SB Chapter 14
Foreign Policy Chapter menu
I. Facing the World: Foreign and Defense Policy
Foreign policy includes the techniques and strategies used to achieve external goals, as well as the goals themselves. Some of the techniques used in carrying out foreign policy include: diplomacy—the total process by which states carry on political relations, economic aid—assistance to other nations in the form of grants, loans, or credits to purchase goods, and technical assistance—sending experts with technical skills in agriculture, engineering, or business to aid other nations
A. National Security Policy.
A major goal of foreign policy is national security, that is, the protection of the independence and political and economic integrity of the United States. Defense policy is a subset of national security policy that includes the directing of the scale and size of the American armed forces. Defense policy considers the types of armed forces we need, how many wars we need to be prepared to fight simultaneously, and the type of weaponry that will be required.
B. Diplomacy.
Diplomacy is the total process by which states carry on political relations with each other. It is the process of settling conflicts by peaceful means. Diplomacy may or may not be successful. For example, at times the attempt to negotiate a settlement between Israel and its Arab neighbors—including the Palestinians—has made apparent progress. At other times, negotiations have come to a stop.
II. Morality Versus Reality in Foreign Policy
The development of foreign policy begins with the view a country and its leaders have of the world and how it operates.
A. Moral Idealism.
This view of the world sees nations as normally willing to cooperate and agree on moral standards. This view leads to support for international organizations such as the League of Nations proposed by President Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921) and the United Nations. It also supports such efforts as the Peace Corps.
B. Political Realism.
This competing model of foreign policy sees each nation acting to maximize its own interest regardless of moral principles. This principle supports a strong military and a willingness to make deals with dictators.
C. American Foreign Policy—A Mixture of Both.
Every president has based his foreign policy on both of these principles, though some have tended to stress one or the other of the two. For example, George W. Bush’s belief that a democratic Iraq could make the Middle East a less threatening place is an example of moral idealism. The administration’s willingness to support Pakistan, despite the fact that it is a dictatorship and has recently developed nuclear weapons, is an example of political realism. Pakistan’s location is strategic for fighting in Afghanistan.
III. Challenges in World Politics
A. The Emergence of Terrorism.
1. Terrorism and Regional Strife. Terrorism has a long history that dates back well before its recent adoption as a tactic of choice by Islamist radicals. It has been employed in the past by nationalist movements of varying kinds (Ireland, the Basques) and continues to be so used today. Examples include the terrorism used by Palestinian nationalists and by the Chechen rebels in Russia, both of which have led to a large number of truly horrific incidents.
2. Terrorist Attacks against Foreign Civilians. Terrorists have been known to take their fight out of their own region, sometimes committing acts of terror in third-party settings. An example is the attack by Palestinian terrorists on Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972.
3. September 11. The Al Qaeda group, led by Osama bin Laden, appears to have been motivated by the stationing of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia following the First Gulf War with Iraq, and also by a desire to mobilize masses of ordinary Muslims into a movement that would over throw existing governments in Islamic nations and create radical regimes (or even a worldwide Islamic “Caliphate”) that would confront the West.
B. The War on Terrorism. Terrorist violence has fostered increased security measures as nations attempt to balance a desire to protect citizens from terrorists with the citizens’ rights to privacy.
1. Military Responses. In the aftermath of the attacks on the United States, the current Bush administration launched a war on terrorism. One primary goal of that war was to oust the Taliban government from power in Afghanistan. The Taliban were closely aligned with Al Qaeda. The United States, along with a coalition of allies and anti-Taliban rebels within Afghanistan, succeeded in ousting the Taliban and supported the creation of a new regime. The Bush administration also considered Iraq’s Saddam Hussein to be a threat. After failing to get desired support from the U.N. Security Council, the Bush administration, with participation by Britain and others, launched an invasion of Iraq that quickly overthrew the Hussein regime.
2. A New Kind of War. Bush has enunciated a new doctrine of “preemptive war” to deal with terrorism. War could be anticipatory of threats and waged, if necessary, without allies. Critics have said that such a policy is reminiscent of the actions of dictators.
C. Wars In Iraq.
Saddam Hussein’s annexation of Kuwait in August 1990 was the most clear-cut case of aggression against an independent nation since World War II.
1. The Persian Gulf—The First Gulf War. The United States set up a defensive line in Saudi Arabia at the request of that nation. After half a year to prepare, and after obtaining a U.N. resolution authorizing force, the U.S.-led coalition initiated a month-long bombing campaign against Iraq followed by an invasion. Kuwait was freed but the coalition forces did not go on to conquer Baghdad, and as a result Hussein’s regime survived. U.N. weapons inspectors sought to find and eliminate any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but in 1999, Iraq placed such obstacles in the path of the inspectors that they withdrew from the country.
2. The Persian Gulf—The Second Gulf War. Bush had called Iraq, Iran, and North Korea part of an “axis of evil” in the world. The invasion of Iraq in March 2003 was conducted with a relatively small force of about a quarter of a million troops, instead of the half-a-million used in the First Gulf War. The Iraqi army collapsed quickly and in effect disbanded itself—soldiers took off their uniforms and went home. While the smaller force was sufficient to defeat the Iraqi army, it proved too small to maintain order in Iraq during the occupation.
3. Occupied Iraq. Iraq is made up of t here main ethno-religious groups: the Shiite Arabs (about 60 percent) the Sunni Arabs (about 20 percent) and the Kurds (about 17 percent). The Kurds had been functioning as an American-sponsored independent state since the First Gulf War and were overjoyed by the invasion. The Shiites were glad that Hussein, who had murdered many of them, was gone. They were deeply skeptical of the occupation, however. The Sunnis had controlled the government under Hussein and many considered the occupation a disaster. The Coalition Provisional Authority turned Iraqi sovereignty over to an interim government on June 30, 2004. Elections were scheduled for January 2005
4. The Security Problem in Iraq. Through late 2003 and 2004, a serious insurgency grew in Iraq, manifested in attacks on coalition forces and the new Iraqi police force.
5. Uprisings in Spring 2004. In April, there were simultaneous uprisings in the Sunni Triangle west of Baghdad and by Shiite supporters of Mutada al-Sadr, a radical cleric. The result of the uprisings was to leave several Sunni cities effectively under the control of anti-coalition militias. After a second uprising later in 2004, however, al-Sadr’s supporters began negotiating to join the political process. Immediately after the U.S. election, the U.S. mounted a major attack on Fallujah, a rebel-held Sunni city
D. Nuclear Weapons.
America gained nuclear weapons in 1945, the Soviet Union in 1949, Britain in 1952, France in 1960, and China in 1964. These powers remained the only ones with open nuclear weapons programs until 1998, when Pakistan and India tested nuclear weapons.
1. The United States and the Soviet Union. During the cold war, the United States and the Soviet Union developed large stockpiles of nuclear weapons that they aimed at each other. Both have since reduced their holdings, but both continue to possess very large quantities of such arms.
2. Nuclear Proliferation. This is an important U.S. foreign policy concern caused in part by the fear that terrorists will gain control of nuclear weapons. Also, an increased number of nations with these weapons raises the possibility that there might someday be a nuclear war. The issue of nuclear proliferation proved important in 1998 when India and Pakistan each detonated nuclear test bombs. These tests came despite the protests of the international community. Israel is believed to have a hundred or more nuclear bombs, and North Korea has threatened to develop a nuclear capacity. In the 1980s South Africa secretly developed a nuclear capability but destroyed its bombs in the 1990s. Libya has recently renounced a nuclear development program.
E. The New Power: China.
American policy has been to engage the Chinese in diplomatic and economic relationships in the hope of turning the nation in a more pro-Western direction.
1. Chinese-American Trade Ties. During the Clinton administration, China was granted normal trade relations status on a year-to-year basis. In 2000 the status was made permanent. In 2001, Congress endorsed China’s application to join the World Trade Organization.
2. Chinese-American Tensions. Some American commentators have been unnerved by China’s booming economy, and have seen China as a potential future threat. Current disputes have included espionage issues, such as the U.S. belief that China has agents in the United States and Chinese objections to American spy planes. China has supported the United States in the war on terror, however, though it opposed the war in Iraq.
F. Regional Conflicts.
1. Israel and the Palestinians. Wording about this conflict must be very careful. We cannot improve on the text: “The internationally recognized solution is for Israel to yield the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians in return for effective security commitments and abandonment by the Palestinians of any right of return to Israel proper. Unfortunately, the Palestinians have been unwilling to stop terrorist attacks on Israel, and Israel has been unwilling to dismantle its settlements in the occupied territories. Further, the two parties have been unable to come to an agreement on how much of the West Bank should go to the Palestinians and on what compensation (if any) the Palestinians should receive for abandoning all claims to settlement in Israel proper.
2. The Collapse of the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process. In 1993, the Israelis and Palestinians agreed to the setting up of a Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Gaza. Talks broke down in 2002, however, and a campaign of terror by Palestinian radicals led the Israelis to send its army into the occupied territories, which in turn led to the virtual collapse of the Palestinian Authority. Negotiations are at a standstill, and in 2004 Israeli leader Ariel Sharon announced a plan to leave the Gaza Strip whether the Palestinians cooperated or not.
3. AIDS in Southern Africa. AIDS now infects up to a quarter of the adults in several countries in the southernmost part of Africa. The Bush administration announced as special foreign aid program directed at the problem.
4. African Civil Wars. The world in general and America in particular have attempted to avoid involvement in African civil wars, despite the terrific loss of life involved. These conflicts included a genocidal massacre of the Tutsi tribe in Rwanda in 1994, and a 1996-2002 civil war in Zaire (now Congo-Kinshasa) that killed millions. Civil wars in Angola and southern Sudan may now be over, but refugees from suppression of a rebellion in the western Sudanese province of Darfur are now threatened with starvation.
IV. Who Makes Foreign Policy?
A. Constitutional Powers of the President
1. War Powers. As commander in chief of the armed forces, the president has very extensive powers.
2. Treaties and Executive Agreements. The president has the authority to make treaties, though they require the two-thirds approval of the Senate. The president also makes executive agreements with leaders of other countries. There may be as many as 8,000 of these agreements, many of them secret.
3. Other Constitutional Powers. The president appoints ambassadors and decides whether to recognize other governments as legitimate.
B. Informal Techniques of Presidential Leadership.
In addition to the constitutional powers, the president also has informal techniques with which he can develop foreign policy. These techniques include the access to information from within the executive branch. As legislative leader, the president can influence the budgetary constraints in all areas of appropriations. This includes economic aid, military aid, and humanitarian aid. The president can use the “bully pulpit” to build public support for his programs. The president can commit the nation to courses of action from which it would be very difficult to back down even if Congress wished to.
C. Other Sources of Foreign Policymaking. While the president has considerable influence on the making of foreign policy there are many sources of foreign policy-making within the executive branch. The sources include:
1. The Department of State. This department is responsible for the daily operation of foreign policy. Every country that the United States officially recognizes receives State Department officials who maintain an office (or offices) in the country. These officials gather information and advise the president on the development of social, political, and economic conditions within their countries and how events could affect the United States. The department also administers foreign aid.
2. The National Security Council. This agency was created to aid the president in integrating the volumes of information related to foreign policy. From the Nixon administration through the George H. W. Bush administration (1968-1992) many political analysts saw the NSC as a rival to the State Department in the development of foreign policy.
3. The Intelligence Community. This consists of the forty-plus government agencies or bureaus that engage in intelligence activities, information, and policy development. These agencies gather information about the capabilities of foreign governments, and perform activities that further U.S. foreign policy goals. These agencies include
· Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
· National Security Agency (NSA).
· Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).
· Offices within the Department of Defense.
· Bureau of Intelligence and Research in the Department of State.
· Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
· Army intelligence.
· Air Force intelligence.
· Department of the Treasury.
· Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
· Department of Energy.
· Directorate of Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection in the Department of Homeland Security.
4. Covert Actions. These actions are carried out in secret and the American public rarely finds out about them. They may include attempts to overthrow foreign governments. In the 1970s, following scandalous revelations, Congress cut back on the CIA’s ability to conduct such activities. The agency was since won back its freedom of action.
5. Criticisms of the Intelligence Community. The failure to anticipate 9/11 was a serious problem. Because of the threat of terrorism, intelligence budgets have been increased. In 2004, the bipartisan 9/11 commission called for a new intelligence czar to oversee the entire intelligence community
6. The Department of Defense. This department was created in 1947 by merging the Department of War (Army), with the Navy Department. A single entity was now responsible for military activity.
V. Congress Balances the President
After the War in Vietnam (1964-1975), Congress sought to restrain the president’s ability to unilaterally commit forces to combat with the War Powers Resolution (1973). Presidents since, however, have often not consulted Congress before committing troops, and that can create a situation in which Congress does not dare recall them. Congress can sometimes take the lead, for example by voting sanctions on South Africa to oppose that nation’s former policy of racial discrimination known as apartheid.
VI. Domestic Sources of Foreign Policy
A. Elite and Mass Opinion.
Elites in American business, education, communications, labor, and religion try to influence presidential decision making on foreign policy. Both presidents and elites try to influence that subset of the public that has a strong interest in foreign policy, the attentive public.
B. The Military-Industrial Complex.
A major source of jobs in the United States is the manufacture of military equipment. When President Clinton proposed a significant cut in the budget for the military, there was significant resistance from the military-industrial complex. The military-industrial complex is the term that describes the mutually beneficial relationship between the armed forces and defense contractors. Many communities were very opposed to base closings that would mean the loss of jobs in their community, and would hurt secondary economies surrounding the bases as well.
VII. The Major Foreign Policy Themes
The United States has not always had the same goals or objectives in foreign policy. Part of the reason for the different goals and objectives has been the differing levels of power of the United States in relation to the power of other countries. As the United States became more powerful it began to take a different role in world events and this led to different goals and objectives. The following themes of United States foreign policy have influenced the actions of the government and in many cases the actions of the rest of the world.
A. The Formative Years: Avoiding Entanglements.
The Declaration of Independence was the first foreign policy statement of the United States. Our foreign policy was on the whole nonexistent under the Articles of Confederation. Under Washington and Jefferson, the goal was to “steer clear of permanent alliances.”
1. The Monroe Doctrine. While the United States was not actively involved in the affairs of countries in Europe, Asia, or Africa, the United States was concerned with the Western Hemisphere. The Monroe Doctrine claimed a role for the United States as the protector of the Western Hemisphere. This doctrine attempted to limit European influence in North and South America while increasing the influence of the United States. The United States also followed an active expansionary policy, buying Louisiana, annexing Texas, and obtaining much territory from Mexico through the Mexican War (1848).
2. The Spanish-American War and World War I. These wars brought about a dramatic change in the foreign policy of the United States. For the first time the United States became an important player in the game of international affairs. Not only was the United States concerned with the Western hemisphere, it was now concerned with international events throughout the globe. After Word War I, however, the United States returned to a policy of isolationism.
B. The Era of Internationalism.
This era began the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. After defeating Germany and Japan in World War II, the United States sought to eliminate the conditions that led to both world wars by sponsoring the United Nations.
1. The Cold War. The alliance formed by the United States and the Soviet Union during World War II was short-lived. Because of their contrasting economic and political systems the United States and the Soviet Union became major adversaries. This adversarial relationship would dominate foreign policy throughout the world through 1991. The Soviet Union created an area of influence that became known as the Soviet bloc, while the United States entered into a military alliance with many European nations called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO. Winston Churchill proclaimed the Soviets had placed “an iron curtain” between the countries of Eastern Europe and Western Europe.
2. Containment Policy. Containment was a new U.S. foreign policy that addressed this new threat from the USSR. Expressed in the Truman Doctrine, this policy sought to stop the spread of Soviet power by containing it within existing limits.
C. Superpower Relations.
Soviet and American troops never met in battle during the Cold War. Several wars took place with nations allied to the superpowers, however. In 1950, communist North Korea attempted to conquer noncommunist South Korea. The United States entered the war to prevent a South Korean defeat. When North Korea was on the brink of collapse, China entered on the North Korean side to preserve that nation. The result was a draw, with the pre-war status quo kept. Vietnam was also divided into a communist north and a noncommunist south. Communist rebels in the South (the Viet Cong) supported by the North threatened the South Vietnam government, and U.S. president Lyndon Johnson introduced U.S. ground troops. North Vietnam then committed its regular army. Controversy over the war in the United States reached a fever pitch rarely seen in American history. In the 1970s the United States began withdrawing its troops and in 1975 South Vietnam fell to the North.
1. The Cuban Missile Crisis. The most dangerous nuclear confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union took place in 1962 when the Soviet Union stationed missiles in Cuba to ward off an American invasion of the newly communist country. After tense negotiations, the weapons were withdrawn and the United States promised not to attack Cuba.
2. A Period of Détente. Détente, or a relaxation of tensions, began to develop in the early 1970s as both sides realized that a nuclear war meant mutually assured destruction (MAD). Although there were still significant problems between the super powers (the U.S. refused to attend the Olympics held in the USSR in 1980 and the USSR refused to attend the Olympics held in the U.S. in 1984), relations were rarely openly hostile. Significant strides were taken to limit the use of nuclear weapons. The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) went into effect, although SALT II was never ratified.
3. The Reagan-Bush Years. President Reagan took a hard line against the Soviet Union during his first term, proposing the strategic defense initiative (SDI), or “Star Wars,” in 1983. The SDI was designed to serve as a space-based defense against enemy missiles. After the fall of the Soviet Union in George H. W. Bush’s presidency, another major treaty limiting strategic weapons (START—the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) was signed with Russia and three other Soviet successor states.
4. The Dissolution of the Soviet Union. This began in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the last bastion of the iron curtain. Shortly thereafter, the Baltic republics separated from the Soviet Union. The USSR was dissolved in December 1991, leaving fifteen independent nations to grapple with the major social, economic, and political problems in the 1990s and today.
VIII. Features.
A. America’s Security: Realism versus Idealism in Foreign Affairs.
The Democrats have had a tradition of being relatively open to moral idealism in foreign policy ever since the days of Woodrow Wilson. The Republicans traditionally were more skeptical of this tendency. George W. Bush’s approach to Iraq, however, reveals a strong orientation to a moralistic philosophy.