The Dangerous Course of US Foreign Policy

https://ihr.org/audio_file/march2010foreignpolicy

Historian Mark Weber joins host Daniel Davis in this March 2010 session of “Beyond 50 Radio” (Oregon) to discuss US military intervention and foreign policy over the past century. The United States, says Weber, has changed from a republic focused on its own prosperity and well-being to a globally intrusive military power. He recalls the US role in the Spanish-American war of 1898, the first US bid for imperialism, as well as in World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, and, more recently, in Iraq and Afghanistan. He looks at the pretexts used by political leaders to justify those military campaigns and interventions. The enduring US military role around the world, he says, reflects an entrenched view that America is a social-political model for all nations, and therefore has a right, based on perceived moral superiority, to intervene everywhere. Going to war to fight “evil” or “terrorism,” says Weber, is a recipe for endless strife and conflict. Runtime: 9:47 mins.