Response to ’’the New White Man’s Burden’’

Response to The New White Man's Burden

In the article "The New White Man's Burden," Anthony Arnove talks about the parallels between the United States reason for the current war in Iraq and the United States occupation of the Philippines in 1898. The author draws theses parallels because he wants the reader to see for themselves how similar the experience in Iraq was played out to how the experience in the Philippines was played out. The main point that Anthony Arnove is making is that the government today is trying to do the same kind of things it was trying to do a hundred years ago.

The most important parallel Anthony Arnove draws between the war in Iraq and the invasion of the Philippines is about the reasons for the United States government's actions and how they covered up what their real goals were. In 1898 the United States sent troops to the Philippines to "stabilize" its people. The United States government said we needed to save the Filipino people from anarchy and misrule, without the help from the great United States of America the Filipinos would not be able to self-govern themselves. The real reason the United States attacked the Philippines Arnove says, is because they wanted the control of it. The U.S. wanted to control the natural resources being exported and it was a prime location to keep military stations. Arnove relates the war in Iraq to what happened with the Philippines by explaining how the United States government is telling the people that they're at war with Iraq to save the Iraqi people from their own government. That we need to step in and help these poor people and give them a new government. But really the United States government wants to control Iraq so they can keep their military there incase of threats from other areas in the middle east and of course, to have control over the oil.

Anthony Arnove draws these parallels to show the reader that many U.S. Politicians and people that are for the war say that because the United States of America is such a great and powerful country, its their job to liberate and help other countries whether those countries want the help or not. Mostly