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| US Marines coming ashore during an exercise |
By Franz-Stefan Gady
“To see what it is in front of one’s nose needs constant struggle.”
I’ve received quite a lot of feedback on my post yesterday, “What Do Chinese and Russians Think of the U.S. Military?” Some made the point that my argument seemed shallow and belabored the obvious (“Chinese and Russians see the U.S. military as a threat” – Oh, really? ). In fact, I was trying to make a deeper point, one that deals with perceptions and misperceptions of the United States Armed Forces abroad.
One of the issues I have with discussions about the U.S. military within the United States is that Americans often miss the wood for the trees. As George Orwell said: “To see what it is in front of one’s nose needs constant struggle.” For the outside world, the United States military by its sheer size and might alone constitutes a threat – notwithstanding the “Americans Will Always Fight For Freedom” perception within some segments of U.S. society – and so inevitably it will have a tough time posing as a “global force for good” (a phased out recruiting slogan by the U.S. Navy), even though it unequivocally is for the global order.
Consider this simple realization in the context of a few of the more daring foreign policy decisions of the United States of late, such as the invasion of Iraq. If someone sees you as a threat, it is hard to pose as a liberator in the long run, no matter what you do (another rather simple assertion!).
Read the full story at The Diplomat