Chapter Outline

The Roots of U.S. Foreign and Defense Policy

1. Amerian has moved from being an isolationist country that avoided playing a large role in world affairs to an internationalist country that is deeply involved in the affairs of other nations.
1. The doctrine of containment, based on the idea that the Soviet Union was an aggressor nation that had to be stopped from achieving its territorial ambitions, dominated American foreign policy toward the Soviet Union.
2. The U.S. was involved in a cold war with the Soviet Union which meant that the two countries were hostile to one another, though they were not directly engaged in actual combat.
2. The Vietnam War was a costly application of the containment doctrine that demonstrated the limits to American power in the international arena.
1. The Helsinki Accords of 1971, the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks that started in 1969, and the opening up of East-West trade marked the new era of communication and cooperation (detente) between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
2. Detente ended with the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and U.S President Ronald Reagan dubbing the Soviet Union an "evil empire," urging a hard policy line towards its policies.
3. The end of the cold war prompted President George Bush to call for a "new world order" in which nations should move forward together rather than at the expense of each other. This concept emphasized multilateralism--the idea that major nations should act together in respose to problems and crises. This policy advocated using the United Nations and was applied in the Gulf War and the war in Bosnia. The U.S. is still weighing the pros and cons of the policy of multilateralism.

The Process of Foreign and Military Policymaking

1. Policymaking instruments include diplomacy, the process of negotiation between countries, which can be bilateral or multilateral; military power, which can be unilateral; economic exchange, which can take the form of trade or assistance; intelligence gathering, the process of monitoring other countries' activities.
2. Policymaking machinery includes the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, all operating under the leadership of the president.

Key organizational units in the foreign policy area can be categorized according to their primary functions--defense, intelligence, diplomacy and trade.

1. The Department of Defense was created in 1947 and has roughly 3 million uniformed personnel and 700,000 civilian employees. The DOD is in charge of the military security of the United States. It is aided by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Europe.
2. Intelligence Organizations in the U.S. include the Central Intelligence Agency; the National Security Agency, which specializes in electronic communications analysis; and intelligence agencies within the Departments of State and Defense.
3. Diplomatic organizations through which the U.S. Department of State channels activities include the Organization of American States and the United Nations.
4. Economic organizations involved in foreign policy include the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Labor and Treasury; specialty agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission and the Export-Import Bank; international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and the World Trade Organization. These agencies tend to promote goals that are consistent with U.S. policy goals, such as economic development and free trade.

The Military Dimension of National Security Policy

American forces have been trained for six types of military action.

1. Unlimited nuclear warfare--The hope was that the imagined horror of mutually assured destruction (MADD) would mitigate against this option. To deter the Soviet Union from attack the U.S. made it clear that it would retaliate in kind using the triad of land-based missiles, submarine-based missiles and bombers. This triad provided the U.S. with enough nuclear capability to launch a "second-strike" (massive retaliation) after absorbing a first offensive strike. Since the end of the cold war both the U.S. and Russia have pursued a strategy of reducing their nuclear arsenals, thus diminishing the risk of all-out nuclear war.
2. Limited nuclear warfare--While the U.S. still fears an attack by a singular nuclear weapon, the U.S., Russia and other nuclear powers are cooperating to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons to terrorist groups or "outlaw" regimes.
3. Unlimited conventional warfare--The end of the cold war also has reduced the likelihood of this prospect so the U.S. does not have to maintain a large conventional force equipped to fight on several fronts.
4. Limited conventional warfare--This capability is designed for fighting a limited conventional war against a well-organized and well-armed foe such as in the Persian Gulf war. Military action is designed to be quick and decisive.
5. Counterinsurgency--The Vietnam conflict began as an insurgency, which is an uprising by irregular forces against an established government. American forces got involved in countering that insurgency. Efforts to quell Third World insurgencies are generally opposed by the U.S. public.
6. Police-type action--This involves U.S. efforts to stem drug trafficking, political instability, population movement and terrorism. The U.S. participates in peacekeeping missions, thus increasing the unconventional uses of U.S. troops.

Major conflicts over defense policy usually take place between political elites.

1. Though Defense policy is a mix of majoritarian and elite politics, on issues of broad national concern majority opinion is a vital component.
2. Political disputes over defense policy involve billions of dollars in jobs and contracts. The military-industrial complex, consisting of the military establishment, weapons manufacturers and members of Congress, is an aggregation of interests that support high levels of defense spending regardless of national security needs because of the economic and employment impact of defense contracts.

The Economic Dimension of National Security Policy

1. The Marshall Plan, which drove European recovery after World War II, benefited the U.S. economy, however high levels of military spending can weaken America's position in the world economy.
2. In economic terms the world is described as being tripolar, with economic power concentrated in three centers: the United States, Japan and the European Community. Within this group the U.S. is weakened by having the largest national debt and the worst trade imbalance. On the other hand it is strong because of its well-rounded economic resources. Overall, the U.S. ranks highest in the world in terms of its global economic competitiveness.
3. American goals in the global economy include sustaining an open system of trade that will promote prosperity at home, maintaining access to energy and other resources vital to the healthy functioning of the U.S. economy, and keeping the widening gap between rich and poor countries from destabilizing the world's economy.
4. In terms of global trade, the U.S. is both the world's top exporting and importing nation. Trade issues spark debate within trading sectors of the economy as well as within Congress between protectionists and free trade advocates. These differences were heightened in debates over NAFTA and GATT.
1. Protectionists support placing restrictions on products coming into the U.S. from abroad in order to provide advantages to U.S. domestic markets over foreign competitors. Some members of Congress, when defending their economic constituencies, lean towards this view.
2. Free trade advocates argue that long-term economic interests of all countries are advanced when tariffs and other trade barriers are kept to a minimum. This position is favored by the White House and by most members of Congress.
5. U.S. economic policy must assure access to foreign natural resources for domestic use; oil is the most crucial imported resource.
6. U.S. relations with the Developing World are designed both to discourage political instability as well as to encourage marketplace opportunities.
1. The U.S. provides developmental assistance to poorer countries through direct foreign aid and indirect assistance through international organizations such as the IMF and the World Bank. Foreign aid accounts for less than 1 percent of the total U.S. federal budget.
2. The U.S. aids developing countries through private investments in multinational corporations; this strengthens the U.S. financial base and links the success of other nations to U.S. businesses.
7. The global economy today is very competitive and less responsive to military power. U.S. corporations need to maintain a competitive edge and draw from a well-trained workforce. America's economic health is increasingly linked with the world trading system.