was us supported by brutal dictatorships in the name of protecting freedom

Question

The US has supported many brutal dictatorships in the name of protecting freedom.

Answer 1

Justina,

This is a great question, and has been an on-going question used to encourage students to think critically about US foreign policy, particularly in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It is also one that sparks meta-cognitive thought in that it challenges students to think about their views on the proper role of foreign policy and how the United States should interact with regimes around the world which may not embrace the same ideals about human freedoms the US does.

With that being said, I would recommend that you begin your research with sources from your school's electronic library if one is available. There are great resources for American history in electronic databases and journals sponsored by ABC CLIO. In fact, it divides up the eras of American history and further subdivides it by topic. Remember to focus on US interactions and foreign policy as it specifically relates to the Middle East, Latin America, the Far East, and Central Africa. Review American foreign policy toward governments in those regions and ask yourself if there have been examples of governments there which could be classified as "brutal" dictatorships. Keep in mind that your assignment has used the term "brutal," so you will need to analyze what you read and decide if the dictatorships there can be classified as "brutal." Then you must justify your assertion that they are. Also, you must analyze whether or not the US "supported" these regimes. What does "support" mean? What can be classified as "support?" Be careful to differentiate general foreign relations and "support."

Also, don't overlook some of the nations in Eastern Europe in the twentieth century, particularly those in the former Soviet Bloc.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you would like to work together on your project.

Dr. Wells

Answer 2

Hi Justina,

You realize that the headline and the actual text have opposite meanings, right? In the headline, you're asking, it seems, whether brutal dictatorships supported the US, and in the text, you're saying that the US supported them, so it's hard to tell what you're looking for help on.

That said, I might guess that you're writing an essay on the second version--whether the US supported brutal dictatorships. You're dealing with loaded ideas here and loaded language as well, so a simple "yes" or "no" won't be enough; whichever answer you pick, you'll have to defend it from people who strongly disagree.

Here's how you might get started:

Assume for a moment that the answer is yes, the US has supported brutal dictatorships in the name of freedom. What examples stand out as most obvious? You might use these to define your terms. How do you know it's a dictatorship? How do you know it's brutal? How did the US support it? How do you know it was "in the name of freedom?"

Now switch sides. Who might disagree with you? On what basis would they disagree? Do they disagree with your definitions? Do they disagree with the implication of American hypocrisy? Do they disagree on the facts themselves? I.e., do they simply not believe that the US supported them?

Now look at the two sides. Which argument do you think is stronger? What makes it stronger?

Hope this helps--let me know if you'd actually like to work on it together!