Throughout all of history, world powers of their era have helped maintain peace in foreign countries that are struggling with war or economic problems. Today, America is the great world power and like all other world powers in the past, America also intervenes with foreign disputes and economic problems. Some Americans believe that America should not be as involved as it is in foreign countries and some believe that it is our job as a world leader to be the "peace keeper" of the world. With the recent terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, many more Americans think that America should now get more involved with foreign disputes and keep an eye on conflicting countries. America has the power and the influence to keep order in other countries and should be allowed to use this power and influence to help aid other countries that are in need of it. .
In the past United States foreign policies have been past restrictive in and allowing America to get involved in other countries. Lessons have been learned from the mistakes and from the accomplishments of different circumstances involving wars and economic problems. Some stand out more than others; for instance, intervention in Haiti in the 1990s, Intervention in World War I and World War II, and the Spanish-American War. .
With America intervening in other countries, many positive and negative results have occurred. We have created allies and forged new enemies, helped make peace and caused some wars and also saved innocent lives and destroyed few lives. It is as if with one step forward we take one step back and sometimes it seems that America is going nowhere when helping other countries. .
In 1999, Americans voiced their opinions in a survey for the new U. S. foreign policy and many astonishing facts were uncovered about what Americans actually thought about America and the twenty-first century. Americans see the United States as the world's most important and powerful country and believe that other superpowers of the world will not hold armed threats against America.