Essay About Cold War And Domestic Issues

Cold War Politics
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This article examines the post Cold War political landscape in America, and
explains the various points of view of the government and public attitude. As
experienced after other shocking events such as the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor
and the Vietnam war, political ideology becomes divided between internationalists, who
believe in multilateral cooperation and effective international organizations and
isolationists who are against international involvement, thus “at the waters edge.”
The interesting aspect of this study to me, since it was obviously written prior to
our current war on terrorism and the situation in Iraq, is the relevance of these diverse
ideologies in todays debate of Americas role in international affairs. Much like the
positions after the Cold War, there are those who believe we should focus on
domestic issues, and those who think we must act as the police for the world.
After the attacks of September 11, 2001, it became clear to the Bush
Administration, and subsequently to the American public, that is was imperative for the
United States to lead the world against a common terrorist enemy. This effort gained
universal, bipartisan support and resulted in social and financial commitments from world
leaders and their constituencies. It could be argued that too much emphasis was directed
to the war on terrorism, as in the invasion of Iraq in the name of national security,
however, the same arguments and political leverage were used to facilitate action as by
FDR in World War II and LBJ in the Vietnam war.