A reflection on American military power, selective interventions and the domestic lobbying forces that shape foreign policy choices.
– Perceptions of American Power
– Selective Intervention and Strategic Interests
– Lobbying Influence and Political Realities
In a previous article, the focus was to persuade the “usual naïve observers” that Russia appears increasingly like a paper tiger, despite past historical misjudgments about global power balances. But one must not forget the Ivans.
The United States is clearly not a paper tiger. It possesses exceptionally refined and formidable military capabilities, now reinforced by renewed political will, a decisive factor in global power projection.
Yet all actors make trade-offs. Individuals do. States do. And the United States, for all its exceptionalism, remains a state subject to internal pressures and interests.
From an Ibero-America that seems slowly awakening from decades of ideological distortion, one might ask a simple question.
Why confront or help confront the Iranian theocratic dictatorship, yet not act with similar force toward the long-standing Marxist-Leninist regime in Cuba?
Is it a mystery? No.
Is it because Cuba lacks oil? No.
Is it because it no longer represents a strategic threat as it did in 1962? Also incorrect.
The answer lies in domestic political dynamics. In the United States there are lobbies, and some are more powerful than others, numerically and financially.
The Miami lobby does not wield the same structural weight as those linked to the financial core that influences institutions such as the Federal Reserve, which many mistakenly assume to be purely national in character.
Even charismatic presidents are not exempt from political obligations and negotiated realities.
This is not a matter of hostility toward any nation. It is an attempt to describe political reality as it operates, beyond slogans and beyond superficial commentary.