Is America’s power far-reaching or overreaching?

BY SURYA SARAF AND LARRY WANG

“We will defend our freedom, we will bring freedom to others and we will prevail,” President George W. Bush said on March 19, 2003, just before the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Three years later, over 300,000 Iraqi civilians had been killed by U.S.-led forces. Throughout the Revolutionary War and the Cold War, America has emerged as a global superpower — one with political, economic and technological supremacy. However, this status is entangled with imperialism, military action and foreign control.

A nation with one of the highest standards of living, America’s influence encompasses a rough majority of the globe. For starters, the U.S. military is currently the most funded and equipped in the world. In terms of gross domestic product, the U.S. is an economic fortress, boasting the highest GDP of $26.13 trillion as of 2022. American culture is also widely embraced among foreign countries, with English being the most widely-spoken language in the world, popularized by the U.S.

But this wasn’t always the case. In 1898, America obtained Puerto Rico, Cuba,

Guam and the Philippines after winning the Spanish-American war, establishing them as an imperial power with colonial land claims. The U.S. further subjugated Filipino and Latin American governments in the early 1900s, often using unethical techniques. Over the years, the development of nuclear similar to the U.S, such as holding elections or enacting stringent laws on drug use, to receive aid,” said Kenneth Faulve-Montojo, Senior Lecturer of Political Economy and International Relations at Santa Clara University. “ A lot depends on the circumstances under which the aid is tied.” nation closes its doors to underprivileged societies. These discrepancies were exacerbated by the Trump administration that created restrictions on the U.S.-Mexico border and enacted a Muslim travel ban. The Biden administration is attempting to repeal Trump’s “Remain in Mexico”