The Misuse of American Might and the Price Paid

The United States has engaged in military interventions with good intentions, but struggles to deliver lasting stability, argues Andrew J. Bacevich for the Los Angeles Times, and “instead of promoting stability – perhaps the paramount U.S. interest not only in the Islamic world but also globally – Washington's penchant for armed intervention since the end of the Cold War, and especially since 9/11, has tended to encourage just the opposite.” The conflict in Iraq did not end neatly, and Bacevich points out that the use of force too often backfires and encourages more resistance and makes for more determined opponents, because “In a world divided between haves and have-nots, between postmodern and pre-modern, and between those for whom God is dead and those for whom God remains omnipresent, expecting coercion to produce reconciliation, acceptance or submission represents the height of folly.” He urges that military force be limited to self-defense rather than used for “influence, control and values,” especially when economic and cultural power often deliver more lasting effects. – YaleGlobal