Armed Diplomacy

<p>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 200000 people and 46000 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. The positive effects of military use as soft power include providing a constant presence in area of operations providing training to US military members improving relations at the local/village level and establishing contacts for future military operations. Finally this paper proposes that the most appropriate soft power application of military assets in Latin America for the future is disaster relief. The January 2010 US response to the earthquake in Haiti was used as a case study. In conclusion over-utilization of the military for purposes other than disaster relief as an instrument of soft power actually serves to weaken the overall strategic posture of the United States in Latin America.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p>