The usage of military force in any scenario is always controversial. The old idea of 'conquering' is almost non-existent, yet military strength is still one of the fundamentals of a state. States make a childish show of their combat capabilities. It has been nearly 74 years since the creation of the United Nations. The biggest enemies of the countries are not terrorist cells or religious extremism, but other countries with whom better relations would have led to global peace and prosperity.
Many countries spend a huge chunk of their budget on military improvements rather than on healthcare, education and other infrastructure. There is an overall global decline in military expenditure, and there has been a steep increase in developing or underdeveloped nations. It is not a secret that these nations have huge problems related to terrorism and territorial disputes. Unfortunately, it always overshadows the economic struggles of these nations. Such is the nature of the world. They forget that the main reasons for the common man to turn to religious extremism is poverty and illiteracy.
A significant aspect in which the military of a nation involves itself in is eradicating terrorism. The more powerful the country, the further it tries to exert influence outside its borders. The United States of America, for example, uses its power all across the world. Whether it was in Iraq, Syria or even Afghanistan, the Americans got to push their weight and call the shots through every step of the way. They took charge of the fight against the terror units as well as rebuilding the nation. It is fair to say that the current Afghanistan government is nothing but in confusion.
Similarly, Iraq is a better democracy than what it was under Saddam Hussein, but the governance structure is a pitiful version of its former glorious self. The significant difference between the American intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan is that in Iraq, the Americans managed to destroy a comparatively stable regime and managed to throw the country into chaos. Such indisputable facts throw light on how such interventions are harmful to growing economies and the people living there. Foreign intervention is necessary when matters of terrorism are involved. Unfortunately, foreign intervention seldom leads to peace and stability in the region. The United States is not the only nation that influences global politics. Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and even India exert their massive military might in other countries.
Saudi Arabia is a prime example of the wrong kind of foreign intervention. The Saudi regime decided to interfere in Yemen to help the government fight against the Houthi rebels who are backed by their Sunni rivals, Iran. It was done not to help the citizens of the impoverished nation, but to counter the influence of Iran in the Arab world. As a result, the entire country is a battlefield and the people that live there go through hell.
Let us take the case of Russia as another example. The Russian military in the past has been known to bully its neighbours. It tried to bring Georgia to its knees. It most recently attempted to 'conquer' Ukraine in 2014 like the Axis initiated operation Barbarossa in 1941. The Russian forces sent to Ukraine on the pretext of a 'diplomatic mission' was fired upon by a Ukrainian militia. The Russian military got an excuse to enter Ukraine and take over territory, leaving mass destruction in its wake. Thousands of people lost their lives. There is still an ongoing fight at the line of control where there are hundreds of families caught in the crossfire.
One possible justification that can be given by the Kremlin is the fact that the militias that defend Ukraine are not part of Ukraine's sovereign military force. They have been known to commit terrorist acts against the state before. So crudely, this is a way of Russian intervention in Ukraine. However, it has come at the price of Ukraine's sovereignty. Ukraine, which was taking another step towards economic prosperity by almost joining the European Union, is now in financial ruin. The people who once dreamt of comprehensive trade treaties, increase in jobs, and rapid economic growth now find themselves wondering if they will see daylight the next day. Such instances show us the dark side of foreign intervention. They may liberate the extremist unit completely, but the ideology still floats about. Moreover, in the scenario when these larger countries leave the nation in shambles, these doctrines take shape once more. Finding recruits will not be hard as there is so much poverty, and thus the entire country falls back into the chilling grasps of extremism.
There are many more similar examples out there that show us exactly what is wrong with foreign intervention in the modern world. Foreign intervention is indeed necessary, but only after the government has lost the capability to deal with the situation at hand. As long as the government is still able to combat the situation actively, foreign players should avoid getting involved. Otherwise, the government must have asked for help. It is the only possible way for us to at least minimize the destruction caused due to the war. Foreign forces, after all, have no attachments or obligations to the land that they fight for as that is not their home. Hence it should always be the last resort and not the first option to infringe another nation's borders on the pretext of countering terrorism.