Armed Diplomacy: Why Too Much Military is Dangerous in Latin America

Abstract

In fiscal year 2008, United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) carried out 122 humanitarian projects in 26 countries. It conducted 65 Medical Readiness Training Exercises (MEDRETEs) in 17 countries, treating over 200,000 people and 46,000 animals. In addition, it provided coordinated response to disasters in Costa Rica, Panama, and Haiti. This paper will show that the use of military resources as soft power has many effects on American strategic posture in LATAM. The negative effects include militarizing US foreign policy, shifting funds away from civilian agencies, overestimating the strategic influence, delegitimizing regional actors, stressing US military forces, and degrading the local infrastructure.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2010
Accession Number
AD1018400

Entities

People

  • William C. Breedlove

Organizations

  • Air Command and Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Combat Operations
  • Combatant Commanders
  • Department Of State
  • Foreign Relations
  • Governments
  • Humanitarian Assistance
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Medicine
  • Military Operations
  • Military Personnel
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • United States
  • United States Southern Command
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • International Relations, focusing on Korea-Africa and North Korea-South Korea relations, and Nigeria-Latin American Relations.
  • Medical or Health Care Field.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.