Foreign Policy Failures In China Cuba And Nicaragua

This study describes the U.S. lack of support for Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek during World War II, its abandonment of Fulgencio Batista in Cuba in the 1950s, and its disregard for Anastasio Somoza in the 1970s. The authors often say with conviction that American leaders usually have good intentions of standing by a friendly ally. Yet confusion in strategic planning may occur and sometimes disrupts the carrying out of a policy. This was especially true when U.S. policymakers withdrew support from flawed allies and favored uncritically their would-be successors in the hope that Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, and the Sandinistas would be better for Americans. In the case of China, for example, the study reveals that the optimistic view of Washington policymakers at the time were inclined to favor Mao Zedong. A strong voice in opposition was that of General Albert C. Wedemeyer who predicted "A China dominated by Chinese Communists would be inimical to the interests of the United States." He was right. The preface by the Honorable J. William Middendorf adds a personal and revealing touch to these cases.

This study describes the U.S. lack of support for Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek during World War II, its abandonment of Fulgencio Batista in Cuba in the 1950s, and its disregard for Anastasio Somoza in the 1970s. The authors often say with conviction that American leaders usually have good intentions of standing by a friendly ally. Yet confusion in strategic planning may occur and sometimes disrupts the carrying out of a policy. This was especially true when U.S. policymakers withdrew support from flawed allies and favored uncritically their would-be successors in the hope that Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, and the Sandinistas would be better for Americans. In the case of China, for example, the study reveals that the optimistic view of Washington policymakers at the time were inclined to favor Mao Zedong. A strong voice in opposition was that of General Albert C. Wedemeyer who predicted "A China dominated by Chinese Communists would be inimical to the interests of the United States." He was right. The preface by the Honorable J. William Middendorf adds a personal and revealing touch to these cases.

This book considers Chinese foreign policy and China's future role in world affairs in the context of the country's recent past. Robert Sutter shows that although it appears to be in U.S. interests for post-Mao leaders to continue moving toward international norms, a post-Deng leadership backed by growing economic and military power and reflecting profound changes in China's economy and society could move in markedly different directions. Most foreign powers appear willing to accommodate China, avoiding actions that could prompt a sharp shift in Chinese foreign policy, but Sutter argues that current U.S. policy intrudes on so many issues that are particularly sensitive for Beijing and for China's future that it represents perhaps the most critical variable determining how China will position itself in world affairs. Concluding that there is no guarantee the United States will use this influence wisely, Sutter examines the uncertainty and unpredictability of U.S. foreign policy in the post-Cold War environment that work against the creation of an effective U.S. policy toward China.

At the President’s Pleasure re-examines Franklin Roosevelt’s leadership of US diplomacy with China in World War II using new perspectives on aspects of Sino-US relations.

In this book Michael Riccards, renowned scholar of the American presidency, focuses his study on the vagaries of presidential leadership between nations. Tracing the history of the often difficult and contentious diplomatic relations between the United States and China, Riccards describes and analyzes various meetings and interactions. He concludes that war and trade necessities intimately bound the histories of both nations--often in spite of their individual rhetoric and initiatives. Students and scholars whose focus is the points of contact between U.S. and Asian history will find this book essential reading.