The Monroe Doctrine In Current U.S. Issues

James Monroe was the fifth president of the United States and he served two terms from 1817 until 1825. Monroe Served shortly after the Congress of Vienna took place. He was worried that European countries might interfere with American affairs, or revolts going on in Latin America that would benefit America, by acting on the principle of intervention and the holy alliance that was created during the congress. To secure America and its Latin allies in the annual Message to Congress, James proposed the Monroe Doctrine. The three lasting concepts from the Monroe Doctrine are; separate spheres of influence, non-colonization, and non-intervention. Currently, in Iran the United States foreign policy is taking precautions that abide by the Monroe Doctrine.

An article titled The Iranian Nuclear Threat: Why It Matters discussed the United States current situation in relations to Iran. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have strong evidence that Iran is building nuclear weapons. The United States sees this as a huge threat because, as the article states,  “Iran is one of the world’s leading state sponsors of terrorism” Iran supports terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and others. They already have the weaponry to send a missile to United Stated allies in the Middle East. Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been quoted saying that Israel should be “wiped from the earth,”. As an ally to Israel and other countries in direct contact, the United States have started to take action to stop iran in the production of Nuclear weapons. Not only are the United States allies in danger, but the United States itself believe that Iran’s atomic weapons are also a direct threat to us. It is believed that Iran should be able to flight test an intercontinental missile by 2015.

The third lasting concept of the Monroe Doctrine is; non-intervention (unless it affects us directly). Since the U.S. believes they are directly affected by Iran’s nuclear weapons it is justified for them to take action. The United States and various counties have started to put sanctions on Iran to make it more difficult for them to create nuclear power, or weapons. These sanctions have also taken a toll on Iran’s economy so that the citizens of Iran will encourage their country to stop trying to make nuclear energy. After sanctions were put in place the United States, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom have been encouraging Iran to engage in diplomatic negotiations. The negotiations give Iran sanction relief in exchange for restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program. Since the U.S. is staying in its own region and not dominating Iran it is still abiding by the other two principles from the Monroe Doctrine.

The U.S. has tried to follow Monroe’s three lasting principles when concerning nuclear issues in Iran. You can see how effective and important the Monroe Doctrine is because it is still used today when concerning the United States foreign policy.


Source Citation: "The Iranian Nuclear Threat: Why It Matters." The Iranian Nuclear Threat: Why It Matters. 30 Nov. 2014. Web. 7 Dec. 2014. <http://www.adl.org/israel-international/iran/c/the-iranian-nuclear-threat-why-it-matters.html>.