Defense and Foreign Policy

The U.S. vs. the Soviet Union

• Conventional conflicts include: – the Korean Conflict – Vietnam – Afghanistan • Nuclear Arms Race • Cuban Missile Crisis

Are we safer since 1991?

• Other "hot spots" include: – Iraq/Iran – North Korea – Balkans (e.g., Bosnia, Serbia, “ethnic cleansing”) • Our Challenge

Historical Overview of Foreign Policy

• Isolationism – Monroe Doctrine – 1823 – Manifest Destiny • Louisiana Purchase • Acquiring Alaska from Russia • Portions of the Southwestern U.S. from Mexico

Historical Overview of Foreign Policy

• 1914-1940: America emerges as a world leader • 1945: United Nations created • 1949: North Atlantic Treaty Organization – NATO vs the Warsaw Pact – Beginning of the Cold War

Historical Overview of Foreign Policy

• Truman Doctrine – U.S. national security requires the U.S. to protect free countries • Policy of Containment (Domino Theory) – Provide aid to countries vulnerable to communism – Korea and Vietnam as examples

Historical Overview of Foreign Policy

• 1962: Cuban Missile Crisis • 1970’s – Détente with the Soviet Union & China • 1979 – Soviets invade Afghanistan • 1979 – Iranian fundamentalists take over the U.S. embassy in Tehran • 1980’s Ronald Reagan’s Foreign Policy – “Peace Through Strength” – Assisting “freedom fighters” in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Afghanistan

Historical Overview of Foreign Policy

• 1989: Soviets lose influence in Eastern Europe – Fall of the Berlin Wall, Reunification of East and West Germany • 1989: Democratization movement in China • 1991: Fall of the Soviet Union • 1991: War with Iraq • 1990’s: Rise of Islamic Fundamentalism

The Making of Foreign and Defense Policy

• President's role – State Department – Defense Department – CIA, NSA, NSC • Role of Congress – Ratify Treaties – Appointment and Budgetary Powers – Power to Declare War – Congressional Oversight

The Making of Foreign and Defense Policy

• Diplomatic Tools – Formal Recognition – Break off diplomatic relations – Foreign aid - including humanitarian aid – Treaties/Executive Agreements – Covert Actions – Trade (e.g., Most Favored Nation Status)