Presentation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas. Foreign and Defense Policy: Protecting the American Way

Presentation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas.

Chapter 17

Foreign and Defense Policy: Protecting the American Way

Preamble, U.S. Constitution

We the people of the United States, in order

to … provide for the common defense …

The Roots of U.S. Foreign and Defense Policy

» The United States as Global Superpower˃ Isolationist

+ deliberately avoiding a large role in world affairs+ prior to WWII, the U.S. primarily was an isolationist nation

˃ Internationalist+ deeply involved in the affairs of other nations+ since WWII the U.S. has become an internationalist nation

˃ Lesson of Munich+ the idea that appeasement only encourages further aggression

˃ Containment+ the foundation for U.S. foreign policy after WWII+ the idea that the Soviet Union was the aggressor nation and had to be

prevented from achieving its territorial ambitions + aggressor nations could only be blocked by determined opposition


» The Cold War and Vietnam˃ Cold War

+ Forty-five years of deep hostility between the U.S. and the Soviet Union+ never became an actual shooting war + the U.S. supported governments threatened by communism+ the world became “bipolar”

– international power was divided between the U.S. and U.S.S.R.– each side was supreme in its sphere and was blocked from expanding

its influence y the power of the other˃ Vietnam

+ the most painful and costly application of the containment doctrine+ led to LBJ’s decision to not seek reelection in 1968+ U.S. combat forces left in 1973+ North Vietnamese took over the country in 1975


» Détente and Disintegration of “the Evil Empire”˃ Lesson of Vietnam

+ there are limits on America’s ability to get its own way in the world˃ Nixon said the U.S. could no longer act as the “Lone Ranger”

+ opened relations with the People’s Republic of China˃ Détente

+ “relaxed” tensions between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.+ ended in 1979 when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan

˃ Reagan + Soviet Union is an “evil empire”+ “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall”

˃ Perestroika+ restructuring of the Soviet economy and society+ Soviets withdrew from Eastern Europe in 1989+ On December 8, 1991, the leaders of the Russian, Belarus, and Ukrainian republics

declared that the Soviet Union no longer existed˃ Unipolar

+ the U.S. became the unrivaled world superpower


» A New World Order˃ President George H.W. Bush called for a new world order based on

multilateralism˃ Multilateralism

+ the idea that major nations should act together˃ Gulf Operations, 1990˃ Balkans, 1992 and 1999

» 9/11 & The War on Terrorism˃ Different targets

+ transnational organizations- Al Qaeda ˃ “Axis of Evil”- Iraq, Iran, & North Korea˃ Preemptive war doctrine


» The Iraq War˃ Weapons of Mass Destruction˃ Changing public opinions˃ was opposed by many countries including Germany, France, Russia,

and Belgium˃ Great Britain was our closest ally˃ 2004 presidential campaigns

The Process of Foreign and Military Policymaking

» The Policymaking Instruments˃ Diplomacy

+ process of negotiation between countries˃ Military Power

+ unilateral invasions- Grenada (1983), Panama(1989), Haiti (1994)+ multilateral wars- Iraq (1991), Serbia (1995 & 1999), Afghanistan (2002) + nominally multilateral but basically unilateral invasion- Iraq (2003)

˃ Economic Exchange+ trade or assistance

˃ Intelligence Gathering+ monitoring other countries’ activities


» The Policymaking Machinery˃ National Security Council- part of the Executive office of the President

+ POTUS, vice president, SECDEF, SEC State, director CIA, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, National Security Advisor

+ National Security Advisor can usually give the most balanced assessment of foreign and military policy issues

˃ Defense Organizations+ Department of Defense+ Department of Homeland Security- created in 2002 to protect against

terrorism+ NATO

˃ Intelligence Organizations+ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)+ National Security Agency (NSA)+ DOD, DHS, DOJ


» The Policymaking Machinery (cont.)˃ Diplomatic Organizations

+ Department of State+ United Nations+ Organization of American States (OAS)

˃ Economic Organizations+ World Bank+ World Trade Organization (WTO)+ International Monetary Fund (IMF)

The Military Dimension of National Security Policy

» Defense Capability˃ Conventional forces

+ dozen aircraft carriers+ nearly 100 attack subs+ hundreds of fighting and supply ships+ thousands of high performance aircraft+ half a million troops on active duty+ tanks, artillery, APC’s, and attack helicopters

˃ High tech information/communication systems˃ Nuclear arsenal

+ deterrence- the ability to retaliate with a devastating attack of one’s own+ MAD- Mutually Assured Destruction


» The Uses of Military Power˃ Unlimited Nuclear Warfare

+ nuclear triad: land-based missiles, submarine-based missiles, & long-range bombers

˃ Limited Nuclear Warfare+ The threat of an all-out attack is less likely, while the chance of an attack

with a single weapon has increased+ Spread of nuclear technology to irresponsible regimes and terrorists

˃ Unlimited Conventional Warfare˃ Limited Conventional Warfare˃ Counterinsurgency˃ Police-Type Action

+ drug-trafficking, illegal immigration, political instability, terrorism


» The Politics of National Defense˃ Public Opinion and Elite Conflict

+ defense policy is a mix of majoritarian an elite politics˃ The Military-Industrial Complex

+ President Eisenhower warned against the “unwarranted influence” of the “military-industrial complex”

+ is blamed for high levels of defense spending, although its influence is not actually known

+ U.S. defense budget in 2005 was roughly $400 billion+ has three components:

– Military Establishments» ex. Air Force’s B-1 Bomber

– Arms Industry» ex. 5,200 subcontractors who build the B-1

– Members of Congress» ex. contractors are located in 48 states and all but

a handful of congressional districts

The Economic Dimension of National Security Policy

» A Changing World Economy˃ The Marshall Plan

+ designed to confront the Soviet military and economic threat to West Europe

+ $3 billion in immediate aid for postwar building of Europe with $10 billion or so to follow (over $100 billion today)

˃ The interdependent tripolar economic world + Three economic centers:

– U.S.– Japan and China– the European Union


» America’s Global Economic Goals˃ Global Trade

+ Multinational Corporations– firms with major operations in more than one country

+ Economic Globalization– describes the increased interdependence of nations’ economies

+ Free-Trade Position– long-term economic interests of all countries are advanced when tariffs and

other trade barriers are kept to a minimum– political leadership on free trade typically comes from the White House

+ Protectionism– emphasizes the interests of domestic producers and includes methods to

enable them to compete successfully with foreign competitors– members of Congress can be protectionists when businesses in their home

state or district are threatened by foreign competition– the U.S. wants to keep an open system of trade that will promote domestic

prosperity+ Job Losses

– cheaper to do business abroad

Americans’ Opinions of the Effect of Global Trade on Jobs

» The Trade Deficit


» America’s Global Economic Goals, continued˃ Access to Natural Resources

+ Oil˃ Relations with the Developing World

+ Foreign Aid– accounts for about one percent of the federal budget– keeping the widening gap between the rich and poor

countries from destroying the global economy+ Human Rights Issues

– China

A New World

» Global terrorism is a driving force.» Higher presence in the Middle East after 9/11.» South Asia» South America» China has passed Japan as the world’s 2nd

largest economy (…and will pass the U.S. in a few decades)

» Freedom movements in the Middle East

States in the Nation

Documents

Presentation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas. Foreign and Defense Policy: Protecting the American Way