Political Control Of The Military Essays - Vietnam War, Free Essays

Political Control Of The Military Essays - Vietnam War, Free Essays Political Control of the Military "No new taxes." This is a quote that most all of us remember from the 1992 presidential election. Along with it we remember that there were new taxes during that presidents term in office. There are a myriad of promises made and things done in a presidential election year that have questionable motives as to whether they are done in the best interest of the people or in the interests of the presidential candidate. These hidden interests are one of the biggest problems with the political aspects of government in modern society. One of the prime examples of this is the Vietnam War. Although South Vietnam asked for our help, which we had previously promised, the entire conflict was managed in order to meet personal political agendas and to remain politically correct in the world?s eyes rather than to bring a quick and decisive end to the conflict. This can be seen in the selective bombing of Hanoi throughout the course of the Vietnam War. Politically this strategy looked very good. However, militarily it was ludicrous. War is the one arena in which politicians have no place. War is the military?s sole purpose. Therefore, the U. S. Military should be allowed to conduct any war, conflict, or police action that it has been committed to without political interference or control because of the problems and hidden interests which are always present when dealing with polit United States involvement in the Vietnam War actually began in 1950 when the U. S. began to subsidize the French Army in South Vietnam. This involvement continued to escalate throughout the 1950?s and into the early 1960?s. On August 4, 1964 the Gulf of Tonkin incident occurred in which American Naval Vessels in South Vietnamese waters were fired upon by North Vietnam. On August 5, 1964 President Johnson requested a resolution expressing the determination of the United Sates in supporting freedom and in protecting peace in southeast Asia ( Johnson ). On August 7, 1964, in response to the presidential request, Congress authorized President Johnson to take all necessary measures to repel any attack and to prevent aggression against the U. S. in southeast Asia ( United States ). The selective bombing of North Vietnam began immediately in response to this resolution. In March of the following year U. S. troops began to arrive. Although the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution specifically stated that we had no military, political, or territorial ambitions in southeast Asia, the interests back home were quite a different story ( Johnson ). The political involvement in Vietnam was about much more than just promised aid to a weak country in order to prevent the spread of communism. It was about money. After all, wars require equipment, guns, tools and machinery. Most of which was produced in the United States. It was about proving America?s commitment to stop communism. Or rather to confine communism in its present boundaries But most of all it was about politics. The presidential political involvement in Vietnam had little to do with Vietnam at all. It was about China for Eisenhower, about Russia for Kennedy, about Washington D.C. for Johnson, and about himself for Nixon ( Post ). The last two of which were the major players in America?s involvement in regards to U. S. Troops being used ( Wittman ). The military involvement in Vietnam is directly related to the political management of the military throughout the war. The military controlled by the politicians. The micro management of the military by the White House for political gain is the primary reason for both the length and cost, both monetary and human, of the Vietnam War ( Pelland ). One of the largest problems was the lack of a clear objective in the war and the support to accomplish it. The predominant military opinion of the military?s role in Vietnam in respect to the political involvement is seen in the following quote by General Colin Powell, "If you?re going to put into something then you owe the armed forces, you owe the American People, you owe just you?re own desire to succeed, a clear statement of what political objective you?re trying to achieve

Parataxis and Hypotaxis

Parataxis and Hypotaxis Parataxis and Hypotaxis Parataxis and Hypotaxis By Maeve Maddox When a reader asked me to write about â€Å"the terms parataxis and hypotaxis and how they relate to Beowulf,† I had to laugh. Don’t get me wrong. I’m quite a fan of Beowulf. Wearing my academic hat, I’ve written more than one essay about this treasure of English literature, but somehow it doesn’t strike me as a suitable topic for the DWT audience. I was pleased by the request, but put it away at the bottom of my idea file. Now, however, I’m ready to write about parataxis and hypotaxisnot as they relate to Beowulf, but as they relate to non-academic writing. parataxis: the placing of clauses one after another, without connecting words (conjunctions) to show the relation between them. Dickens employs parataxis in his opening to A Tale of Two Cities: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way Hypotaxis, on the other hand, refers to the use of coordinating or subordinating conjunctions to indicate the relation between clauses. Here’s a passage from Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit that illustrates hypotaxis: After losing [his shoes], he ran on four legs and went faster, so that I think he might have got away altogether if he had not unfortunately run into a gooseberry net, and got caught by the large buttons on his jacket. Parataxis is common in conversation, as illustrated in this passage written by an author noted for his ability to capture contemporary speech: Actually, Chris said, you get right down to it, Phylliss the one does all the talking. She gives me banking facts about different kinds of annuities, fiduciary trusts, institutional liquid asset fundsIm sitting here trying to stay awake, shes telling me about the exciting world of trust funds. –Elmore Leonard, Freaky Deaky. Hemingway’s narrative style was so paratactic as to sound babyish: Manuel drank his brandy. He felt sleepy himself. It was too hot to go out into the town. Besides there was nothing to do. He wanted to see Zurito. He would go to sleep while he waited. Hemingway got away with it, but a college freshman or a business executive who wrote like that would not be regarded as much of a communicator. Clear writing demands connecting words like if, because, and so. As for a discussion of parataxis and hypotaxis in Beowulf, I’ll leave that to the scholars who love to argue about such things. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Redundant Phrases to Avoid44 Resume Writing TipsHow to Send Tactful Emails from a Technical Support Desk

Free Essays Online

Free Essays Online Free Essays Online Free Essays Online Free essays online are abundant but you should be very careful not to copy a single line. Teachers as well as students are fully aware of the splendor of essays posted online. Therefore, do not play games with your academic career - use free essays online as samples only.   If you need help with essay writing, we offer customized assistance with all types of essays. You may either place an order or contact us for further clarification. is open 24/7! Free essay online sample - health At the personal level, risk-benefit decisions often involve the question of whether to avoid substances that may be harmful to health. Is the flavor of a steak well marbled with fat worth a possibly increased probability of dying of a heart attack? Is the relaxation, pleasure, and possible ease of weight control that accompanies smoking a sufficient benefit to counterbalance the substantially increased possibilities of dying young of lung cancer or circulatory disease? Do the benefits of using aerosol underarm deodorants or hair sprays compensate for possible health effects, which are certainly small (and may be zero), of inhaling them? People informally weigh such risks all the time, always in the face of uncertainty and often even without access to the basic information about the risks that society possesses. Even when considerable information is available, and the power to act is in your hands, decisions may not be easy. Suppose it were announced that your town's drinking water contained that chemical that gives you a one in 10 million chance of dying of liver cancer if you drink that water for the rest of your life. Would you spend $10 a year on a filter to remove the material? $100 a year? $1,000? Your answer would obviously depend on many things, including your age and financial situation. Consider a more familiar example. There are undeniable benefits to driving a private automobile's convenience being paramount among them. But when everybody is driving a private automobile and commuters spend hours daily in near gridlock, the convenience factor is reduced and the direct (accident) and indirect (air pollution) risks escalate. Even now the benefits of driving are difficult to balance against the escalating risks. How does one calculate into the conveniences and inconveniences of automobile commuting the risks of additional exposure to airborne carcinogens and heart-threatening carbon monoxide or the contribution that the automobile makes toward global warming? Is the residual convenience worth a month-shorter life expectancy? A year? Two years? Is it worth a 1-percent chance of subjecting your grandchildren to food shortages by contributing to future crop failures caused by global warming? A 2 percent chance? A 5-percent chance? Custom Writing The above sample is posted here for free. Thus, it is open for all visitors of the site. If you have found this page, your teacher may find it as well.  Thus, it is recommended to use customized writing help, service offered by professional writers. Your customized essay will be written from scratch and never resold to other customers.   Finally, it will not be posted anywhere online. Prices are very affordable.

Introduction to financial modelling Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Introduction to financial modelling - Assignment Example From figure 3 below, it is clear that, as the volatility for Standard & Poor’s (S&P) SMALL CAP 600 Index increases, the average rate of return declines rapidly up to a point where, if the volatility level continues to increase, the average returns start to increase rapidly (Lachance, 2003). In effect, when this portfolio is less volatile, its average return tends to decline, but when the rate of volatility is very high, the average returns tend to increase. In situations of high volatility, the risk of a stock tends to be high while on the other hand, when a stock is less volatile, its return is almost assured and hence less risky. The characteristic exhibited by this portfolio is that an investor should expect to make more returns when the stock is highly volatile. As such this stock is suitable for those investors who are comfortable with highly volatile stocks, who invest with the expectation of getting high returns. Considering that I am a risk averse investor, and would prefer stocks with more stable incomes even if it means lower returns - I would not go for this stock (Merton, 1969). From figure 4 below, the pattern of the graph has an implication that higher returns are expected in situations of less volatility. This is precisely the type of portfolio that suits my risk profile because I can invest in conditions of low volatility and still expect some returns albeit low. This also shows that this index performed better, as it is less volatile and hence almost guaranteeing investors some returns. The chance of getting returns from the S&P portfolio is very uncertain and hence considered as having performed poorly on such grounds (Milevsky, 1998). If I invested in equal amount in the above two portfolios, I could have formed a diversified investment, which could have balanced my risk with return. The S & P portfolio is more risky, but attracts higher returns while the New

Encounter Point Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Encounter Point - Movie Review Example The movie shows Israel having a strong army, though it itself is most of the times at the receiving end of the Palestinian violence. In one scene Roni Hirschenson, a former soldier, says that Israel has become an army with a state and not state with an army. This is a very strong statement by someone who has lost two of his son’s directly or indirectly in the war. Another reason there seems to be inequality between Israelis and Palestinians is that violence from Israel comes in a very sophisticated manner. There is usage of modern technology and unfortunately many ordinary people are killed in the attacks. The backing of United States as mentioned in the movie also shows Israel to be a stronger side. a- I don’t think that the movie has taken any sides. I think that the movie is very neutral and the purpose of such movies should be to raise a debate over the existing conditions. There may be people who think that this movie takes sides but I think that they feel that only because of the resentment that resides in them regarding the opposite side. The film shows destruction from both the sides. It takes interviews of victims from both Israelis and Palestinians. b- I think a balanced film is a film which shows reality in a non-provocative manner. This means that the reality on ground may be different but the film has to present facts in such a manner that it doesn’t offend either party. Each side believes that they are absolutely right and in this case each side believes that god is on their side. The film cannot comment on the reality or possibility of god taking any particular side in the future. But what a balanced film can do is raise the issue and spark a healthy debate. c- I will definitely recommend the video to other viewers. The movie is very informative but most importantly it clearly shows the destruction caused by violence. People are

Adult Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Adult Communication - Essay Example In the United Kingdom if one to ask for a rubber, the individual would receive an erasure made of rubber. Across the Atlantic in the United States of America, if one were to ask for a rubber, the individual would receive a rubber condom. Exchange of the same information has produced different results. Hence for a better understanding of what communication stands for it needs to be defined as the process of managing messages with the intention of creating meaning. Having understood the more realistic meaning of communication, communication competence has more to it then just the ability to exchange information clearly with another individual using a common system of symbols, signs or behaviour. There is an element of a goal in communication, which is sharing of meaning and this has a connection with the thoughts and feelings of another individual. The acceptance that communication is goal driven also suggests that communication is strategic. This understanding of communication provides us with the means for abetter understanding of communication competence, as now it suggests that communication competence is not just communicating with accuracy, clarity, comprehensibility, coherence, expertise, effectiveness and appropriately. Communication competence is better expressed as the situational ability to set attainable and appropriate goals for achievement and to maximise the achievement of these goals through employing strategies of the knowledg e of self, others, context, and the elements of communication theory to bring about adaptive communication performances. As communication competence involves competence there is a need for measurement. Communication competence can be measured through the determination of whether the goals of interaction have been achieved and the extent to which they have been achieved. This in my view is the meaning of communication competence (Rueben, 1976). Teams are made up a small number of individuals different in

Budget Targeting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Budget Targeting - Essay Example Absent these inferences, firms would not know how well they are doing, and capital markets would not know how to value them. And absent these inferences, firms would be unable to improve their processes and, as a consequence, improve their economic performance". (Meyer, 2002, p. 24) Budget meeting its target as personal performance measure can be analysed in two broad categories: "First, a budget can be used as a financial plan, utilised by the finance department to ensure that the organisation stays within its operating constraints. Second it is much more widely used in most organisations as a tool of overall management control. Here budget targets are set for individual responsibility centers and their operating managers, so that operating performance can be monitored and controlled". (Neely, Business Performance Measurement) Irrespective of any category, effective budget targets must possess the following characteristics: "Strong incentives for departments and their partners in service delivery to plan over several years and plan together where appropriate so as to deliver better public services with greater cost effectiveness". (Budget-2006) "Data collection and analysis for performance measures are defined to establish a common understanding for the measure, to describe how and when the data will be collected and interpreted, and to ensure the quality and integrity of the data". (Budget-2006a) Performance measures further include the following steps: "Analysis of existing systems (like accounting and auditing) should be conducted in order to determine its performance-basis, if one expects performance data to be used in the system this means that systems that relate to other outdated budgeting approaches need to be replaced to accommodate performance based budgeting". (Andrews & Hill, 2003, p. 135) "The use of performance information