Political Science Essay: Unethical US Military Intervention

This essay critically examines the ethical implications of US military interventions in third-world countries. It argues that the US military's actions are often unethical, citing instances of political and economic exploitation, human rights violations, and targeted killings. The essay analyzes the suffering inflicted on countries under US authority, including the harassment of individuals and the suppression of human rights. It highlights the increasing rate of intervention, the use of advanced surveillance technologies, and the disproportionate impact on countries like Yemen, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The essay also discusses the psychological effects on both the inhabitants of these countries and the soldiers involved. While acknowledging some positive outcomes, the essay concludes that the negative consequences of military intervention, particularly the erosion of humanitarian beliefs and the violation of sovereignty, outweigh the benefits. The essay uses multiple sources to support its claims, including scholarly articles and research reports, and follows MLA citation guidelines.

Running head: INTERVENTION OF US MILITARY IS UNETHICAL
Intervention of US Military is Unethical
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1INTERVENTION OF US MILITARY IS UNETHICAL
The US has time and now used the army for gaining political and economic benefits.
The incidents of intervention by the US army is constantly increasing and this can be
established by taking the case of Africa which is facing the same issue (Bachmann and Jan)
This essay intends to analyze the unethical practice of the intervention done by the US
military on the third world countries. The sufferings that the countries face during the
subordination to the US authority and the harassment of the individuals by soldiers in the
name of protecting their native land. It will also reflect the rate on which the military is used
for fulfilling the vested interests of the government of USA. The violation of human rights
and the targeted killings that are carried out by the administration will also be highlighted.
The harsh effects of this on the mind of the inhabitants as well as the soldiers is also included.
The intervention of US military s visible on the world at an enormous rate. The rate of
intervention is constantly increasing with the progression of time. United States of America is
trying to establish itself as a major force in the world politics. For the protection of the rights
and to keep the internal security intact the US has taken up the policy to territorial expansion.
It tries to establish supremacy over all the country that pose threat to the dominance it has in
the world. The main purpose of this is to critically analyze the military intervention by US
which is unethical.
The National Security Agency presently uses complicated methods for locating their
targets with the use of specialized drones which it earlier did with the use of human
intelligence. The drones are dreaded by individuals as they can cause serious harm to those
who come under the coverage area it has. The US uses NSA as a secret agency to act against
those who they identify as threat for the sovereignty of the country (Scahill, Jeremy and
Greenwald). The CIA uses locations that are revealed by the satellite and phones that they
believe to have been owned by their potential targets (Nicole et al.). The countries that have

2INTERVENTION OF US MILITARY IS UNETHICAL
suffered the most due to the invention US military are Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq to name a
few. Innocent people were killed on the accusation of being terrorists by the military
(Grossman). The military not only killed the suspects but also harassed their families. This
can be considered as human rights exploitation by them. The US provides the military with
special rights that give them supreme authority over the territories that they rule. Many
leaders opposed the targeted killings of innocent people by the US military. The United
States of America is often regarded as the predator empire that is constantly preying on other
countries to bring them under the authoritative control of the state (Shaw and Ian).
Further, the use of armed forces by US has resulted in the suppression of human
rights. The demands for the inclusion of human rights is highly emphasized by the non-
governmental organizations as the reports of violations are relatively facing a rise.
Conquering the territory of Iraq by the US armed forces showed their true face. The main
cause of the suppression as advocated by them is said there is a lack of democratic authority
in the region which makes them vulnerable to possible external threats. The region becomes
vulnerable and the establishment of their authority of military and governance would help in
the betterment and protection of the region. During the regime of President George W. Bush,
the US military extended the control over the territory of Iraq (Tarbush and Mohammad). The
abuse of the residents of the conquered country by the US army has made the concept of
democracy bleak. The US military keeps arrested people in captivity without trial which leads
to the violation of their rights. The basic rights of the citizens living in the countries that are
under the military control of US are taken away. The intervention of the army in the internal
governance of the countries like Iraq, Syria and Somalia has led to the conflicts within the
country on humanitarian grounds (Weiss and Thomas). The struggles of the people are
highlighted by the international media time and again but they are hardly paid any attention
because of the high status occupied by the United States in world politics. The reported

3INTERVENTION OF US MILITARY IS UNETHICAL
casualties in the areas that come under the US authority is more in reality. The US uses the
military forces to suppress and violate the rights of the humans (Mertus and Julie).
However, there are certain positive impacts of the use of military intervention by the
US army. The elimination of terrorist chief is one such justified scenario. Under the regime of
Barack Obama the number of targeted killings by the using drones increased considerably.
The assassination of the al-Qaeda chief, Osama bin Laden by the US Navy SEAL in the year
2011 and in the same year during the month of September there was another targeted killing
by them of the cleric born in America with his roots from Yemen, Anwar al-Awlaki who was
the head of the AQAP proved to have a positive impact on the world. Israel also used this
technology to eliminate Palestinian terrorists from their native land. A research conducted by
the New American Foundation brought into focus that during the initial two years of coming
into office, the number of airstrikes conducted by President Barack Obama and George W.
Bush on Pakistan is four and eight times respectively. The elimination of terror outfits by the
use of the armed forces is justified in some cases but it cannot be justified in every case. The
innocent civilians and children in the countries under the American military control are
always under constant threat as the area is considered as warzone (Rapport and Aaron).
Nevertheless the soldiers involved in the process also suffer mental trauma as they face many
horrific incidents that have prolonged effects on their mind which also leads to the incidents
of racial discrimination and killings of the non-American individuals. Recent killings in Paris
and New Zealand prove that the effects of the memories of warzone have a lasting effect on
the soldiers too. The expansion of the empire by the United States of America is their prime
focus and in this process the humanity is lost. The main aim is to eliminate all the forces that
oppose and refuse to submit to the American regime. It can be justified from the fact that
during the time period of 1945 till 2001, the US military has done over 170 military
interventions in different parts of the world (Moseley, Alexander and Norman). Though the

4INTERVENTION OF US MILITARY IS UNETHICAL
military intervention has some positive outcomes, the negative impacts cannot be neglected
given the increase in the reports of human rights violation.
Thus, it can be concluded from the above discussion that though the military
intervention by the United States has helped in some areas but in reality it has done a long
lasting arm to the humanitarian beliefs. The concept of sovereignty is lost and the third world
countries face a constant threat of the intervention by the army. The resistance from the
subjugated countries also increases the chances of war. The countries and the inhabitants are
coerced to submit to the authority of the United States of America. The casualties caused by
military intervention whether they are mental and psychological cannot be justified. It can be
reasoned from the above discussion that no matter how many justifications are in favor of the
intervention but the drawbacks are the major concern that are presently faced.

5INTERVENTION OF US MILITARY IS UNETHICAL
References
Bachmann, Jan. "Policing Africa: The US military and visions of crafting ‘good
order’." Security Dialogue 45.2 (2014): 119-136.
Buchanan, NiCole T., et al. "A review of organizational strategies for reducing sexual
harassment: Insights from the US military." Journal of Social Issues 70.4 (2014): 687-702.
Grossman, Dave. On killing: The psychological cost of learning to kill in war and society.
Open Road Media, 2014.
Mertus, Julie A. Bait and switch: Human rights and US foreign policy. Routledge, 2013.
Moseley, Alexander, and Richard Norman. Human rights and military intervention.
Routledge,2018.
Rapport, Aaron. "Military power and political objectives in armed interventions." Journal of
Peace Research 52.2 (2015): 201-214.
Scahill, Jeremy, and Glenn Greenwald. "The NSA’s secret role in the US assassination
program." The intercept 10 (2014): 2014.
Shaw, Ian GR. "Predator empire: The geopolitics of US drone warfare." Geopolitics 18.3
(2013): 536-559.
Tarbush, Mohammad A. The role of the military in politics: A case study of Iraq to 1941.
Routledge, 2015.
Weiss, Thomas G. Humanitarian intervention. John Wiley & Sons, 2016.