With the collapse of the U.S.S.R., suddenly the U.S. was the sole superpower—a militaristic global leader with no clear enemy or foreign policy goal. Manifest Destiny illustrates the unprecedented turbulence of the fractured post–Cold War world during the George H. W. Bush administration: the Tiananmen Square protests, the U.S. invasion of Panama, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Gulf War, ethnic cleansing in the Balkans and Rwanda, and famine in Somalia. It analyzes President Clinton’s inability to create a demilitarized Manifest Destiny based solely on trade and economic growth. And uses pivotal events from the George W. Bush presidency—the 9/11 attacks and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq—to examine the compromised objectives and unforeseen consequences of a deliberately unilateral foreign policy. Produced by LucasFilm, Manifest Destiny airs tonight on Colorado Public Television - PBS at 9pm.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Jan 2014 02:00:01 +0000