Practicing Success

Target Exam

CUET

Subject

Political Science

Chapter

Contemporary World Politics: US Hegemony in World Politics

Question:

The Americans failed in which of the following capacity after occupying a territory, like that of Iraq?

Options:

Conquer

Deter

Punish

Police

Correct Answer:

Police

Explanation:

Undoubtedly, the US invasion of Iraq reveals several American vulnerabilities. The US has not been able to force the Iraqi people into submitting to the occupation forces of the US-led coalition. To fully understand the nature of American weakness, however, we need to have a historical perspective. Imperial powers through history have used military forces to accomplish only four tasks: to conquer, deter, punish and police. As the Iraq invasion shows, the American capacity to conquer is formidable. Similarly, the US capability to deter and to punish is self-evident. Where US military capability has thus far been shown to have serious weaknesses is in policing an occupied territory.