Don’t Shoot: A call for International Diplomacy Essay -- Essays Papers

Don’t Shoot: A call for International Diplomacy Worldwide terrorism became the central focus of the United States’ foreign policy following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. At that time, the world saw the obvious hatred that other countries hold toward the U.S. and the extreme danger that came with it. Our eyes were opened to foreign issues that many of us were not previously aware of. President Bush’s initial response to the new danger was to overtake and reform two regimes, Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as to eliminate Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Instability still exists in these areas of the world, but there looms a much more immediate threat in the nuclear countries of Iran and North Korea. Said countries both possess histories of nuclear proliferation, which have recently become more threatening. Each country has violated treaties in regards to their nuclear pursuits and, presently, both countries are actively developing weapons of mass destruction. The United States has established a trend of forcefully instituting change in other countries where it sees fit, as in Afghanistan and Iraq. In the case of Iran and North Korea, such a policy is unnecessary at this time. There currently exists insufficient threat from either country to warrant an attack, so a preemptive strike would be disastrous and unnecessary. The only circumstances that necessitate physical force are those in which the United States and/or other nations are immediately and inevitably endangered. We do not possess the military or economic resources for another full-scale war front as most of our troops and funds have been exhausted in Afghanistan and Iraq (Schwenninger 17). The United States’ course of... ... 50-51. Coulter, Ann. Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2003. Forbes, Steve. â€Å"Ticking Bomb.† Forbes 6 Sep. 2004: 33. Gannon, Jeff. â€Å"Iraqi Leader Challenges Western Media Bias.† Talon News 28 Sep. 2004: 25-26. Hanson, Victor Davis. â€Å"Kill the insurgents. Stop Talking.† The New Republic. 7 June 2004: 13-14. Hirsch, Michael and John Barry. â€Å"Madmen, Rogues & Nukes.† Newsweek 11 Oct. 2004: 34-35. â€Å"Japanese official says North Korea holds nuclear weapons: report.† 17 Oct. 2004: n.pag. On-line. Internet. 18 Oct. 2004. Available WWW: http://news.yahoo.com. Scoblic, J. Peter. â€Å"As I Say: Bush v. Bush on North Korea.† The New Republic 4 Oct 2004: 11-13. â€Å"Will the US now attack Tehran?† New Statesman 27 Sep. 2004: 6. Zakaria, Fareed. â€Å"A Vision, and Little Else.† Newsweek 13 Sep 2004: 37.