how have the experiences of the last 30 years affected our foreign policy in America today?
598731
1970's -- incinerated 600,000 peasants in the country next to the country the US was at war with.\n\nafter that ... hooked up with saddam hussain and helped end democracy in several latin american nations.\n\ntoday ... hard to believe people in the US buy the line about spreading democracy.
693750
The US is nothing like the USSR of yesterday.  The fact that you can openly complain about our government shows the difference.  Sure we have our problems here but, Americans really have it good.
99848
depends on who has the white house in 2008. We don't have the manpower to do it now, and if we did, our commitment to the middle east will be more like 20-30 years longer
728993
I live in Amissville, VA.\n\n1) Foreign Policy - (I would actually combine this with war & peace as well. Both issues have a direct correlation with eachother.) The world we live in is not a friendly place. I firmly believe, after doing much reading on the subject, that the people who hate us want nothing more than to cause us harm and drag the Middle East  into further isolation. This can not be tolerated for several reasons. Among these being the welfare of this nation as well as the welfare and rights of the citizens of each Middle Eastern nation. The policies we make now in regards to the rest of the world will effect us all for years to come. We must not allow any group of aggresors weaken humanity on this planet.\n\n2) Homeland Security - Without this, everything else on your list is futile. We have to be sure that all access into and out of this country is secure. That includes the borders and ports of entry, as well as communication lines. We have to stay one step ahead of those who wish to do us harm. For too many decades we acted as if terrorism was an unpleasant part of life. That attitude only embolden our enemies to strike harder. We can not let that happen again, or we will definetly have more pressing issues than social security or welfare.\n\n3) Education - One way the government can prepare its citizens to tackle the tough issues facing the world today is by affording them universal education. This country lives under the illusion that we are number one in everything, but nothing could be farther from the truth. We are steadily declining in education in comparison with other industrialized nations. This can not be allowed to continue. By educating its citizens, the U.S. government can assure a brighter future for all. It can give those on the bottom rung of the ladder of life a helping hand up. It is a proven fact that people with a college degree make an average of $23,000 more a year, and that is only with a bachelors degree. To someone, like myself, who is only making $18,000 a year on a high shool diploma, that can mean a world of difference.
544620
American foreign policy is largely run by the military.  There is a fundamental disconect.  Bear with me a moment.  The act of war is not an end in itself. It is merely a small part of a larger process - governing.  However, America is very bad at the final phase of conquering - the civil administration.  It's a little like getting a hockey team that can get the puck into the goal area but simply cannot get the actual goal.  However close they get, they will always fail as they can not achieve getting the puck into the net.  So it is with American  wars.  \n\nThe failure to place an effective government (Iraq, Somalia, Vietnam) means the war never actually concludes - and eventually the military will fades as it must - and any gain is lost.  Had an effective government (any government) been established in Iraq the pressure from the military would have been eased.  Instead this basic disconnect continues and the American effort will inevitably end badly.\n\nExamples of how it could be done can be seen in the Roman Empire, the French Colonisation of french African states, the British Empire and the Chinese expansions of the last  3000 years.  All have had enormous success, and have included in their model civil governance. Additionally there was a strong will of the colonizing nationals to participate in the new regime - as civil administrators, settlers, farmers and shop keepers.  How many Americans do you see queueing up to set up shops in Baghdad? It simply isn't a part of the US psyche. They'd rather be in California.\n\nWhile the military dominate foreign policy (and ironically the CIA), there will simply never be a solution. It doesn't matter how big or technological the military are - it never has.\n\nJFS
542930
one of the biggest problems with the US is that we don't have a "long view" when it comes to diplomacy.  If you look at the US's involvement, or lack thereof in WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Panama, China, Cuba, Venezuala, etc., you see over and over again that the US has made short-sighted decisions that have proven disasterous in the long run.\n\nNoriegra, Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein were all backed by the US at one point, as was the Taliban, the Afghani warlords, Ho Chi Mihn, etc.  Saddam Hussein got his WMDs from the US originally, then we act suprised when he used them and used it as an excuse to attack 20 years after the fact.\n\nI wouldn't expect the US to suddenly start making good diplomatic decisions.\n\nI hope you don't mind, but I'm going to copy this answer for your question about China and Taiwan.
695126
You asked a very complex question.\n\nThe terrorism that we are seeing today goes back to around the 70s possibly even the 60s.\n\nBasically it was in its early stages right after the Vietnam War. Our country, the USA,  was in what is called the 'containment' stage where we were trying to bring down communism. We believed it endangered our capitalist economic structure and decided to go to any extreme to conquer it.\n\nWe went as far to supply weapons to B. Laden in his efforts to counter the Russian, communists, invasion of Afghanistan. We also went as far to supply Iran Contra militias with arms in their effort to internally conquer Iran.\n\nBut, when Reagan achieved the goal of getting the Soviet Union to convert to capitalism in 1984, we wiped our hands of the promises we had made to all these militia groups.\n\nWhat we are seeing now is a direct result of some ticked off ppl that we made a lot of promises to that we broke.\n\nThat is one part... the rest would take me a book to explain involving imperalism, ignorance and vast movements of propagandaon both sides.
556258
Here are lots of things that happened.  I don't think they are called current events when they happened thirty years ago though!
977001
1983 is some while ago.  Most of us realize who the US supported and aided during all of the wars fought back then.  You supported the country that benefitted you.  My main concern is with the recent troubles and those countries such as Russia, France etc, supporting people like Saddam Hussein for cheap oil.  The greatest betrayal is that of our supposed allies in my opinion.\n\nAmerica doesn't need any help from terrorists to explode, our politicians bickering and nasty no holds barred arguments, are tearing us apart from within.  Soon we'll self implode, the morals and values we all hope to portray are being flushed down the toilet daily.
745486
Could it have something to do with us meddling in their affairs for decades?
389897
Talk about the general feeling of Americans. In the 1920s, Americans wanted to do what was best for them so America was slightly isolationist. By the 1940s and FDR, America felt that it needed to be involved in foreign affaris because of WWII. The 1930s were a time in which Americans did not want to be involved in forgein affairs because of the great depression, but through some of his acts (i.e. selling weapons to Europe) FDR subtly involved America in world affairs. Between WWI and the late 1930s, America was concerned mostly with itself, whereas WWII marked a final end to American isolationism.
697632
That's a loaded question, and I hope you don't mind taking some time to read this answer as it will have to touch on multiple intertwined subjects.\n\nOur foreign policy and world image should hopefully improve once Bush is out of power. The Democratic party has always been more apt for making friends outside of our shores, and for stroking the ego of international support. This in turn not only bolsters homegrown economics through production and trade, it also strengthens relationships nation to nation should another such war erupt.\n\nNational security? In all truthfulness, our security measures as a nation haven't improved one bit....so I don't see a real change in this. \nIf all you're doing is scaring people with this alert and that alert and you're not truly telling them why, people understand after awhile that all you're doing is crying wolf.\nHopefully something there will change, we need to make our nation secure from much more than just terrorists.\n\nSocial Security = The Governments money cookie jar. It'll be gone in five years or less.The only reason it's still there in the first place is because of the billions upon billions of dollars we're borrowed from the Chinese, and also the rape of the Medicare and Medicaid systems.\nIt's always been nothing but a Governmentally sponsored Ponzi scheme. The last two generations have consistantly paid and are paying taxes on a system that they'll never see a single penny of in return.\n\nEconomic policies? Everything needs to change. I could write a book back in response to this, but I'm just to leave it at this : Everything needs to change, starting with the mindset of the American people.\nWe need more entrepeneurs in this nation, we don't need more lazy employees.\n\nHope that helps!
671397
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_(1988-present)\n\ntry to find a answer in that site ..
180011
It is the main reason for our foreign policy
785472
america's foreign policy has the appearance of being imperialistic.\n\nThe USA always seem to be in everyone's else's business. That's why we are so hated.
778104
You're kidding right?  The US has lost more Int'l. crediblity than at any other time in it's history and it will take decades to repair it and it will make fighting the war on terror that much harder because foreign govts. have little if any trust in the US.  The US has become isolationists not by choice but by default (most of the rest of the world, except Israel, can't stand the US diplomatically).
348311
The USA has gone since 1990, that is five in a row.