...playing gave me a new found understanding of its mission. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization known as NATO was formed in response to the threat Western Democracies encountered from the spreading influence of communism in the post World War II era. Currently NATO has 28 nations who have aligned themselves in the organization, which has seen its share of good and bad times. During the immediate period up until the cold war era NATO was a driving force for peace efforts between countries and states. After the President Reagan’s historical proclamation on June 12, 1987 while speaking to the people in West Berlin, at the Brandenburg Gate. His speech is considered by many to be the beginning of the end of the Cold War and the fall of communism. The wall actually was torn down during November 9-11, 1989, reuniting families who were once separated by the wall. This event, even though a joyous occasion begin the slow demise of what NATO stood for. What would be the next step for NATO now that the Cold War was ending and the reality that communism’s spread was significantly diminished to a meager memory? The resurgence of NATO would be brought back to life with vigor as the United States and the world as a whole, dealt with the aftermath of the attack. Former President George W. Bush, while addressing the audience at the NATO summit in Prague a little over a year after the 9-11 attacks spoke on NATO’s expansion. He focus his speech on justifying why NATO expansion is necessary...
Words: 1271 - Pages: 6
...TOWARDS A LIBERAL REALISM The student’s name: The course number: The date of submission: The instructor’s name: During the era, of George .W.Bush, a lot of political ambition has taken place. When he got into power, the focus of Bush was to provide an avenue for economic and political prosperity. However, with time because of influences emanating from both the international politics as well as from his own legal advisors, he adopted policies that suited the conditions of the occasion. For instance, during his era, there was the interplay between realism and liberalism. Realism was manifested at the time when his concerns leaned more on his quest to acquire the interests of the nation. However, he seemed to choose a different approach especially after the September 11, 2001 attack. At this time, the interests of the nation were to be abandoned and promote more for the security of the nation. Realism is a theory of international relations which holds the view that the interest of a nation overrides other considerations such as the moral values. Furthermore, actions undertaken by government leaders do not take into account the effect that such deeds may have on other sovereign states. They are therefore, likely to violate the ethical considerations when pursuing their goals and interests from other states. The idea of realism is closely related to the ideas of Thomas Hobbes of people in a state of nature. They are considered to attempt to gratify their...
Words: 3232 - Pages: 13
...The New World Order: Not Built in a Day Luke Nosko 2011-04-02 David Tabachnick Word Count: 3028 The end of the Cold War, marked by the collapse of the Soviet Union, was the beginning of an unprecedented geopolitical scenario in modern times, namely the existence of a lone superpower nation which easily dominated the other countries of the world in terms of military strength and international economic and political influence. With this never-before-seen position of power in the modern, globalized world came the heightened importance of American foreign policy decisions, and the world waited to see how the US would react to being thrust abruptly into this role of the unipole of world power. The first test of US foreign policy as the sole superpower would actually come before the official dissolution of the USSR (though it had been in steep economic decline for some time), when Saddam Hussein lead the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. US President George H. W. Bush would place this conflict into perspective for the countries now looking to the US for leadership in his address to a joint session of Congress and the nation on September 11, 1990, and it was then that he most famously claimed that the US would strive to establish and protect the concept of a New World Order (NWO): “We stand today at a unique and extraordinary moment. The crisis in the Persian Gulf, as grave as it is, also offers a rare opportunity to move toward an historic period of cooperation. Out of these...
Words: 3550 - Pages: 15
...and anticipation with the 2004 Presidential Election nearing. The frontrunners in the race were George Bush (Republican) and John Kerry (Democrat). The competition between those candidates was closely speculated by almost the entire country. Prior to the election, Al Gore, the 45th Vice President working alongside Clinton (Geschickter), addressed the crowd at the Democratic National Convention in Fleet Center, Boston. There, Gore riled up the audience by asking numerous specifically driven rhetorical questions, as well as utilizing significant tone shifts throughout the speech. Gore also strategically lightheartedly cracked jokes about his political past, and meaningfully placed his hand over his heart....
Words: 1052 - Pages: 5
...Management Planning Paper (Halliburton) Antwon Snyder University of Phoenix Axia Management Planning Paper The planning function of management is very important for the sustainability of businesses. Planning is essential for businesses and their employees to function efficiently and maintain profit levels. In addition, management has to assess their current companies and determine what steps are to be made in the future. In the event of problems, managers should follow procedures to continue functioning. In this paper, Halliburton will be discussed, and their planning functions. In addition, legal issues, ethics, and corporate responsibility will be discussed pertaining to management planning. Additionally, three factors that influence Halliburton’s strategic, tactical, operational, and contingency planning will be discussed. Ultimately, efficient planning is the key to success for businesses and organizations. Halliburton is one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the oil and gas industries. Halliburton is also the world’s second oil and gas operation, and it functions in more than 75 countries. In addition, Halliburton has many branches and affiliates that deal with companies all around the world. The company is based in Houston, Texas, and also has agencies in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. In recent years, Halliburton has been in a few scandals that has hurt their reputation. As a result, the public has view Halliburton in...
Words: 1041 - Pages: 5
...remarkable impact on politics, which is not always good or beneficial. The data collected from the media can either be used for or against a politician. If a politician is favored by a certain network, such as CNN, NBC, or FOX, then the network can help his or her career reach new heights; however, if a politician is disliked then the network is capable of destroying the politician’s career. The media has the desire to make decisions for itself and in return try to convince people of its rightness and distort its viewers’ perspectives. There are many different types of media that can have a different influence on society’s political view. The four biggest forms of media are radio stations, newspapers, the internet, and television. People could tune into radio stations or talk radios to listen to political candidates being interviewed. An example would be in 1992 when "President George H. Bush interviewed with conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh" (Curl). Non-political hosts for radio stations are able to gain insight and achieve a political stand point by questioning the politician and giving the listeners what they wanted to hear. On the other hand, newspapers tend to lean more towards one candidate instead of the other and are allowed to print what they feel is true. The internet provides people the flexibility of searching the web to "gain...
Words: 2554 - Pages: 11
...XXXXXX University Abstract The invasion of Iraq was unconstitutional, had no real justification for happening and has severely damaged relations with our allies. Most importantly, Saddam Hussein was considered a threat and it was believed that he had weapons of mass destruction, would take on the U.S in an instant and was accused of having ties to the events of September 11, 2006 and the Al-Quaeda terrorist network. None of this could be proved and it appears as if it were all just convenient statements made by the administration to find a way to make it a justifiable cause. The Iraqi War: Was it the Right Thing to Do? The invasion was unconstitutional, against international law, violated the Christian doctrine of "just war" and has damaged U.S. relations with its allies. It has wreaked havoc in the Muslim world, where there's plenty of havoc already, and most importantly, it has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people. Frankly, it’s surprising it hasn’t resulted in dropping a nuclear bomb on Baghdad. Claims made prewar regarding Iraq's weapons of mass destruction have all proved to be wrong; the number of terrorists in Iraq has increased rather than decreased and the abuse inflicted on Iraqi detainees contradicts the most basic values the Administration claimed it would bring to Iraq (Savoy, 2004). President Bush’s actions portray him as an individual that has the right to attack Iraq anytime he wants to due to his position. It's...
Words: 3164 - Pages: 13
...Every four years the American society choose their leader and representative. Their decision influences not only their motherland but all countries in the world. Till 2008, there were no elections that were assumed to be historic before announcing the final result and before they actually took place. It was the president’s decisions that made one’s tenure significant and unforgettable. 2008 year’s voting altered this jurisdiction. An African American senator has been nominated and finally won the most momentous election in the world. Certainly, Africans and their descendants have been a part of the story of the America since the late 1400s. As scouts, interpreters, navigators, and military men, blacks were among those who first encountered Native Americans. Beginning in the colonial period, African Americans provided most of the labor on which European settlement, development, and wealth depended, especially after European wars and diseases decimated Native Americans. Their slavery legally lasted till the XIX century, when in 1865 Thirteenth Amendment to the USA Consitution was passed. The legal act banned bondage. However, African Americans faced many obstacles and prejudices not encountered by whites, even in areas where slavery had been abolished. They were barred from most educational institutions, limited to the least desirable residential and farming areas, often prohibited from practicing trades and opening businesses, and generally segregated in public conveyances...
Words: 2670 - Pages: 11
...Author’s Note Acknowledgments Notes Foreword When a governor or any state official seeks elective national office, his (or her) reputation and what the country knows about the candidate’s background is initially determined by the work of local and regional media. Generally, those journalists do a competent job of reporting on the prospect’s record. In the case of Governor George W. Bush, Texas reporters had written numerous stories about his failed businesses in the oil patch, the dubious land grab and questionable funding behind a new stadium for Bush’s baseball team, the Texas Rangers, and his various political contradictions and hypocrisies while serving in Austin. I was one of those Texas journalists. I spent about a decade trying to find accurate information on Bush’s record in the Texas National Guard. My curiosity had been prompted by his failure to adequately answer a question I had asked him as a panelist in a televised debate with Ann Richards during the 1994 gubernatorial campaign. Eventually I published three books on Bush and his political consigliere, Karl Rove. During Bush’s presidency, many other...
Words: 249168 - Pages: 997
...Term Paper Spring 2012 The neoconservative model for foreign policy has always been based on a desire to spread the gift of democracy to other nations so that they too may enjoy the fruits that democracy and free markets bear. Going a step further, Robert Kagan presents the neoconservative belief that ‘the great spread of democracy, the prosperity, and the prolonged great power peace- have depended directly and indirectly on power and influence exercised by the United States.’ To ensure that this is the case, the Bush doctrine was created to preemptively strike countries in order to prevent a conflict further down the road. While it may be true that the developing world has directly and indirectly been affected by United States influence, the United States isn’t the sole arbiter of prosperity around the globe and its purpose for influence shouldn’t be mistaken for ‘spreading democracy’ but rather the neoconservative desire to leverage influence for economic and political gain. While much of this had previously been achieved through unofficial intervention and covert operations, the Bush doctrine represented a significant departure in that it used preemptive strike as a forerunning option in preventing potential future wars. While Robert Kagan's quote reflects the ideal interpretation of the neoconservative model in that it ‘spreads democracy,’ history has shown its intent to much more in the self interest of the United States relative to that of the host country in question...
Words: 1683 - Pages: 7
...Research question no. 1: What were the most written about topic in articles related to the invasion to Iraq? Research question no. 2: What type of sources the journalists used? Hypotheses no. 1: The journalists were accused of marginalizing voices against the war. Therefore, my hypothesis is that there will be significantly more sources advocating the opinions of the Bush administration than criticizing it. Similarly, most of the articles will be biased towards the Bush administration. The universe in question and selection of an appropriate sample from the population. For my quantitative analysis I have chosen two major newspapers: The New York Times and The Washington Post. These two titles are considered as so called prestigious or elite newspapers. This type mass media is often held to higher standards of journalism because they can utilize...
Words: 1827 - Pages: 8
...On August 2, 1990, the Iraqi army guided by Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, on of the richest oil countries. This was the first major international crisis after the Cold War (“The Persian Gulf War”, 2012). After a long process of diplomatic talk and sanctions, the President of the United States, George Hebert Walker Bush, along with the support of the U.S Congress and the United Nations, decided to declare war on Iraq. During his declaration of war speech, Bush expressed that It was a forceful choice, as there was no other way left but to drive Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait with force (pitythefool, 2008). As a result, the coalition led by the U.S won the war in a short time period. However, were the overall effects of the 1991 Persian Gulf War positive or negative for the United States? Political Perspective The 1991 Persian Gulf War had several positive impacts for the U.S from a political perspective. The first Persian Gulf War was not only limited to Iraq and Kuwait. It was also an issue of high political importance for the United States. One of the reasons why the region was so important to the U.S is because the U.S depended on Kuwait for the access of cheap oil. By trying to conquer Kuwai, Saddam Hussain was a direct threat to the economic ties between the U.S and Kuwait. Furthermore, the U.S was afraid that Saddam’s territorial expansion would not stop with Kuwait but would continue into Saudi Arabia (Kimmel, 1998), which is also rich in oil reserves. Thus entering...
Words: 3496 - Pages: 14
...call was made by John Ellis, a freelance political advisor contracted by Fox News to head their election night “decision desk.” Ellis is also first cousin to George W. Bush and Florida governor. By calling the election for his first cousin, Ellis’ involvement was scrutinized for being instrumental in turning Bush’s loss in the popular vote. Furthermore, the Florida election was held under the supervision of Florida Secretary of state, Katherine Harris, a co-chair of the Bush campaign. This and Ellis’ position at Fox presented an interesting campaign issue: fraud. Ellis announced Bush as the winner of Florida; however, the margin of victory triggered a mandatory recount, the litigation ultimately reached the United States Supreme Court. The Courts decision ended the recounts. On the day of the joint session both the house of representatives and the senate was to certify the election results, Al Gore in his dual role as Vice President and President of the Senate presided over the event that would officially anointed George W. Bush as the new President. If any congressman wanted to raise an objection the rules state he or she would have to have the signed support of just one Senator. Not one Representative of the House was able to a written objection signed by one Senator and the U.S. Supreme court anointed George W. Bush as the new president of the United States of America. 2. Who was allowed to leave the U.S. after 9/11? Absolutely no one...
Words: 2162 - Pages: 9
...permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany – to secure a comprehensive deal with Iran on its controversial nuclear program. These concerns, however, represent a somewhat myopic view of the bigger picture concerning Iran’s nuclear ambitions. A thorough look at the Iranian regime’s domestic and foreign policies reveals that a nuclear deal would, in fact, have very limited effect on the behavior of Iran’s authoritarian theocracy and change very little about the dynamics in the 1 Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution changed the balance of power in the Middle East. Following the revolution, Iran, a pillar of the US’ regional Cold War policy, became increasingly isolated as it quarreled with its majority Sunni neighbors for influence and sought to export its Islamic revolution as far as to Europe.1 However, Iran attempted to overcome its isolation as a Shiite and majority Persian state by tempting the aspirations of the region’s Arab population with its support for radical anti-Israel/anti-US regional movements, thus successfully establishing a web of proxies and surrogates – the so-called “axis of resistance.” Furthermore, since 2003, the Iranian regime has effectively engaged Western powers in extensive nuclear negotiations aimed at halting Iran’s nuclear program. The current Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, who has been referred to as the architect of Tehran’s nuclear diplomacy, directed nuclear talks with the EU3 (France, Germany, and the United Kingdom) until...
Words: 6885 - Pages: 28
...Power and the Balance of Power The first concept that we will discuss is power, and its related concept, the balance of power. Power is an important concept in global relations, and a fundamental idea within the school of thought known as Realism. Realism is based on the assumption of anarchy, or the absence of a central order, as the key description of global relations. This is supposedly a self-help system, in which states compete with each other for power. Power is defined as the ability to get someone to change their behaviour in a direction desired by a stronger actor. The idea of power and the balance of power go back only 300 years, but there is evidence, according to Realists, that the Ancient Greeks and Romans pursued power politics. The idea of the balance of power is that interstate interaction will be stable if states, operating under Realist principles, seek to balance each other in their relations. By acting prudently, "carefully, with foresight, avoiding rash acts," no state will seek to upset the system. Each state will check the others, and no state will grow powerful enough to overthrow the others. A state that seeks domination will be defeated, so no state will attempt this. The classical balance of power operated only under a certain number of conditions: 1. There were a large number of states for alliance formation. 2. There were clear geographic confines in the system e.g. the European continent. 3. There must be flexibility/freedom...
Words: 2662 - Pages: 11
