Final Mission: A Major Trend in Contemporary International Relations

Help is at Hand

By Immanuel Canicosa

War! that mad game the world so loves to play.  ~Jonathan Swift

There are times when a nation might need financial as well as military aid from another nation. Nations who are still experiencing or are reeling from the effects of armed conflicts or have been devastated by natural disasters will, in most cases, find themselves dependent on the help of more powerful nations and organizations in order to rebuild their states.

Nations such as the United States, Great Britain, and France have been known to intervene in failed states which are engulfed in armed conflicts.

The intervention of British troops in the civil war which was raging in the African nation of Sierra Leone at the turn of the millennium is an example of such aid which was desperately needed by the nation in order to fend off the marauding forces of the RUF, which was shown to us in class courtesy of the documentary feature about Blood Diamonds. Without the intervention of the British troops, even neighboring African nations who have rushed to help the ailing nations of Sierra Leone have not been entirely successful in repulsing the RUF.

The liberation of Kuwait in the Persian Gulf War of the early 1990s also required a coalition of many nations which was backed by the United Nations (UN) and, of course, the United States and its allies. Again, without the aid of these nations, the liberation of the nation of Kuwait from the forces of then-Iraqi dictated Saddam Hussein would not have been possible.

A more contemporary example of this trend in the context outside of warfare is the recent magnitude nine earthquake and succeeding tsunami which rocked the North Eastern provinces of the nation of Japan. Help has indeed been bestowed on the nation which, ironically, is likewise a first world country and has accustomed itself to be helpers and not recipients of financial and material aid.

Or course, help from more powerful nations would be greatly appreciated especially in the case of nations who do not have the financial means in order to be able to stand up in the aftermath of armed conflicts or natural disasters. Many nations are immediately drawn to the promise of help provided by these aforementioned powerful nations, and while this is sometimes done out of their sheer want to help a fellow nation, it is not always the case.

It could be remembered that during the height of the Cold War, the United States issued the Truman Doctrine, which promised to give what they termed “free peoples” economic as well as military aid only if they promise not to side with the Soviet Union, which was then a communist nation and thus an opponent of their democratic ideals.

Financial as well as military aid is not generally detrimental to the nations who will receive them. It is, in fact, beneficial. However, there should be no ulterior motives on the part of the nations who will be giving help and that this help should be done only in the spirit of their want to help fellow nations in need.