A third character, the Ambassador Gilbert MacWhite, is a patriotic diplomat who lives up to many of the SOF Imperatives, but fails at one. His intent is admirable and the Ambassador realizes the actions required to combat the communist threat. One of the SOF Imperatives that he abides by is to ensure the legitimacy and credibility of Special Operations. ADRP 3-05 defines this as “legitimacy is the most crucial factor in developing and maintaining internal and international support. The United States cannot sustain its assistance to a foreign power without this legitimacy.” The publication also elaborates that decisions and actions that comply with U.S. and international laws foster legitimacy and credibility. This concept ties into several They are a framework that guides a SOF soldier while dealing with foreign counterparts or other interagency actors. The characters in The Ugly American either live up to the imperatives or contradict them through their actions. Father Finian is a model for how a USSF soldier should conduct themselves with their counterparts; he embodies several of the SOF Imperatives as displayed in his vignette. This occurs when Father Finian anticipates and controls the psychological effects by recruiting his Burmese counterparts and by launching the propaganda campaign. Characters like George Swift do not display any part of the SOF Imperatives. He is similar to Joe Bing and Louis Sears; careerist bureaucrats who are more concerned with cocktail parties than improving US foreign relations. George Swift makes a critical error by not recognizing the political implications of his actions and sabotages Hillandale’s opportunity to influence the Sarkhanese king. The third kind of character, a character like the Ambassador Gilbert MacWhite, has the best intentions of the United States and foreign relations, but makes an error in violation of one of the SOF Imperatives. He attempts to ensure credibility and legitimacy by trying to raise the standards for the U.S. foreign service workers. MacWhite did not fully understand his operational environment as displayed in the Li Pang and Donald exchange. The Ugly American offers an alternative to the prominent American attitudes of the time and suggests a framework for US foreign relations. It also stands as a warning. The novel cautions against arrogance and mediocrity; it explains that communism (or other threats) will only triumph through American
The best example of the SO imperatives in The Ugly American was the Facilitation of Military and Interagency Activities. John Colvin was an OSS agent that parachuted into Sarkhan to conduct operations against the Japanese in 1943 and stumbled upon Deong. They became close friends and conducted numerous harassment operations against the Japanese patrols and soft targets. One of the operations was for Colvin and Deong to conduct a link up with a US Submarine and retrieve a large quantity of ipecac. Colvin and Deong were going to set the conditions for the upcoming landing of the U.S Marine Corps. By convincing the Sarkhanese cooks to put the ipecac in the Japan...
In Overthrow, some of the CIA’s actions that brought massive destruction, death, and chaos to foreign countries are dissected. The disposing of Iranian leader Mohammed Mossadegh by Secretary of State John Dulles can only be described as unfounded and irrational. Which, as told by Kinzer, was a common thread in US foreign policy during the 50’s. Fueled by hate and fervor against communism- many nations faced the brunt force of US policy- by the hand of our leaders. All of which, was done legally and with authorization- sometimes encouragement from US Presidents. Such incidents are certainly blunders on behalf of the US. Although, what Kinzer fails to mention or recognize is instances where Covert Actions helped achieve ends which would never be possible otherwise. The Cold War was a turbulent time for the US and most of the world’s history. One country, the Ukraine- formerly a part of the Soviet Union, has an especially sordid past. The ethnic inhabitants, Ukrainians, suffered under Soviet oppression for many years and endured a man made famine- orchestrated by Stalin to suppress Ukrainian Resistance movements. Such an event, “Holodomor” which killed approx. 3 to 12 million people are considered by many countries to be a genocide. The US, while not directly intervening in warfare, did send agents to assist
Laws exist to protect life and property; however, they are only as effective as the forces that uphold them. War is a void that exists beyond the grasps of any law enforcing agency and It exemplifies humankind's most desperate situation. It is an ethical wilderness exempt from civilized practices. In all respects, war is a primitive extension of man. Caputo describes the ethical wilderness of Vietnam as a place "lacking restraints, sanctioned to kill, confronted by a hostile country and a relentless enemy, we sank into a brutish state." Without boundaries, there is only a biological moral c...
After a few years since the publication of the “X” article, ‘containment’, the term that was coined by Keenan, became a key word to describe the U.S. foreign policy in overcoming Soviet threats. Yet, Keenan criticized Truman’s containment policy as ‘too universalistic’ in that it placed the U.S. in an exhausting commitment to block every Soviet expansion to free countries (Keenan, 1967). In fact, the containment policy was influencing the U.S. involvement in different confrontation from Germany to Vietnam.
Prados, John. Safe for Democracy The Secret Wars of the CIA. Chicago, IL: Ivan R Dee, Publisher, 2006.
The United States Army, in its current state, is a profession of arms. In order to be considered a profession, the organization must have an ethical code rooted in values, strong trust with its clients, and be comprised of experts within the trade. These experts are constantly developing the trade for the present and the future and hold the same shared view of their trade culture. The Army currently has an ethical code embodied in the Army Values, which provides guidance to the individual and the organization. These values are universal across the Army, regardless of an individual’s personal background or religious morals.
In A Tactical Ethic, Moral Conduct in the Insurgent Battlespace, author Dick Couch addresses what he believes to be an underlying problem, most typical of small units, of wanton ethical and moral behavior partly stemming from the negative “ethical climate and moral culture” of today’s America (Couch, D., 2010, p. 15). In chapter one, he reveals what A Tactical Ethic will hope to accomplish; that is identify the current ethics of today’s military warriors, highlight what is lacking, and make suggestions about what can be done to make better the ethical behavior of those on the battlefield and in garrison. He touches on some historic anecdotes to highlight the need for high ethics amongst today’s military warriors as well as briefly mentions
Though out history, American has had its hand in conflict with other countries. Some of those conflicts have turned out into wars. Looking back at America’s “track record” with war, America has a worthy past of having its citizen’s support. Obviously the two World Wars we not controversial. The United States in the Korean War was criticized, fairly, for its strategy, but the need to defend South Korea was never questioned. In only the Vietnam War was the United States’ very participation criticized. This is such a gigantic change with prior wars that it bears study as to why it happened, and better yet, should have it happened. This paper will discuss the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, by asking the simple question, Should have the Untied States’ gotten involved into the first place. This paper will prove that in fact, America should have not gotten involved with the Vietnam War.
A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain ...
The Carraway’s claim themselves to be loyal Americans. However, when Nick’s great uncle was called to fight in the Civil War, a substitute was sent in his place. This provides concrete evidence of Nick’s honesty. If he is able to see hypocrisy within his own family, there is no doubt that he is a forthright gentleman. Nick g...
One way the authors disagree towards war is the separation of families. Throughout the book, many families were torn apart, leaving the rest weeping for those who left them. “Go, Sam. Go. Get out of my sight. I can’t bear to look at you anymore in that vile costume.” (Collier and Collier 22). The quote depicts Sam’s father
The military is tasked with the duty and responsibility of protecting the nation from external attacks and managing any attacks that may happen. Over the years, countries across the world have engaged in conflicts originating from differences in policies and invasion of privacy and unfair treatment of citizens in foreign countries. In...
E. P. Thompson doubts the moral of war. Or he doubts the moral of anti-terrorist war. In the next lines we read how disappointed he is that he’s half-American. But he also doesn’t like being half-English after the “heroine” is “walking tall”- Margaret Thatcher is accepted as a betrayer of national honour.
Current military leadership should comprehend the nature of war in which they are engaged within a given political frame in order to develop plans that are coherent with the desired political end state. According to Clausewitz, war is an act of politics that forces an enemy to comply with certain conditions or to destroy him through the use of violence. A nation determines its vital interests, which drives national strategy to obtain or protect those interests. A country achieves those goals though the execution of one of the four elements of power, which are diplomatic, informational, military and economical means. The use of military force...
David Galula and Roger Trinquier have common roots, they were French citizens and both lived in the 20th century when the study of counterinsurgency theory was coming into focus. Each of these men experienced bitter conflicts of war. Galula fought in North Africa, Italy, and France. In addition, Galula fought in irregular wars located in China, Greece, Indochina, and Algeria. Galula was a lieutenant colonel when he decided to author his now classic book. Whereas, Trinquier an officer in the colonial infantry defended the French concession in Shanghai and later in Indochina under the Japanese occupation where he was held prisoner of war in a Japanese internment camp. After Trinquier’s release from prison, he continued to serve in Indochina and additionally in Algeria. Both men wrote from first-hand experience and published their accounts in 1964 while the Cold War waged. Communism ideology vs. the free world theorists collided across the face of the globe in a race for domination. Counterinsurgency has been an American strategy since the 1960s ebbing and flowing in strategic signi...