Simultaneous Contrast

After World War Two the United States moved into a position of global pre-eminence. The Bush doctrine of pre-emptive and preventive action, expressed in the 2002 and 2006 National Security Strategies, holds that this level of relative power remains, with the US capable of success anywhere in the world, against any enemy. At a military level this idea is fully supported in the 2004 National Military Strategy’s aim of full spectrum dominance. These claims are ambitious enough to be worthy of some investigation. The US can point to operations where force has contributed to significant success, yet a troubling series of failures is equally apparent. The principal question studied in this paper is: what is it about US foreign policy and the wielding of military force that can produce great success but also allow such frustration? An examination of the main strands of US foreign policy since World War Two reveals a nation which has, in the words of Henry Kissinger, 'oscillate(d) between excesses of isolation and overextension.' These swings have taken place in the context of traditions of individual freedom and a resulting focus on private domestic prosperity, and of an idea of military force closely aligned with just war theories. The consequence is a desire to maintain clear divisions between war and peace, and between political and military decision making. This separation has frequently clashed with the blurred ambiguities surrounding the idea of 'winning the peace' in timeless modern conflict. A helpfully apolitical way of appraising the subject is to use the idea of simultaneous contrast where two juxtaposed colors give the impression of a third, different color. All areas of foreign policy can be made to produce the conceptual perception of a color different from those initially spread onto the canvas. The conclusion of this study is that, if the true nature of America’s foreign policy story is understood, there is a way to produce that third color; it is possibleThis work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.