This is a study of American interventionism and influence over other nations in the late 20th century. The central question raised is whether the United States gains by its symbiotic relationship with authoritarian regimes, such as with Iran under the Shah, Nicaragua under Somoza, and the Philippines under Marcos. Today, while we often hear statements which imply that the U.S. has no national interest which is in conflict with the common good, the long self-searching that followed the Vietnam War should make us more aware of the complexity of American foreign policy and more skeptical of our leaders' enunciation of U.S. national interest. While presidents often make use of the notion of American altruism as a justification for policy (President Bush in Somalia and President Clinton in Haiti, for example), William Blanchard exposes and explores that myth and the conflicts inherent in modern American foreign policy.