Contemporary Issues in Global Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Contemporary Issues in Global Politics - Essay Example This provides for an interesting case study on the motives, ethics and modus operandi of government agencies and media organizations. While the respective governments are the primary participants in a war situation, the media’s role is to document unfolding events in an objective and non-partisan manner. Two particular interpretations, pertaining to governance and journalism were chosen for analysis in this essay, which will substantiate widely held negative sentiments about the American government. The following cases also expose the real agenda of the American government beneath the benevolent faà §ade that mainstream media tries to project (Daalder, 2004). Firstly, In January 1991, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded the small neighboring country of Kuwait. Iraq was in no way provoked by the Kuwaiti leadership. There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein’s action was unwarranted and illegitimate. But, was the response from the rest of the world (particularly the United States), any more legitimate or warranted? Sadly, the answer is in the negative. It is an open secret that the middle-east region is of strategic importance. Any country with aspirations to dominate the world will have to have â€Å"control† over the region’s resources (read oil) and governments. The United States, the only superpower at the time, was not above this ambition. Noted American intellectual Noam Chomsky points to glaring misinformation released by the White House in his book â€Å"What Uncle Sam Really Wants†. In Chomsky’s own words, â€Å"The US wasnt upholding any high principle in the Gulf, nor was any other state. The reason for the unprecedented response to Saddam Hussein wasnt his brutal aggression -- it was because he stepped on the wrong toes. Saddam Hussein is a murderous gangster -- exactly as he was before the Gulf War, when he was our friend and favored trading