FREE ESSAY ON ANALYSIS OF PRESIDENT BUSH'S POST-COLD WAR INTERVENTION POLICY

ANALYSIS OF PRESIDENT BUSH'S POST-COLD WAR INTERVENTION POLICY

Analysis of President Bush's post-cold war intervention policy
What Leads to Intervention?: A Case Study of Intervention During the Bush Administration
As Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful armed force in a world plagued by small
military crises, the question ultimately becomes: when does a crisis call for
intervention? From 1988 to 1992, this was President George Bush's dilemma. The days of
the United States fearing embroilment in international affairs due to the towering menace
of the USSR and global destruction ended at about the same time as Bush ascended the
Presidency. However, with the threat of the USSR gone, the importance of small scale
conflicts had taken priority in maintaining world peace. Further, the fall of communism
had left the United States with a leading role in world politics. In that position, with
a powerful armed force behind it, the United States carried the heavy responsibility of
how and why to use it's new found eminence. That responsibility fell onto the shoulders
of Mr. George Bush as the first American President to sit in that exalted position. His
actions would determine the United States' place in the new world order and set the path
that future Presidents would have to carefully tread. The world order that President Bush
inherited was of a vastly different character then that of all his predecessors. The Cold
War environment that the world had just left behind had provided a clear framework for
national security policy and the use of the US military. The environment that Bush walked
into was an environment filled with disagreement and confusion over the new framework
with which the US should operate. It was also an environment with which the role of
Congress was almost eliminated as President Bush continually authorized military
operations without the full consent of Congress. It was an environment where the
executive held the power to use the military based on his own intent. During his term in
the Presidency, George Bush was confronted with many opportunities to demonstrate his
intent for the US military. The four years while Bush was President saw crisis situations
occur with alarming frequency. In each of these crisis areas, gross human rights
violations were committed. In some cases he reacted with swift military action, in the
name of humanitarianism, while in other cases he allowed sanctions to do the job. The
crisis situations where he advocated a military intervention and the situations where he
did not both tell the whole story. In analyzing these actions, it can be ascertained
which variables promoted a military intervention and which did not. 
The Variables
There are many variables that could influence the United States' decision to send a
military intervention, however very few are relevant, quantifiable or could possibly have
a strong influence over such an important decision. Therefore, based on published
literature and observation there appear to be five compelling variables which would have