Unintended Consequences

Chalmers Johnson is a long-time scholar of Asia. He identifies himself as a former Navy officer (in the 1950s) who once accepted without question U.S. military defense choices. His book Blowback, however, is a critical examination of those military choices in a post-Cold War world. The title refers to a term used by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for the unintended consequences, such as terrorism and illegal arm sales, of AmericaÆs global economic and military policies. In essence, Johnson argues that American foreign policy is aimed at exporting and imposing American economic and military will on all other countries without regard to the domestic desires of or the state of real democracy in such countries. Thus, he maintains that this desire for the imposition of American will is a will to empire or ôglobal hegemonyö that has and continues to create resentment in other countries toward the United States.

JohnsonÆs book was first published in 2000, well before the events of September 11, 2001. In his ôIntroduction,ö however, he notes that before that date little attention was paid to his book in the United States, although it was translated into several languages and sold throughout the world. After that date, however, the book was reprinted eight times (Johnson, 2001, p. x). Even so, there were numerous instances in the American media after September 11, 2001 of American government officials denouncin

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is why are such bases necessary if the justification for them û the Cold War û no longer exists? He also points out that these bases ôhave become striking evidence, for those who care to look, of am imperial project that the Cold War obscuredö (Johnson, 2000, p. 5). Consequently, if the United States is not engaged in an imperial project, why has it not demilitarized these bases? Johnson suggests throughout the book that one reason these bases still exist is to create a market for expensive U.S. weaponry. Thus he notes then-Defense SecretaryÆs attempt to cajole the then-devastated Asian economies to spend their scarce resources on American weapons systems (Johnson, 2000, p. 6). But, without question, he consistently makes the argument that the true purpose of AmericaÆs continued military presence throughout the world is to ensure AmericaÆs dominance (or at least, influence) over domestic and political situations in other countries. Johnson explores the relationship between Japan and the United States to suggest that the United StatesÆ continued maintenance of military bases around the world demonstrates the way the U.S. imposes its will to empire on other countries. For example, Johnson demonstrates that the United StatesÆ
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Approximate Word count = 3204
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page)

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