The Monroe Doctrine is a document established by President James Monroe addressing how the country under his presidency will evaluate helping foreign countries. He states that the United States will avoid at all costs to do business with other countries unless it directly affects the US. Since, this is only a Doctrine and not a law it is not used by all presidents. Which makes foreign policy such a big dilemma presently; do we help less fortunate countries? Should we let people die and be forced to dictatorship of sorts since it does not directly concern us? These are the difficult questions politicians argue over everyday.
One example of this is the United States decision to aid the Islamic state fight against ISIS and Al Qaeda. The country is currently spending around a billion dollars to give their armies proper ammunition and protection. There is big controversy on the topic of helping Iraq; since it does not directly affect the United States to spend money on their troops there seems to be little point of doing so. Especially since the US is already in major debt as it is, people believe the government should be focusing on paying that off before helping the other countries. But, on the flipside others argue that we do need to fund these people because of if they can end Al Qaeda and ISIS without using their own troops; it could be saving them from two possible future threats. As the days go by ISIS only seems to becoming stronger and abandoning innocent people in horrid times like these is not something people would want to happen.
If we still followed the Monroe Doctrine in its entirety America would not have dealt with Iraq's problems. Due to the fact that the two countries are not even remotely close. If this was occurring in Latin or South America the US would have gotten involved but it is across the Atlantic Ocean. Also, aiding them in their fight would be like a domination of sorts. This is because they are paying for the whole war as if it is their own. When it is not; the US is in control of how well the military is equipped and performs on the battlefield as if they are with the United States. Lastly, this does not affect America directly so Iraq and it's surrounding countries should fend for themselves, according to the Monroe Doctrine.
Politics are confusing and will remain to be so as long as there is a government standing. Sometimes, the decision that seems the least likely to be effective turns into the most effective solution. You never know until you try; that is why people continue to fight for their beliefs and ideas in and out of government. So even if something seems impossible because keep fighting and raising awareness until something does happen. Instead of ignoring it and letting it become an even bigger problem. That is the main struggle the US is having with aiding Iraq, bringing attention to it may get something done but it does not affect us yet so why bother? Taking both sides to the argument is essential to a good decision and taking account old articles such as the Monroe Doctrine allows us to see what people would have done. Depending on the person, this could be a good or bad thing which is why we try to remember them for future events.
Citation:
"U.S. Ramps Up Military Aid for Islamic State Fight." Foreign Policy US Ramps Up Military Aid for Islamic State Fight Comments. Web. 5 Dec. 2014. <http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/11/21/u-s-ramps-up-military-aid-for-islamic
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