I feel that Wilson’s comments partially hold true in the issue of the U.
S. occupation of Iraq. This is because the Middle East has long had a sensitive political position on the international community due to their considerable control of the most significant exhaustible resource on the planet, oil.The Bush administration’s motivation in pursuing the Iraq occupation may have only been hidden behind well-meaning ideals of democracy and liberation but was actually plain and simple plan to assert commercial power in the region by seeking control of central and southern Iraq’s oil.
However, where former president Wilson’s statement on the seed of war focused on greed-driven commercial factors as the prime motivation, I believe that America’s was more of fear-driven.I believe that especially after 9/11, the Bush administration’s unilateralist perception grew quite fearful of their current position in the international arena. While the U.S.
is clearly still one of the most powerful nations in the world, several years of its assertion of its power has made it many enemies, some of which control or have influence on countries that control resources that are essential to the U.S. economy.Also, countries that have previously stood alone in dealing with American commerce have formed strong economic and political alliances as can be seen in the European Union and in the developments between ASEAN and its neighbors China and Russia.
The move on Iraq therefore could have been a step taken to secure the American economy one step closer to self-sufficiency.Answer to Question #2I believe that while immigration under the current constitution does fall under federal jurisdiction, it is the responsibility of the federal government to provide appropriate measures in order to ensure the viability of its immigration policies with respect to the effects that they have on the states where immigrants usually end up in.According to Lucas, the state has the right to protect itself when the federal government introduces provisions that might cause the state direct harm (53).Therefore, I believe that the federal government, while having jurisdiction over immigration should ensure that the different states that immigrants go to are justifiably compensated for the impact of the influx of immigrants on their economy, culture, and environment.That being said, I do believe that Arizona shouldn’t be allowed to develop its own immigration policy, such an act would be unconstitutional. However I believe that the state of Arizona deserves the right to be heard by the federal government regarding their complaints on the effects of immigration in their territory and that the federal government should address these complaints with genuine policies of their own for Arizona’s protection.
Works Cited:Lucas, Jorge T. Political Science: An Introduction. Macmillan Press, 1998.
