The American Identity Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The American Identity Crisis - Essay Example On the other hand, there were those who felt that American colonists had come to the New World to leave the world of monarchy and authoritarian decree behind, to found a home for democracy and for personal equality and freedom. The current debate in public opinion has to do with the American war in Iraq. There are many who believe that the United States, once an example for freedom and liberty, is acting like a colonial, or even an imperial power in its handling of Iraq. Since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, the country has sunk into a brutal civil war, which neither the American military nor the Iraqi military can contain. These thinkers assert that, since there is no clear exit strategy for the American military, that President Bush has given his military forces an impossible task of restoring full order before returning home. Instead of leaving the troops there indefinitely, these people argue, preparations should begin immediately for troop withdrawals, since there is no clear rationale for their continued presence in the country. On the other side of the argument are those who believe that the American military has a duty to establish that order before it leaves, and that to leave any earlier would g ive terrorists a foothold in the Middle East and would leave a power vacuum that could end up being very dangerous to American interests. Paine, of course, was on the side of military action against the British government. He used highly incendiary language in his pamphlets: in The Crisis, he wrote that "[t]yranny, like hell, is not easily conquered, yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph." He explicitly compares the fight for American independence from Great Britain to a religious battle between forces of good and evil. He scorned the sensibilities of the Tory loyalists, who, in his opinion, were selling out their children's futures for their own short-term comfort: he quotes the Tory tavern owner who said, "Well! Give me peace in my day!" while playing with his young son. Paine argues that his concern should be more the future, and that he should think, "If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace." Paine's argument was that a swift military action against the British would serve to lance the boil of American servitude that wo uld only continue to fester under the pressure of further British acts of taxation and other forms of official oppression. Paine's rhetoric is no tamer in his larger pamphlet known as Common Sense. He wrote, "Now is the seed-time of Continental union, faith and honour. The least fracture now will be like a name engraved with the point of a pin on the tender rind of a young oak; the wound would enlarge with the tree, and posterity read in it full grown characters." In other words, Paine felt his time period to be a crucial one in the direction of the fledgling colonies: they would either continue under British imperial rule, as would such areas as India and South Africa, or they could break free from their colonial ties and become a flagship for liberty in the New World. He uses the metaphor of writing on the tree to show how long-lasting the lessons of that historical moment would be. And just how permanent

C200 Exam Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

C200 Exam - Assignment Example 2. Urging the TFG leadership to reach out to traditional and moderate Islamists, including individuals formerly affiliated with the now-defunct Council of Islamic Courts, and moderate groups not previously incorporated into the Council of Islamic Courts. 4. Continued leverage of U.S. assistance programs to support new and expanded programming in the areas of security sector reform, employment and income generation of high-risk youth, and activities providing quick-impact peace dividends in strategic geographic areas. 2. Absence of functioning institutions in Somalia for over 15 years, the rebuilding of law enforcement, judicial, health, education, and other services which will largely be starting from scratch and will require significant external assistance. 1. Early fulfilment of the deployment mission which is a key element in instilling in the Somali people confidence that the peace process is underway and fully supported by the international community. 2. Offering support to the deployment of the African peacekeeping mission, and in particular the Ugandan contingent which requires support with strategic transport, equipment procurement, and other logistics. 3. Assisting with force generation by training and equipping African contingents deploying to Somalia through the African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance (ACOT A) program by The United States government. 4. Encouraging the TFG to facilitate the development of a civilian police force a along with the formation of a unified military representative of all of Somalia’s clans. The TFG efforts will further be supported by the deployment of a stabilization force to Somalia, which will provide a secure environment in which a political process can be moved forward and effective security institutions be developed. 1. Promoting the commitment of the Somali Diaspora to support financially the development of