2. Copyright, 2000 © Prentice Hall Magruder’s American Government C H A P T E R 17 Foreign Policy and National Defense

3. 2 Foreign Policy and National Defense C H A P T E R 17 Foreign Policy and National Defense SECTION 1 Foreign Affairs & National Security SECTION 2 Other Foreign & Defense Agencies SECTION 3 American Foreign Policy Overview American Foreign Policy Overview SECTION 4 Foreign Aid and Defense Alliances Foreign Aid and Defense Alliances Chapter 17

4. 3 CH 17.1 Foreign Affairs & National Security Historically, America’s relationships with other countries were shaped largely by the policy of isolationism, refusing to become involved in world affairs. World War II convinced Americans that the well-being of the United States required that we move from an isolationist to an international role in world affairs. A nation’s foreign policy is every aspect of its relationships with other countries – military, diplomatic, commercial and all others. The President takes the lead in making and carrying out foreign policy. The State Department is the President’s right arm in foreign affairs and in setting foreign policy. The tools foreign policy uses are alliances, economic and military aid to other countries, and United Nations membership. International law gives all nations the right of legation, the right to send and receive diplomatic ambassadors. American ambassadors each represent the U.S. in a foreign country recognized by the United States and head an embassy in each one. All embassy officials & workers enjoy diplomatic immunity in foreign nations, and cannot be prosecuted for breaking foreign laws. The Department of Defense provides for the nation’s defense by unifying the management of the armed forces. Armed forces Headquarters is in the Pentagon. The Secretary of Defense advises the President, and is, in turn, advised by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who play a key role in creating U.S. military policy. The Army, Navy, and Air Force are major units within the Defense Department. The U.S. Marine Corps is part of the Navy, but a Marine Corps General Officer is also part of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

5. 4 Other Foreign & Defense Agencies There are several agencies, other than State and Defense, that are closely involved with foreign and defense policy: 1.The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) coordinates the government’s intelligence gathering, analyzes that date, and keeps the President and the National Security Council informed of its findings. 2.The CIA also conducts worldwide intelligence operations through espionage, or spying. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) enforces immigration laws and requirements. It also administers immigrant work permits, naturalization, and political asylum (giving a safe haven to those fleeing persecution in their own country). NASA, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency created by Congress to oversee the U.S. Space Program. The Selective Service System manages the draft, or required military service. The first national draft occurred in 1917 when the Selective Service drafted men into service for WW I. Between 1940 and 1973 the draft was a major source of military manpower in the United States. The draft ended in 1973, but young men must still register for the draft soon after their 18 th birthday. The draft can be re-instituted whenever Congress or the President feels necessary. CH 17.2

6. 5 CH 17.3 American Foreign Policy Overview For much of our first 150 years, isolationism was the main foreign policy. By the end of the nineteenth century, the United States turned away from isolationism and began to emerge as a world power after the Spanish-American War. World War I led to a renewed spirit of isolationism in the 1920s and 1930s. World War II put an end to isolationism, the U.S. emerged as a World power, and the cold war brought a commitment to collective security and deterrence (building military strength to discourage attack). During the Cold War (more than 40 years of hostile relations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union), the United States pursued containment of communism, particularly through armed conflict in Korea and Vietnam. After the U.S. withdrew from the Vietnam War in the 1970s, a period of détente (a relaxation of tensions) led to better relations with the Soviet Union and China. The end of the Cold War began when the leader who had the greatest influence on that end, Mikhail Gorbachev, became the leader of the Soviet Union. By the 1990s, the cold war was over. U.S. and Soviet relations had improved considerably by 1991. The major focal point for America is now the Middle East & the War on Terrorism.

7. 6 Foreign Aid & Defense Alliances Foreign Aid is economic and military help for other nations. Foreign Aid goes to countries that are most crucial to meeting the United States’ foreign policy objectives. In recent years this involves Israel (whose security the United States essentially guarantees) Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and any country fighting against international terrorism. The United States began practicing foreign aid during World War II; early aid was economic but military aid has become increasingly important. Since World War II, the United States has forged a number of regional security alliances such as NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which promotes the defense of Western Europe. The United Nations seeks to maintain world peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, and find a fair solution to international problems. The United Nations Security Council, of which the United States is a permanent voting member, bears the UN’s responsibility for maintaining international peace. CH 17.4

8. 7 Foreign Aid & Defense Alliances, 2 In foreign policy matters, there is no such thing as a permanent international “friend.” Today’s friend may be tomorrow’s enemy. All nations, everywhere, do not give aid to other nations purely out of the goodness of their own hearts. All nations on Earth always act from selfish motivations. They do what they consider to be to their own advantage and their own best interests in every scenario. Relief to nations that have suffered a natural disaster comes closest to aid done or given for purely humanitarian reasons. But even this type of aid is usually politically motivated. Aid given by the United States is generally economic or military aid. We supply this aid to get something we want, even if it is no more than a favorable opinion of us, a mutual agreement for something we want to do, or another kind of favor or special consideration. Frequently the United States supports a government which is not favored by its own people with military aid that may be used to oppress that same people. For this and similar reasons, Americans traveling abroad are not popular, sometimes being known as the “Ugly American.” CH 17.4

9. 8 United States Armed Forces

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12. 11 Germany, Winter 1983, 1 st Infantry Division “Judy Bee” The “Goeppingen Gestapo”