Military Influence of the USA

Essentially NATO actions are always in the interests if the US. Military Influence The USA has the most powerful military in the world In addition to having nuclear weapons, it has a combination of manpower, resources, sophisticated weapons, financial muscle, land, air and naval power and a strong infrastructure The US spends a huge amount on its military (see the table on the right) This puts the US in a commanding position internationally The US is the founding and most influential member of NATO, the world’s biggest military alliance. Essentially NATO actions are always in the interests if the US.

The United States remains at the top of the military spending league with $611 billion. That's 36 percent of the global total and over three times the amount spent by second-placed China.

Total= $787 500, 000, 000

Military Influence Currently, the US has over 7,000 nuclear warheads, more than any other country (Russia is second) This is much reduced from the 1960s In 2010, Barack Obama signed a treaty with Russian President Medvedev to reduce nuclear arsenals further However, The Obama Administration, in its release of the 2012 defence budget, included plans to modernise and maintain the nation's nuclear weapons arsenal

Military Influence The USA has military bases around the world, including bases in the following countries: Bulgaria Germany Israel Italy Japan Kosovo Kuwait UK South Korea Afghanistan Australia Bahrain Brazil Cuba Greece Spain United Arab Emirates US air base in Germany

US military bases around the world, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU8rQWh_qtc

US intervention abroad since the 1990s 1991 - Gulf War (Kuwait, Iraq) 1990s – UN humanitarian relief in Somalia, US helicopters shot down (“Black Hawk Down”) 1994-95 – Haiti 1995 – Bosnian Serb Conflict 1998 – cruise missile strikes on Afghanistan and Sudan 1996 – CIA sponsored failed coup in Iraq to depose Saddam Hussein 1999 – NATO bombing of Yugoslavia 2001 – response to 9/11 attacks – bomb targets in Afghanistan 2003 – invasion of Iraq 2011-present – US drone attacks on terrorist targets in Pakistan and Yemen 2011 – provided air power in Libyan Civil War Present – involvement in Colombia and other Latin American countries

Military Influence Analysis – The US is the world’s biggest military force. It is arguably the only military superpower in the world and this give it huge influence internationally. The US has military and strategic interests all over the world and its huge nuclear arsenal also cements its dominance. It also dominates NATO, the world’s biggest military alliance. US air base in Germany

Obama- Americans influence on the world, 2014 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZuXeRHtck8

Lack of influence? The US has attempted, along with the UK and other world powers, to prevent other countries from developing nuclear weapons. The U.S. government has officially taken a silent policy towards the nuclear weapons ambitions of Israel, but is vocally against proliferation of nuclear weapons by Iran and North Korea. It may be the case that the US have failed to prevent Iran and North Korea from becoming nuclear powers. North Korea, in 2017, highlighted that it does have nuclear capabilities – suggesting the USA’s military influence has failed to an extent. The rise in military prominence over other world powers, notably China and Russia, also threaten the United States’ dominance.

Lack of influence? Analysis – Although still currently the world’s most powerful force militarily, its status as the world’s only superpower is under threat from other world powers, particularly China. The US’s inability to prevent so-called “rogue nations” like North Korea becoming nuclear powers underlines that the US does not always get its own way. In addition, the international credibility of the US has suffered following military action in Iraq, Afghanistan and its involvement in the Arab-Israeli conflict. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gtc6XDbxz4