United States Foreign Policy toward Islam

The United States of America, since the end of World War II, has believed itself to be a world "superpower." However, at the turn of the millennium, that title seems to have outgrown its welcome. The United States, over the past fifty or so years, has placed missionary to those nations in need of a democratic government. However, while the United States may have had the best interests at heart, or even on the surface, this foreign policy needs to be "revamped" to meet the needs of the international community, if the United States is to continue playing the Superman card.

In the "War on Terror" the Untied States begins a new round of undertaking in soil untouched before, at least, in the invasive manner it has been affected by. However, instead of forcing their power onto the nations being affected, the United States should adapt their foreign policy to this region, and understand its dynamics, rather than tailoring it to be biased and therefore fueling more radical perspectives of the people. Instead, the United States has formed a biased foreign policy towards the Middle East that negatively portrays Islam, and radical Islam groups have gained support from the legitimate people who are affected by the United States foreign policy and are in need of an outlet to react to the oppression, and thus, the foreign policy of the United States has backfired. However, there is a way to develop American foreign policy to be adaptive to the principles of Islam, and therefore, the Muslim world.

The current foreign policy of the United States that has developed over the past five years is undeniably questionable. During the current administration, there is overwhelming sense of evangelicalism that has fueled the biased view of Islam (Benjamin). A radical example of this viewpoint come from remarks made by General Jerry Boykin, who told a church group that he was sure America would prevail in the struggle against Bin Laden because "my God was bigger than his." Boykin has made his viewpoints widely public, in an effort to rally support for the war in Iraq. Additionally, as Boykin is a General in the United States Army, he also serves a representative of the American foreign policy.

However, the main problem with the current United States foreign policy is not that it includes an, although not explicitly stated, religious perspective, but that the policy on the "War on Terror.