Essay Example on Risky Ventures: Ignoring the Consequences of Bureaucracy

Historically and today, worst side of all bureaucratic ventures, whether in a democracy or authoritarian government, is that once something or agenda is set in motion, it can be stopped altered easily. Many a time, the agendas are conceived by men and women, not intelligent enough to stop and assess the nature of risks and consequences they set in motion. At this point, it is even very likely that the league of conspiring elements within such a system can easily ignore the potential counsels of the intellects who are skilled enough particularly in matters of foreign policy, military, and governance to know what should be done and how to do it correctly. The Guatemala model otherwise coded as Operation Success has been regarded to many as Operation Disaster to the American government because of the bureaucratic adventures embodied in the Dwight Eisenhower and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during that time. This is a position paper advising the president not to go on with the covert action that would ultimately topple the government of Guatemala. Also, the immediate risks, consequences, the information gathered, and the decision-making process with regards to these operations are discussed.

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From the beginning, it is explicit that the American National Security directives are quite clear and comprehensive enough in defining the roles of CIA and its operations outside the United States and particularly in Latin America. Such directives promote safety and security for the Americans' interests helps in barring the external agents, and it establishes the democratic ideals and healthy, friendly governments that resonate with the United States' principles. It is on this basis of the presumed U. S policy that the scenario of Guatemala needs no covert operation (Stephen and Schlesinger, 21). Honestly, if the lines as mentioned above are a reflection of the U.S foreign policy, then-President Eisenhower's covert decree to ouster Jacobo Arbenz is an upfront risk violating the very principles of the system.

Even though the CIA may boast of successfully undertaking a clandestine military operation in Iran, the U.S involvement in toppling Guatemalan president would affect not only the internal governance and stability of this sovereign nation-state, it is also going to directly lay an outright negative influence on the absolute right to sovereignty of this nation-state. Before President Eisenhower and the Agency Director Allen, and his brother, John Foster Dulles Secretary of State, could sanction the plan removing Jacobo Arbenz from power, they must be aware of the fact that this was a democratically and legally elected president of Guatemala. Such enthusiasm over Guatemala will produce risks like strengthening a base for the Communists and their seizure of the Panama Canal (Stephen and Schlesinger, 105). This is because it would be complicated for the US to sustain the coup in Guatemala and, at the same time, watch over the region, notably Panama Canal, where the government wields a considerable interest.

Although the United States government might be justified in their actions of wanting to install a regime that would reciprocate by protecting Fruit Company and not subverting the land reforms, the opportunist Communists might see the land reform program as a scapegoat to capture Guatemala beforehand. Like the nationalization of oil in Iran, which was instigated by the Russian Communism, they can also seize Guatemala before the United States and subvert the land reform programs and expropriate Fruit Company in Guatemala that would directly lay an adverse risk to the United Fruit.

Most of the CIA likely acts of adventurism; information gathering is usually one of the classified secrets in most of their conspiracies. However, it is possible that in this case of Guatemala, the Agency will collaborate with the State Department and the Executive Branch in the disguise of United Fruit Company to ouster President Jacobo Arbenz. In this case, the Department of State's Intelligence and Research must be the ones to take the lead in information gathering. They will send various agents onto the ground at Puerifoy's request (Stephen and Schlesinger, 210). Also, counterintelligence officers will be dispatched by the CIA to scoop up the entire Communist files in Guatemala. The agents can gather the documents from the very offices of the Russian PGT to help the CIA and Eisenhower administration in making the strategic decisions of omitting this covert operation.

Conclusion

Finally, because I believe strongly that Guatemala is a sovereign nation-state with the absolute right to rule themselves, these several external forces, including the United States government, would help in perpetuating the mandates that did not originate from the popular will of the people. Although the peculiar socio-economic and the political systems of the country has indeed laid aground for the Russian Communism to thwart the American activities, the government deserves stability in all fronts to prosper (Stephen and Schlesinger, 20). Guatemala is just but a tiny country with Czechoslovakia as their principal aide when it comes to weaponry; therefore, a massive invasion is also likely to attract the attention of the international system as another external force. Thus all the decisions being made by the United States towards this covert operation is expected to attract the mentioned external forces and that could also be another reason to stop the coup.

Works Cited

Stephen C.. Schlesinger, and Stephen Kinzer. Bitter Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala. Harvard University, 1999. file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/Bitter%20Fruit%20The%20Story%20of%20the%20American%20Coup%20in%20Guatemala%20by%20Stephen%20Schlesinger,%20Stephen%20Kinzer%20(z-lib.org).pdf