In both The Prince and The Discourses, Machiavelli presents very specific advice on how a ruler can maintain stability and control over his newly acquired state. Machiavelli lived in a time when a ruler could come to possess another kingdom through the simple act of war. Yet, in our modernity, a ruler cannot simply declare war and occupy a territory. He must also face repercussions from the other world powers that are in existence today. Our time has evolved and a ruler now has to take into consideration the opinions of other world powers along with the opinion of other global organizations such as NATO and the United Nations. In terms of the United States and their policies towards Afghanistan and Iraq, Machiavelli would disagree in the stance that the United States has taken towards the war on terror because the US has failed to create stability in spite of the time that the military forces have spent in these states. However, Machiavelli’s advice cannot be realistically taken into consideration because it is no longer applicable in our modernity. Therefore, the US has correctly chosen to not follow Machiavelli’s advice.
The US relationship between Afghanistan and Iraq has been a severely complicated one since its beginning. Although the U.S. and other western countries had originally supported the mujahideen movement in the 1980’s, the formation of Al-Qaeda and the search for jihads by its members eventually led to the declaration of a fatwa against the United States in 1998. After many terrorist attempts believed to be caused by Al-Qaeda, the conflict culminated with the attacks on the Twin Towers and pentagon on September 11, 2001. The attacks against the United States caused an international domino effect of support. Pr...
... middle of paper ...
...S: Public Broadcasting Service. WGBH Educational Foundation, 2011. Web. 02 Oct. 2011. .
WebsiteTagsEditDelete
Machiavelli, Niccolò, and David Wootton. Selected Political Writings. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub., 1994. Print.
BookTagsEditDelete
"Presidential Approval Ratings -- George W. Bush." Gallup.Com - Daily News, Polls, Public Opinion on Government, Politics, Economics, Management. Gallup, Inc., 04 Oct. 2011. Web. 04 Oct. 2011. .
WebsiteTagsEditDelete
Staff. "Hans Blix: Allies Used 'poor' Intelligence Ahead of Iraq Invasion | UK News | Guardian.co.uk." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 27 July 2010. Web. 04 Oct. 2011. .
Website
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States was incredibly eager to strike back at the nations thought to be responsible for this horrific tragedy. These attacks were quickly attributed to the terrorist group al-Qa’ida, led by Osama bin Laden, and to the Taliban-run government of Afghanistan, which had provided sanctuary to al-Qa’ida. In response, Washington approved a covert plan led by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to directly attack those responsible in their Middle East safe haven. Initiated on 26 September 2001 with the approval of the warlords of the Afghan Northern Alliance, with whom the CIA had formed an intelligence liaison relationship, Operation Jawbreaker resulted in the fall of the Taliban regime, the killing and capture of a significant amount of al-Qa’ida leadership, and elimination of a terrorist safe haven by early December 2001. Moreover, the Taliban’s collapse denied al-Qa’ida a pseudo-nation-state partner, serving to reduce the organization’s sanctuary to areas residing along the Pakistani border. Operation Jawbreaker, one of the first post-9/11 covert operations carried out by the United States in support of its national security interests, had proved successful. Word of the operation’s swift success astounded those back in Washington; dubbed the CIA’s “finest hour,” it signified the first of many victories by deposing the Taliban’s control of Northern Afghanistan.
In The Prince, Machiavelli separates ethics from politics. His approach to politics, as outlined in The Prince, is strictly practical. Machiavelli is less concerned with what is right and just, and instead with what will lead to the fortification of the government and the sustainment of power. Machiavelli believed that a ruler should use any means necessary to obtain and sustain power. He says, “…people judge by outcome. So if a ruler wins wars and holds onto power, the means he has employed will always be judged honorable, and everyone will praise them” (Machiavelli, 55). According to Machiavelli, the ends of an action justify the means (Machiavelli, 55). His motivation for these views in The Prince was the reunification of the Italian city-states (Machiavelli, 78-79). Machiavelli wanted Italy to return to its glory of the Roman Empire (Machiavelli 78-79). Some of the beliefs of Machiavelli could be perceived as evil and cruel, but he found them necessary. Machiavelli was not concerned with making people happy. His purpose was outcome and success, and in his opinion, the only way to be successful was to be realistic. These views of Machiavelli could classify him as one of the earliest modern
1. Immediately following the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, American military power sought out and aggressively attacked Al Qaeda and Taliban strongholds in Afghanistan. Within weeks, the United States removed the Taliban from governing Afghanistan and worked with the international community to establish a new democratic government led by Afghan native Hamid Karzai, who would soon be elected president. However, by 2006, the Taliban significantly increased attacks on pro-Afghan government officials, Afghan security forces, and coalition military members. The United States and partner North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members responded with a surge of military might in 2010 to make one final push to drive the Taliban out. With major ground now gained for the Afghan government in 2014, Afghanistan faces a critical crossroads in its nation’s history. After recovering areas once held by the Taliban, Afghanistan must become self-sufficient in sustaining its first democratic government. With Company Grade Officers (CGOs) in the American military key to reaching strategic objectives, a secure and democratic Afghanistan is in the national interest of the United States in order to prevent a safe-haven for international terrorist activity.
"The Prince," written by Niccolo Machiavelli in 1513, is a political treatise addressed to the Medici family of Florentine. "The Prince" was written to analyze and explain the acquisition, perpetuation, and use of political power in the west. Machiavelli’s theories in the work describe methods that an aspiring prince could possibly use to acquire power, or an existing prince could use to keep power. Though this work was written in 1513 and published in 1532, its context can be applied to foreign policy in today’s world. The principles suggested by Machiavelli provide insight into the issues that arose with the war on Iraq and issues involved with occupation and transition to a new government.
Machiavelli’s The Prince is basically a handbook for rulers. In Machiavelli’s ideal world this is how a ruler would need to take control in order to be an effective leader. Instead of the common phrase “Make Love, Not War”, the viewpoint in this book is “Make War, Not Love”. “When princes have thought more of ease than of arms, they have lost their states.” This quote from The Prince truly captures Machiavelli’s rough outlook on the leadership of leaders. Once they become soft they will not succeed, so the best thing to do is to be good at war.
The Motivation for Osama bin Laden to use his terrorist networks and cells around the world for attacks against the United States came in 1990. Now that he had an army with weapons and tanks, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, he was ready and willing to defend it. Bin Laden was “shocked,” a family friend said, to learn that the Americans — the enemy, in his mind — would defend it instead. To him, it was the height of American arrogance” (The Most Wanted Face of...
"[I]t is necessary for a prince to know well how to use the beast and the man." (Machiavelli, The Prince, p. 69[1]). In this swift blow, Niccolò Machiavelli seems to strike down many visions of morality put up on pedestals by thinkers before his time. He doesn't turn to God or to some sort of common good for his political morality. Instead, he turns to the individual?more specifically, self-preservation in a position of power. Machiavelli's vision rules out the possibility of a 'higher' political authority if 'higher' is meant to say that the morality comes from the divine, but his vision certainly does not rule out any sort of higher political morality. To guide the actions of men in general, Machiavelli turns to the actions of the strong prince. Machiavelli?s higher political morality is to pursue the means to gain and hold power.
September 11, 2001 marked a tragic day in the history of the United States; a terrorist attack had left the country shaken. It did not take long to determine those who were behind the attack and a call for retribution swept through the nation. Citizens in a wave of patriotism signed up for military service and the United States found resounding international support for their efforts in the war on terror. Little opposition was raised at the removal of the Taliban regime and there was much support for bringing Osama Bin Laden and the leaders of al-Qaeda to justice. Approval abroad diminished approximately a year and a half later when Afghanistan became a stepping stone to the administration’s larger ambition, the invasion of Iraq. The administration would invent several stories and in some cases remain silent of the truth where would prove positive for the Iraqi invasion. It seems they were willing to say anything to promote the largely unpopular and unnecessary war they were resolved on engaging in.
...some of the concepts in Machiavelli’s The Prince outdated. The advice the book offers, though it is hardly any more useful to us today than in the past, cannot be denied of Machiavelli’s rules that do work. However, we need to realize since when has there been a mystery about winning a fight by being the one to throw the first punch or fighting dirty, it is the problem of playing within the rules that makes winning difficult. Further, we can see that once it had all been said and done, there has been a huge transitional change in politics, economics and peace among countries. Machiavelli wrote this book during the renaissance times, although The Prince offers meaningful insight in to specific situations as well as a look into concepts of war from a different perspective, a modern scholar cannot use it to show examples that are bestowed upon us in the 21st century.
Machiavelli believes that a government should be very structured, controlled, and powerful. He makes it known that the only priorities of a prince are war, the institutions, and discipline. His writings describes how it is more important for a prince to be practical than moral. This is shown where he writes, "in order to maintain the state he is often obliged to act against his promise, against charity, against humanity, and against religion" (47). In addition, Machiavelli argues that a prince may have to be cunning and deceitful in order to maintain political power. He takes the stance that it is better for the prince to be feared than loved. His view of how a government should run and his unethical conduct are both early signs of dictatorship.
When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan on December 1979, the goal was to help Afghan communist forces set up a communist government. The Soviet Union felt Afghanistan had key resources and a foothold in the Middle East to spread communist ideas. The result would be a war that the Soviet Union wishes it never got involved in and likened to their “Vietnam War”, meaning winning a number of battles but not the war like what happened to the U.S. in Vietnam. The background of the war, outcome of the war, and impact on the United States are key to understanding the Soviet-Afghan War.
Machiavelli goes on to contradict this point by stating that since the prince is head of state, he may be as cruel as desires to me as long as he does not tarnish the appearance of himself or the state (Machiavelli, XVII). So long as his subjects’ perception of the state and the prince is unblemished, then the prince is not at fault (Machiavelli, XVIII). Although this forewarning allows room for wrongdoings and is out of line with most coeval standards, the claim that the prince is in the wrong only when the welfare of the state is at risk, leaves plenty of room for elucidation. As held by Machiavelli, all cruelties that are committed must be performed well and in a sensible manner to ensure the safety of the state. Subsequently, it is challenging for the prince to strike a balance between appearing virtuous and strong—both of which result from the act of
George Bush and Niccolo Machiavelli are two very influential political figures that share some similar ideals. Machiavelli's work was never intended to be applied to republics, or a democratic government. The advice written in The Prince would have likely been applied in the time of absolute government, when countries were ruled by one leader. It is a work which, as Machiavelli himself says that his philosophy is only applied to principalities, or what we call dictatorships in modern times.
...ch route to take on his way to power, keeping his rule, and how to maintain his military. The ultimate goal for a Prince is to maintain his position and reign, and a Prince can cheat, steal, and lie in order to accomplish that goal. Machiavelli seems to favor a Principality over Republics in this case because a Prince will be safer in a hereditary Principality due to the subjects being more accustomed to the blood of the Prince. Machiavelli’s straightforward advice on the art of warfare is to use your own military and that a Prince should always study the art of war. The ideal situation between a Prince and his subjects is to be feared rather loved, so that there is order. There is a difference between being feared and hated, and as long as the Prince doesn’t take a subjects property, women, or execute a subject without a proper cause.
Historical Significance: The September 11th, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, orchestrated by Al-Qaeda and Bin Laden, were the events that launched the U.S. War on Terrorism. Al-Qaeda’s attack on the United States was carried out by members of radicalized Islamic groups, whose objective was to spread jihad against the secular influence of the West. This tragic event provided the historical b...