United States National Security and Latin America

52). Where conflict arose in which Soviet power and/or influence was not involved the U.S. laid primary splendour on its outside interests. Thus in 1982 the U.S. sided with Great Britain, rather than Latin the Statesn ally Argentina, during the sec Atlantic War (Middlebrook, 1986, p. 20).

U.S. interests began to change by 1990, with the decline of Soviet power and the breakup of the Warsaw Pact; any dubiety about these changing interests were erased in 1991 with the demise of the Soviet Union. As a result, strict security interests stir declined in importance: direct military attack on the U.S. from the Western hemisphere is now quite unlikely, U.S. military facilities in the region are no longer vital, and the little terror from Cuba upon sea lanes is negligible without Soviet support. In addition, expanded U.S. trade and the development of synthetic engine room has reduced the demand for strategic raw materials found in Latin the States. Finally, unrestricted access to the Panama Canal is no longer vital since the share of U.S. shipping passing by dint of the Canal has diminished to less than 17% of U.S. ocean-bound trade (Lowenthal, 1990, pp. 53-56).

Colburn, F. C. (1992, February). The Fading of the Revolutionary Era in Central America. Current History, pp. 70-73.

Middlebrook, K. J., & Rico, C. (1986). The United States and Latin America in the 1980s: Change, Complexity, and Contending Perspectives. In Middlebrook & Rico (Eds.), The United States and Latin America in the 1980s.

Hakim, P. (1992, February). The United States and Latin America: Good Neighbors once again? Current History, pp. 49-53.

Lowenthal, A. F. (1990). Partners in Conflict: The United States and Latin America in the 1990s (Rev. ed.). Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

The other major effect of the scotch conditions in Latin America is the expanding drug trade in cocaine, marijuana, and heroin.

Naturally, for this industry to have expanded there must have been an increase in the demand for these drugs, and the largest market in the cosmea is the United States. The recognition of this market, however, has led many in Latin America to view participation in the trade as an escape from the poor economic conditions in their countries. This means that such(prenominal) production countries as Peru and Bolivia need viable economic alternatives in order to lure farmers away from the drug trade (Hakim, 1992, p. 52). The effectuate of drugs on the United States are even more say than those of mass immigration. The correlation between narcotics and crime have been well-documented, go the link between drugs and a decline in the attribute of the workforce is beginning to be shown. In fact, the American earth now perceives the narcotics trade to be the primary security threat in Latin America (Andreas, et al., 1991-92, p. 106).

Traditionally, United States foreign polity held economic and national security interests to be separate concerns, with economic interests subordinated to security interests. While this may have made some(prenominal) sense when the Soviet Union constituted the overwhelming threat to the U.S., such policy loses validity in a domain
Order your essay at Orderessay and get a 100% original and high-quality custom paper within the required time frame.