also forces the United States to welcome naturally deceitful policies. Because it is impossible for the United States to intervene in every instance in which American values are offended, the necessary selection process unavoidably gives priority to some conflicts while marginalizing others. The international community is not disposed to deploying 20, 40, 60,000 military forces each time there is an international crisis in a failed state.(Oakley 24). To take action in some cases and not in others does not make for unswerving policy. Third party powers are at a hindrance because their stake in the outcome is usually far smaller than that of the primary competitors (Kanet 67). Nationalism is a moral value for which many people are prepared to kill and die. Outside parties that become involved for essentially humane reasons are not equipped to fight with the same force or stamina. Humanity and nationalism simply do not motivate equal fortitude. Moreover, the American public is notorious for its unwillingness to uphold heavy casualties in remote regional wars (Kanet 69). American support for military action in a foreign country tends to decline dramatically at the likelihood of an extended task that will lead to significant U.S. casualties. The corrosion of public support usually leads to the corrosion of congressional support, resulting in serious divisions within the government that is supposed to be commanding the intervention. With leadership divided, there is little chance for success. The military, already operating under handicaps natural to intervention, is practically assured of failure (Kanet 70). When outside forces do have the ability to influence events, it will generally be best to encourage regional solutions. It makes far more sense for major international actors to take greater responsibility for the security of their own regions than to involve the United States, or other powers from outside the region. Regional schemes (...
