Part two, Covert Action, of Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq, by Stephen Kinzer, presents situations in Iran, Chile, South Vietnam, and Guatemala where covert actions were used to abolish governments that the United States claimed had communist influence and intentions. These threats were misguided, but the excuse was used to justify the actions to the public. The true intention of these interventions was to protect American businesses in foreign countries. These interferences are still causing problems for all countries involved.
The actions taken in Iran, Chile, South Vietnam, and Guatemala were all to protect businesses in these countries. In Chile and Guatemala the American businesses were at risk due to popular socialist and nationalist governments. The American government averted this threat to its businesses by overthrowing the popularly elected leaders under the guise of defending
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They have caused more problems than they have solved. The actions have lead to America having poor relations with the countries involved. Since the U.S. interfered, each of these countries have been through much more turmoil than they would have been if they had been left alone. If there had not been American intervention, then many of the conflicts that have ensued since could have been avoided.
Covert Action describes the situations in Iran, Chile, South Vietnam, and Guatemala when the U.S. government invaded and overthrew popularly elected leaders. The government justified these actions by claiming that these countries were falling under a communist influence. In reality, the goal of these actions was to protect American businesses in these countries. This rationalization was used to prove to the public that the actions were necessary. In all of these instances, the overthrow of strong leaders by the United States caused many problems that are still being dealt with