Shared Foreign Policy Powers

Who makes foreign policy?

Presidential Powers and Responsibilities Presidential powers come from two sources Constitutional Powers Commander in Chief Sends troops May use nuclear weapons Appoints Ambassadors Power to make treaties Head of State Represents and symbolizes leadership and policy Functions as a world leader

Informal Presidential leadership Presidents are without equal with respect to influencing public opinion People used to say to me that I was an astonishingly good politician and divine what the people are going to think … I did not “divine” how the people were going to think: I simply made up my mind what they ought to think and then did my best to get them to think it. … Theodore Roosevelt Presidents usually get support in a foreign policy crisis …. Not always … but it is hard for Congress or anyone to back down on a presidents commitment

Foreign Policy Advisors Presidents may seek advice from various sources Special Advisors Cabinet members White House Staff Officials from specialized agencies Private individuals outside of government

National Security Advisor Central Intelligence Agency Director Secretary of Defense – supervisor of military activities of the US government Robert Gates Secretary of State – supervises all the diplomatic activities of the American government Condoleezza Rice National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley Central Intelligence Agency Director Michael Hayden Director of the Office of National Security John Negroponte

Sources of foreign policy within the executive branch Department of State The National Security Council The intelligence Community The Department of Defense

State Department State Department is the executive agency that has primary authority over foreign affairs Supervises relationships with approximately 200 nations, the United Nations and other multinational organizations Usually the secretary of state is the nation’s chief foreign policy advisor – none the less the importance of state has declined since WWII

In our early years Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and John Q Adams were secretaries of state that became presidents State does not have a domestic constituency to support it Actually attracts critics of its primary responsibility of administering foreign aid

The National Security Council Created by the National Security Act of 1947 Purpose – to advise the president on integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies relating to national security Larger purpose – to provide policy continuity from one administration to another Actually the NSC has been used the way the president chooses Members: POTUS, VPOTUS, Secretaries of State, Defense, and Treasury, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Director of National Intelligence, and Assistant to the President for NSC affairs … others by invitation

The Intelligence Community CIA, National Security Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, Offices within Department of Defense, Bureau of Intelligence and Research in the Department of State, FBI, Army Intelligence, Air Force Intelligence, DEA, Department of Energy, Homeland Security, Office of the Director of National Intelligence

Intelligence activities consists mostly of overt information gathering, but covert actions are also undertaken Covert activities – overthrow of a regime in Iran 1953 – the Arbenz government in Guatemala in 1954 – destabilizing the Allende government in Chile 1970-73 Criticisms – Failure to uncover 9/11 led to establishment of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to oversee the intelligence community

Department of Defense The department was created in 1947 to bring the control of the military establishment under the jurisdiction of a single department headed by a civilian secretary of defense Simultaneously the Joint Chiefs of Staff, consisting of the commanders of the various military branches and a chairperson, was created to formulate