Lately I’ve been watching the 10-part Oliver Stone production “The Untold History of the United States.” I have just finished the episode about JFK’s presidency and the harrowing events of the Cuban Missile Crisis, where the U.S. and the Soviets came within a hair’s breadth of nuclear war. After examining the foreign policy actions of FDR, Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy — not to mention those who followed them — a troubling theme has emerged.
The effects of U.S. presidential decisions are global in scope and fraught with unintended consequences that can threaten the survival of all mankind. The suffering of innocent civilians from our bombings and covert operations is unconscionable. Even capable and generally well-liked presidents have made terrible decisions, resulting in the U.S. being seen as a militaristic, threatening bully, not as the defender of freedom we claim to be.
Presidents have often used excessive military force to avoid appearing weak even when “victory” is impossible. As a result we spend more money on our military than the next 10 countries combined. Given the current occupier of the White House, it would seem to be way overdue to restructure the balance between our three branches of government to keep one man from wielding so much power.
