral Yamamoto wrote, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant”. History has shown just how right Admiral Yamamoto was. The United States since World War Two (WWII), has become a global leader and unrivaled in military might. With this power, the US has tried to bring peace prosperity and democracy to the world. While American power is necessary for the international arena, it is detrimental towards creating democracy in foreign states. Since WWII the United States has been the most powerful country in the world. Because of this America has always had a target on her back, from smaller countries and radical ideology. Despite this target, the US has continued to grow its economy …show more content…
Not just with the United States, but other countries included. A large part of why the US is in every corner of the world is directly related to the four-decade-long cold war. During the beginning stages of the Cold War in 1947. President Truman created what we know today as the “Truman Doctrine”. This doctrine came, as a result, the Soviet Union continuing to expand following WWII. In the doctrine, it was stated that the US will back and support all countries with a democracy or have a desire for a democratic government. This was countered in the 1970’s with the Soviet’s version related to communism called the “Brezhnev Doctrine”. Because of the Truman doctrine, the US took a firm stance against the rise of communism, and authoritarianism. Also after WWII, the US helped to form the United Nations (UN) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The UN and NATO were initially set up to ensure global peace across the world, and to offer humanitarian efforts as well. At first, these alliances were more on an equal level between countries. However, today the US is the primary influence in these alliances. Along with the influence, the US is also the largest contributor with their military and financially. Lately, a new Doctrine has emerged following 9/11. This doctrine is known as the “Bush Doctrine”. In this doctrine, President Bush set the foreign policy to take preventive and preemptive actions against …show more content…
Of these critics, one of the major concerns is that if the US becomes too powerful, how could the world stop them if they had too? Another concern is that the US is controlling NATO and the UN because of their influence, and thus displacing these alliances from their primary mission. Others have even gone as far as calling the US a global bully. They are concerned with the fact that the US knows that in a conventional war, the US would win. Because of these concerns, the allies of the United States continue to rely on the US for security; however, they continue to remain dubious of the US’ intentions. With the strength of the mightiest military in the world, along with the allegiances with NATO and the UN. The United States continues to be the most power country in the world. This power is essential in the global arena, it has proven to be detrimental towards laying a democratic foundation within other countries. As a result, the US has picked up many critics, but the US continues to persevere for the greater

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