History and Political Science (Research Paper Sample)

Kristen Yang
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The Biography of a Military Strategist (1940-1975)
Powell was a very Sharp student. When he joined the military after college, he quickly rose along the ranks. At the edge of 24 in 1944, he had already been admitted into the elite squad where he excelled. He was the youngest member of the military strategist team that had been formed to advice on WWII. He joined the Allied forces in June 1944 on the ground as a strategist. Later in his diary, Powell records, “When I first set foot on Europe in June 1944, the destructive power of the Appeasement Policy was evidenced by rubble, barbed wired and rugged terrain. Chamberlain must have governed in frenzy of faith that the mad man of Germany would calm down soon. He must have played the gentle man that Britain was not going to blow the first whistle on Germany. While Hitler, Mussolini and Japan came out openly as rogue leaders and state, we sat back and watched. It seems nothing was wrong with the invasion of Manchuria. It seemed it was all okay to embark on rapid militarization of Rhineland. The appeasement policy massaged Hitler’s roaming appetites for war. I have today set foot on Europe to bring good news, thanks to Chamberlain and the appeasement policy (McDonough 1). I bring good news from the world on the other side pacific that we are indeed very sorry for this war, which the world could have avoided. This is the news that I bring with a gun on my hand and explosives on my back.” Powell spearheaded many military strategies and by October 1944, there was huge progress. He helped in designing the D-Day operations and strategies, much to the success of the Allied.
After the end of the war, Powell returned to work in Europe under the Marshall Plan. He records in his diary the following. “The Marshall Plan is a big boost in the recovery of Western Europe and Japan in the post-war period. I can see a future beyond the rubble, hunger and starvation. Even so, I fail to understand why the Russians with whom we had just fought on the same side could be taking advantage of the situation. I foresee a quite friction between the ambitious Soviet and the USA. I believe it is now time for reconstruction, not for claiming plunders of the war. Otherwise, I may consider that I fought on the wrong side of the war.” Amongst other entries, Powell observes that the onset of the Cold War started with Russia’s taking advantage of the small nations. He also notes that in the aftermath of the war, many states in Eastern Europe were still weak. Rather than being left to their own determination, Russia was forcing them one after another into communism. It is then that the US acted under the Truman’s Doctrine (McDonough 1). Under the Truman’s Doctrine, it became the official policy of the US to support any free people resisting attempted subjugation by an armed foreign force. To counter the emerging tyranny of Russian, Powell received orders to watch keenly the developments in Eastern Europe and advise accordingly. This was the early years of the Cold War in the aftermath of WWII.
Powell was also not an apologist for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki situation on the account that it was a consequence of war. He based his reasoning purely on war strategy. From his 1945 diaries, he has offered sufficient reason why the use of the atomic bomb was unavoidable (Doyle 1). As noted in his diary, he enters the following: “The world seems to forget so fast. Just the other day were dealing with Hitler and Mussolini. That is over, and the next rogue is Russia. The United States is practically fighting proxy wars to help those whose right to free determination is under threat by the USSR. It is foolhardy to start playing blame games at this moment on whether the atomic bomb solution is justified.” Powell indicates that when the United States resolved to use atomic bombs on Japan, it was because that was the only solution left. Germany and other axis powers had been subdued and surrendered. The war had dragged for too long, but Japan was not heeding calls to end her continued onslaught. The Japanese Prime Minister, Suzuki, and the Army Minister, Anami, did so little in their power to prevent the US from using the atomic bomb. When the first bomb hit Hiroshima, they claimed the US had only one atomic bomb, which it had used. One can see from this that they were only willing to end the war on grounds that cannot match the enemy force, but not in the interest of peace. Their surrendering was just a survival tactic (Carragee 287). The US had asked Japan to surrender unconditionally so that the war could end, but she declined. Powell also observes the following in his diary: “Japan had demonstrated its tyranny in the Pearl Harbor incident (Doyle 1). It is now hell-bent to continue wreaking havoc if not checkered by sufficient force. These desperate times need desperate measures. If it will take a little toll to achieve world peace, then that is a justifiable direction in the name of global peace. It may not matter the level of force used, but this war has to end. Otherwise, Japan will continue keeping the world hostage with her unbecoming tactics, as more and more people continue to die.”
When it was deemed appropriate to withdraw Powell from Western Europe, his superiors did so. It was in 1959 when he returned to the United States. He was deployed to work with the Marines as the Major General. His new position gave him access to classified files. The US and the former USSR were in an armed race. It was a situation of serious irony: Allies during WWII and enemies during the Cold War. Part of Powell’s mandate was to keep a close eye on Russia. Russia’s Nikita was looking for the slightest opportunity to have Soviet missiles closer to the US as much as possible. Consequently, when there was a failed coup in which the US had a hand, Nikita convinced Castro to have Soviet nuclear missiles on the Island. This was the hottest point at the height of the Cold War (Saull 1128). In his 1962 diary, Powell observes that, “the increased activities in Cuba by the military are unquestionably missile launches under construction. The Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) protocol may be inevitable if nothing happens (Joel 1). This MAD thing is very serious. If the Soviet fires a nuke against us, then we are both dead. That is how mad the MAD protocol is. Anyway, as long as the Soviet still hold on Saigon, Georgia, Czechoslovakia and other states against their wish, the US and the USSR are still in for confrontations.” In all his lifetime, Powell believed in the redeeming power of the USA on small nations seeking their own determination. His diary has the following entry on USSR’s armed subjugation of small states: “This madness by the Soviet has to be stopped, not necessarily with a MAD protocol. It is my firm belief that the US should continue offering military and humanitarian aid to these small nations so that they may have some hope. It is better we take this madness to proxy wars for our mutual safety. Even so, it appears the world would be stable politically and prosper under the leadership of the USA as the super power (Joel 1).” Powell’s biography reveals
In the early 70s, Powell was looking forward to retiring. A lot was happening in the global context. Neil Armstrong had just landed on the moon in the late 60s. The arms race had been taken to the next level where the USA and the USSR were competing to outdo each other in space technology (Broad 1). Space technology was a sure recipe for advancing military capabilities. After having secured intercontinental ballistic missiles, the two rivals opted for other means of defense. Each side suspected the other, but the mutually assured destruction protocol kept them in check. In a way, it was an autopilot for moderation of the excesses of each side’s capabilities. The space program was essentially a spy programs. The fact that it also advanced scientific discoveries was seemingly an added advantage. Most of the space stations that NASA built during the height of the Cold War were to serve the interest of national security. National security was used to justify the budget with which the program came. Space spy program was used to assess movement of troops and heavy military machinery. This was particularly so, so that any attack against the US would not catch US defense unawares.
The US government com...