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Foreign Policy 359 Midterm

Terms in this set (204)

What were the key Soviet decisions leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis? (Dobrynin)
- Secretly stationed missiles in Cuba to protect Cuba from US invasion
- 42 nuclear range missiles with 40,000 Soviet troops to guard them
- Dobrynin not informed, told US that Russia only had defensive weapons stationed in Cuba
- Undermined Dobrynin's credibility, but Russia was worried about leaks
Who was Dean Acheson?
The Secretary of State under Harry Truman
What was the principle issue at hand in the Acheson reading?
The decision to send aid to Greece and Turkey
- They were overcome with guerilla activity, government instability, and economic collapse
- British aid to both countries would stop, were hoping the US could assist
- The US decided it would be vital to US security to strengthen Greece and Turkey to preserve their national independence
Why were Greece and Turkey so important in the Acheson reading?
US concerned that if these states fell, the Balkans would fall to communism
Truman doctrine - Acheson reading
Truman declared it was the duty of the US to support free people primarily through economic and financial aid
Declared that if we do not assist, this will have far reaching effects
Asked Congress to authorize civilian and military personnel to aid in reconstruction
Bipartisan agreement
What was the Ikenberry Reading about?
How the US played a central role in the reshaping of international order through creating new institutions
Why did European countries trust the US? (Ikenberry)
US government seen as less scary - people were more willing to trust the democratic and transparent US
- US emphasized European roles in the process and multilateralism, they tried not to dominate
- US wanted Europe to remain moderate and pro-Western, not under "US control"
- Simply wanted the new world order to favor their interests
- NATO tied US and Europe together
What were the two post war settlements? (Ikenberry)
1. Containment Order - Truman Doctrine
Defending the world from communism
Bureaucratic and military organizations built on this containment plan
2. Atlantic Charter and Multilateralism
Aimed to lock European democracies into an open and managed post war order, involved the US directly, plus institutional strategies
- Wanted Europe to work together to ensure security and decrease the possibility of war
What was the "x" reading about?
Written from the US ambassador to the USSR
- Speaks about Soviet conduct and the central features of communism, gives specific advice to the US on how to handle communism
What did the Soviets believe about communism, according to X?
We do not need to worry about overthrowing capitalism, capitalism will eventually collapse on its own
- The menace abroad is capitalism, shifted the focus off of the dictatorship in Russia and on to outsiders
What was the Soviet thesis, according to X?
- West has no control over its economic destiny
- Assumes Russian unity and discipline
- There is innate conflict between capitalism and communism
- Capitalism will lead to war, it is an international and domestic threat
- There is no timeline for communism since its inevitable
What was Eisenhower's nuclear strategy?
He saw nukes as "low cost foreign policy", less spending on conventional forces, more spending on nuclear weapons
- More capabilities: ground, sea, air
- He thought that any aggressive action by the Soviets should be me with an overwhelming attack by the US
- Promoted low cost covert options to undermine communism abroad
Bay of Pigs invasion
CIA covert operation to overthrow Castro after Castro overthrew the US backed dictator in 1959
- US trained Cuban exiles in Guatemala
- Invaded April of 1961
FAIL
- Not a surprise attack
- US did not provide air cover
- CIA made an incorrect assumption that Cuba would welcome the invaders as liberators
What is the history that led up to the Vietnam war?
Indochina - a French colony that fought for independence
- French loss led to a division at the 17th parallel
- Election to unify Vietnam never held
- US supported anti communist leader in South Vietnam
What was the problem with fighting a war in Vietnam
- unconventional forces, guerrilla warfare
Forces included: paramilitary/informal forces, actual military, Vietcong, volunteers, local informers
Why did the US care about Vietnam?
- The domino theory made the US worried
- US fearful of communist revolutions in South Asia
- Eisenhower initially began US commitment to South Vietnam in the 50s
1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Response to attack on US naval destroyer (hindsight - the attack wasn't very serious), push to increase US military presence
What was the Tet Offensive?
A massive surprise attack by the Vietcong on South Vietnamese towns and cities in early 1968
- Showed that the US could not provide safety to the South Vietnamese people, support for the war fell below 40%
What was the Case-Church amendment?
Forbade any US military involvement in Vietnam (1973)
What was SALT?
Arms control agreement
- increased information about weapons
- limited anti ballistic missile development
- limited number of missiles each side could have
What was the Helsinki Final Act?
Soviets wanted agreement on political borders of Europe, US wanted agreements on human rights (linkage to attempt compromise)
What was the 1972 Shanghai Communique?
- Nixon visits China
- US and China opposed hegemony by Russia in Asia
- Agreed that US forces would be removed from Taiwan and would not interfere in the peace settlement between China and Taiwan
- Seen as a big step forward with China and competition with the soviets
What was Carter's view on the cold war?
- Cold war worsens the lives of the world, he had a focus on human rights
Carter's major FP decisions
- ended the support for the Nicaraguan dictator, but then the Sandistas take power and ally with Cuba and the Soviets - who ended up having a horrible track record when it came to human rights
- Camp David Accords: Carter joined the Israeli-Egyptian peace talks. Israel recognized the rights of Palestinians and both Egypt/Israel normalized relations (Carter seen as playing a pivotal role)
- Iranian Shah is overthrown by Khomeini, Carter maintains support for the Shah
Khomeini supporters stormed the US embassy and took hostages, led to the Iranian hostage crisis
- Soviets invade Afghanistan, US sanctions soviets and boycotts the olympics in response. US response seen as ineffective
What was Reagan's foreign policy approach?
Low cost military ops - invasion of Grenada to halt marxist revolutions and send a message to soviets
- Saw arms control as pointless, wanted arms limitation instead
- with his strategic defense system, he worked to make a system that could shoot down soviet missiles. He presented himself as the one who could protect the US from soviet missile attacks
Criticisms: Too much spending, not enough technology to accomplish it
Iran-Contra
US sold weapons to Iran to try to flee the US hostages held in Lebanon by Pro-Iranian terrorists. We used the profits from those sales to buy weapons and supplies for the Contras
- Congressional hearings damaged Reagan's reputation, but he denied he knew anything
What was glasnost and perestroika?
Openness and restructuring
- stronger civil liberties
- decentralizing the economy, openness to market forces and private ownership, able to recover from economic stagnation
- allowing Soviet states to reform independently, focus on Russian domestic interests
In exchange, the US would leave the Soviets alone
Why was the persian gulf war significant?
- first test of the new world order
- US organized an international coalition to oppose the Iraq's invasion of Kuwait
- Allied forces worked together to stop a common threat = success
Why was the humanitarian intervention in Somalia a failure?
Bush sent in response in Nov 1992: Operation Restore Hope, 27,000 US troops deployed
- however, the political situation was in turmoil, the warlords needed to be removed from power
- US outrage led to withdrawal of troops in 1995
Problem: we ignored the cause of the humanitarian disaster
- ended up affecting the US's response in Rwanda
What was the Powell Doctrine?
The US needed to consider a number of things before intervening
- What are the US interests?
- Cost of involvement (number of men, money involved)
- What does the public support look like?
- what is the likelihood of success?
- what is the exit strategy?
What was X's advice on how to deal with communism?
- US has the power to create strains under which Soviet policy must operate
- Force moderation upon the Kremlin
- Promote tendencies that fizzle/break up Soviet power
- Should not trust Soviets
- Alliances are key
- To get democracy message across - facts speak louder than words to the Kremlin, specific bureaucrats need to speak the truth
- US should create a dedicated intel service
What are Rosenau's 5 sources for foreign policy?
1. External environment of the international system
2. Domestic/societal environment of the state and national characteristics/core values
3. Government structure (ex: tension between president and Congress)
4. Bureaucratic roles occupied by individual policymakers
5. Personal characteristics of individual officials

LIMITS: does not say what is most important, does not say when these characteristics matter most
National Security Act of 1947
- Created the department of defense, including dept of navy, air force, and army
- Created the Joint Chiefs of Staff (military advisers to the President)
- Created a large permanent military
- Created CIA
- Created National Security council that would advise the president, conduct long range planning, and coordinate the national security process
How was Khrushchev caught off guard? (Dobrynin)
- Photos of offensive Cuban missiles found
- Khrushchev did not anticipate that Kennedy would find out about the missiles and did not come up with a reaction plan. Many think he should've asked Kennedy to remove the missiles from Turkey as a rebuttal
- Khrushchev caught in a lie, he only stated there were defensive weapons there, so it worsened relations
What was the "quarantine line"? (Dobrynin)
US blockade of Cuba, used the word "quarantine" so it wasn't an explicit act of war
- US would not hesitate to sink Soviet warships that crossed the line, delivering offensive weapons to Cuba
- Washington did not want to back down and appear weak
How was the situation resolved? (Dobrynin)
Soviets wanted to avoid nuclear war since it would be mutually destructive
- Called for US to refrain from supporting intervention in Cuba, Soviets promised their ships contained no military supplies
- Kennedy wanted all offensive weapons to be rendered inoperable, US would lift blockade and ensure no invasion
- Khrushchev accepted the US's resolution
- Kennedy ended up closing missile base in Turkey on his own accord
Why was Khrushchev humiliated? (Dobrynin)
- Secret plan was busted
- Had to withdraw missiles from Cuba with no obvious gain
- Neither side got a great victory or defeat, but Kennedy maintained the status quo which was good enough
What was the subject of the Gaddis reading?
The Gaddis reading talks about the steps that the US took to contain the Soviets
- Discusses detente and linkeage plan
What was detente? (Gaddis)
The soviets, over time, would accept the contraints of a stable world order through pressures and persuasions (incentives, rewards, and punishments)
- Goal was not to eliminate competition overnight, but to ultimately move from competition to cooperation
- Mesh Soviet economic interests so that it would be hard for them to take actions against western countries
What was the problem with detente? (Gaddis)
- Wishful thinking, the soviets backed down a couple times but only to incur more benefits from economic interests and arms control agreements
- Bureaucracy did not always align with White House policy
- Congress limited president's military means
- No effort to address the role that proxy wars were playing
Why did Russians seem to move toward detente? (Gaddis)
They wanted to bolster their inefficient economy with imports of food and technology from the west
- White House wanted to link agricultural sales to political concessions, but the bureaucracy undercut this. They allowed Soviets to purchase large quantities of wheat without any strings attached.
- Showed that linkeage needed tighter coordination
What was the McNamara reading about?
This reading talks about the plan to pause bombing in hopes of moving towards a peaceful resolution with North Vietnam. McNamara talks about the flawed judgement that went into crafting this unsuccessful strategy
What was the Allison reading about?
How the US created and continues to promote the "liberal international order" & how Donald Trump is a threat to this
What is liberal international rule based order? (Allison)
- Order based on rules and regularity, equality, and fairness
- an order that countries are willing to embrace and sustain
How does the UN charter promote liberal international order and at the same time go against it? (Allison)
Art 2.4 - principle of non intervention
BUT - the UN has an inherent power imbalance, the powerful are privileged and can make exceptions for themselves
What was the Cold War order? (Allison)
- Prevented great power rule by bipolarity
- Each side's bloc was enforced by the superpower
- Led to a type of war not ever seen before, no military intervention in the other's sphere of influence
What are Allison's 3 core claims? (Allison)
1. Liberal international order is the principle cause of long peace among great powers
2. Constructing this order is the main driver of US engagement for 70 years
3. Donald Trump is the primary threat to this order and world peace
How was the liberal international order constructed? (Allison)
US looped Western Europe and Japan into post war reconstruction
- US launches Marshall plan, World Bank and IMF created through Bretton Woods
- Sought to build democracies that would embrace shared values
- End of soviet era led to post soviet states embracing market economies and democracies
- Western liberal democracy seen as the "final form of human government"
What are threats to liberal international order today? (Allison)
- "advancing liberal democracy with guns" - problematic
- Communist china growing
- Assertive Russian order, they are a nuclear superpower looking to change the balance of power in Eastern Europe and the middle east
- share of US global power has shrunk
Why is Trump problematic to liberal international order? (Allison)
- He has withdrawn from greenhouse gas initiatives and trade promotions
- he misunderstands the strength that comes with unity
- who is to blame? his experience or the political system that allowed him to be elected
- perhaps liberal international order was failing before trump
What is the Anton reading about?
Talks about Trump's foreign policy approach and how the Trump administration promotes nationalism at home and abroad
What are Anton's 4 points that he sees pillars of Trump's foreign policy?
1. Populism has risen because of natural push back of forced homogenization
- People have a natural instinct to act in their best interest and should not be shamed for it
2. Liberal internationalism has diminishing returns. - - ---- Costs>Benefits, it imposes the highest costs on the greatest powers, NATO should pay fair share, Trump wants to end "free rides"
- It is hard to convince the public of the benefits since they don't normally feel them domestically
3. Consistency for the sake of US national interests (nationalism for all)
- Globalization makes the world less rich, it is in each country's interests to do what is best for them, and the US will incur benefits from this
4. Globalization subverts liberty, is imperialistic, it erodes borders and as a result, intellectual, cultural, and economic products are lost
What is the Freedman reading about?
Discusses prevention and preemption, and the differences between the two
What is prevention? (Freedman)
Exploits existing strategic advantages by depriving the other state of the ability to pose a threat
- prevents imminent threats
State A tries to prevent state B from reaching an offensive position by disarming it and trying to change the political character of the state (A has the upper hand)
- confronting factors that could develop into an imminent threat
What is preemptive war? (Freedman)
Lacks quality evidence of an imminent attack and forces might not be able to defend if state b launches an attack
- risk: you need to disrupt the attack effectively or risk an all out war. OR you might not even need to attack and you risk an unnecessary war
- a more desperate strategy employed in the heat of the crisis
- the attacking state must still believe it is stronger than state b
what is the key to a preemptive attack? (Freedman)
an effective strike
- must diminish state b's capabilities significantly, giving state a the advantage while state b recovers
- must knock out state b's assets
- an irreversible move from peace to war
what is second strike capability? (Freedman)
When you can absorb a preemptive attack on a nuclear arsenal and still pose a threat
- US and soviets had this, thus, mutually assured destruction
What were positives of Clinton's foreign policy?
- creation of NAFTA
- Signed Kyoto protocol
- played a role in the 1993 Oslo Declaration where Israel and Palestine recognized each other as international entities (Palestine stopped terrorism, Israel withdrew from the west bank)
What was the Maastricht Treaty?
created the EU
European Union
- each state has dual sovereignty - controls own citizens and territory, but EU also has authority over state actions
- EU is an economic rival to the US, trade disputes emerged, US negotiations stifled by EU
Why was prevention defended after 9/11?
9/11 opened up the US's eyes to a surprise attack
- US is "vulnerable to a murky underworld of gangsters and terrorists"
- the greatest challenge to US national security is the nature and motivations of new unconventional adversaries and there determination to obtain destructive power
What are non-military examples of prevention? (Freedman)
Diplomacy, intelligence work, economic assistance
What is the Abadi reading about?
How the Kosovo conflict stated a conversation about humanitarian intervention
What did the US learn from the conflict in Kosovo? (Abadi)
- Role of great powers in NATO military intervention
- Emphasized the importance of an exit strategy, how do we pass on responsibilities once we leave?
- Chinese public angry at US for accidental bombing, emphasized the need for better intelligence
What was Westmoreland's strategy? (McNamara)
Convince N Vietnamese and Vietcong that military victory is impossible and produce an agreement favorable to the US
1) halt communist advances
2) offense against communists with S Vietnamese peasantry
3) Destroy and render their military ineffective
What were the problems with Westmoreland's starategy? (McNamara)
- Even though it played to the US's strongsuits (material abundance and technical superiority), it ignored US casualties and their importance
- Couldn't even bring the Vietcong and N Vietnamese to battle frequently enough to win a war of attrition
- underestimated the country's ability to absorb enormous casualties (bombing didn't work)
Why did US see China as a threat to the conflict in Vietnam? and why was this an incorrect assumption? (McNamara)
US saw China as potentially willing to get involved and support the North Vietnamese, saw them as "willing to nourish local forces"
BUT: China was weakened by conflicts with India, Pakistan, and Indonesia
- China and Vietnam had a problematic history, China probably not willing to help them out in the first place (ignored the historical facts of their relationship)
What did McNamara recommend to move towards an end to the war? (McNamara)
- Increase US troops by 75k
- 1 month bombing pause to try to get Hanoi leadership to produce a settlement
- Would this be viewed as a sign of weakness? Maybe, but this was seen as a necessary risk
- Needed to show Americans they were trying to end the conflict
What happened during the bombing pause? (McNamara)
- N Vietnamese were infiltrating the south
- Increase N Vietnamese regiments in the south (from 3 to 9)
- Vietcong regiments doubled
- Infiltration rate tripled
- N Vietnamese continued to offset the tremendous losses they were suffering
What happened on the diplomatic side of the bombing pause? (McNamara)
- White House and Saigon agreed to a 30 hour ceasefire that ended up getting extended
- US diplomats emphasized Washington's desire to conduct peace negotiations
- Tension between hope that the pause would lead to negotiations vs worries about military defeat in the south (choose a bigger war or unattractive peace deal?)
- Johnson thought the pause was a fail, leading to more and more defeats in the south, he resumed air operations in the north
- North Vietnamese saw the pause as a trick by the US
How did Congress foil detente? (Gaddis)
- Congress blocked aid meant to support anti marxist forces, allowed Soviet "adventurism" into third world countries to continue
- This threw into disarray the coordinated applications of pressure that were supposed to change soviet behavior
- Linkage required political centralization
What was the basic principles statement and what were the problems with it? (Gaddis)
US/Russia would do their best to avoid military conflict and exercise restraint, a way to measure "progress"
Problems: Made US's efforts to counter Russia's initiatives look provocative and unnecessary & Russia would not meet that standard of behavior
- Russia could not be relied upon to honor any agreement, whether it was based on mutual interests or not
What was the McMaster reading about?
This reading takes a close look at the individuals/relationships between top US foreign policy decision makers that led the US into the conflict into Vietnam including LBJ, McNamara, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff
What influenced Johnson's decision making? (McMaster)
- Containment
- Bureaucratic structure
- institutional priorities
- character
- relationships with principle advisers
(may have to relate this to Rosenau's points for the exam)
What was the initial problem with how Johnson handled the war? (McMaster)
His administration did not plan on going to war, they thought it would fail
- they postponed the decision and partially engaged in the region
- they ignored the complexities that came with this
What were the flaws in Johnson's character/decision making that led to the war? (McMaster)
- Johnson turned to civilian advisers when the situation demanded military action
- Was highly distrustful of anyone except his closest civilian advisers
- Essentially, the nation went to war without the president receiving effective military advice
What was McNamara's strategy? (McMaster)
- Wanted Johnson's "Great Society" to be a success, so he developed a strategy of controlled and sharply limited military actions
- Wanted to avoid the consequences of military action
- His targeted bombing strategy was not effective against the mobile Viet Cong
- He was overconfident and assumed his strategy would be accurate and correct
What were the problems with the Joint Chiefs of staff? (McMaster)
- They were unwilling to give Johnson their best advice
- They were also kept in the dark about the administration's objectives
- They withheld from Congress the amount of force that would be needed in Vietnam (LBJ had distorted their views to increase support for his plan)
- They wanted to remain loyal to the commander in chief, opposing him would get them in trouble
- The individuals appointed to these positions were put there because they were not very likely to challenge Johnson's views, he didn't like to be disagreed with
- They pursued objectives that were different than Johnson's
What was the problem with the strategy in Vietnam? (McMaster)
The Joint Chiefs of Staff focused on killing the enemy
- Westmoreland's strategy of attrition reflected a lack of strategy with no clearly defined objective
- Led to more commitment of troops and loss of public support for the war
United Nations
Created after WWII
- Universal organization to promote peace and cooperation
- Organizing conference in 1945 attended by 50 states
- UNSC handles immediate threats to peace and security with 5 permanent members
The Marshall Plan
- European economic recovery program
- US provides the funding, Europe plans and implements (US dispersed 12 billion over 4 years)
- Open to all European states, but USSR and allies did not participate (US suspected they would turn it down but didn't want to deny it to them initially)
What were the effects of the Marshall Plan?
- Increased pre war production by 200% by 1952
- Would not have been possible without US funding
- cooperation between European states led to European integration to unite Europe and stabilize Germany
- Laid the foundation for the EU
What did the Bretton Woods system create?
(1944 plan on international economic cooperation)
1. World Bank - international bank for reconstruction and development - lends funds to member states
2. International Monetary Fund - provides help for short term currency crises
3. GATT - General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
- An unprecedented and everlasting commitment
- An armed attack on one is an armed attack against us all
- Serves as a hedge against another European conflict since Germany eventually becomes a part of it
- US wanted more widespread membership so they could have wide military capabilities and bases
How did the US/USSR rivalry begin?
- Initially optimistic - Yalta Conference, USSR joins the UN
BUT soviet actions in Greece, Turkey, and Iran tested the US, Soviets wanted to establish a "buffer zone" between them and Germany since they were invaded by Germany twice in 30 years
- Great Britain can't maintain the balance of power in Europe, so they send a note to US asking if they can help Greece and Turkey
What is Containment?
US Cold War strategy
- US would support its allies economically, militarily, and diplomatically to keep Soviet influence limited
Established by the Truman Doctrine
- US willing to help free people maintain institutions and national integrity against communist movements
How did we implement the containment strategy?
George Kennan's long telegram: mapped out a strategy that outlined the US foreign policy plan for the next 5 years
- Called for more understanding of motivations and how to respond to the Soviets
- US needed patience and a long term focus on containing the Soviets
KEY: US should control as many aspects of industry as possible
What was NSC 68?
Help convince Congress to increase defense spending to scare Americans into supporting US foreign policy actions
- Comprehensive statement about US interests, soviet threats, and the US's responses
- US power and reputation is under threat
- Wherever the USSR threatens, it is of US interests
- Calls for SIGNIFICANT US military build up
What was the subject of the Dobrynin reading?
Outlines the US response to the Cuban Missile Crisis and focuses on the individual decision making that was going on behind the scenes
What were the key US decisions leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis? (Dobrynin)
- CIA financed and trained guerrillas to topple Cuba
- Trade blockage of Cuba
- Numerous US American warships headed to Cuban coast and invaded the island's airspace
- Came up with "Mangusta" to undermine and overthrow Castro
- US threatened Soviets to not involve themselves in Cuba
What was the initial foreign policy approach for the Bush administration?
preference for non-engagement and rejection of multilateralism
How did Bush's foreign policy switch after 9/11?
Invaded Afghanistan, harboring AQ leaders
Funded the Afghan northern alliance
Wanted to turn Afghanistan into a democracy with international and regional support - elections held but did not sustain mass support because Taliban was never fully eliminated
What was the Bush doctrine?
A 2002 National Security strategy document that held 2 key ideas
1) american primacy: democracy and freedom for all people
2) right to preemptive self defense: US would strike first against a threat of immediate harm
Thought behind the invasion of Iraq
Thought Saddam had weapons of mass destruction
- Operation "Iraqi Freedom" began March of 2003, major bombing
- Overthrowing Saddam was easy, but creating a stable government was hard, insurgent groups were constantly attacking US groups
Iraq 2006-2011
US troops took to a ground strategy to keep Iraqis safe
By 2011, Iraq would not renew a status of forces agreement, so US troops had to withdraw
- Insurgents attacked Iraqi cities, Iraq was in turmoil
How did Obama's foreign policy differ from Bush's?
Obama emphasized diplomacy, respect, and intelligence
Tasked the CIA to find Bin Laden
Liked to used targeted drone strikes against terrorists
Libya - Arab spring
Protests against Qaddafi in 2011
- He supported terrorism, WMD use, US sanctioned them
- Armed rebellion broke out, Qaddafi threatened to exterminate them
- UNSC authorized attacks against Libya by the US because Libya was not protecting their citizens
- Qaddafi rebels killed in 2011
- Benghazi occurred, relationship remains tense
Syria - Arab spring
- Protests targeted Assad in 2011, 5,000 killed in protests and a civil war breaks out
- Syrian military was well equipped, well trained, and very violent
- US role was limited
- Assad used chemical weapons against his people, killing 14,000. Obama proposed international action
- Putin brokered agreement with Assad to relinquish the weapons, but he retained some
What is Trump's foreign policy outlook?
- came in with limited prior knowledge
- preference for bilateral agreement over multilateral agreements
- emphasis on personal diplomacy
- disinclination with using force, wanted limited events rather than long term commitments
- has a different communication style
What was the Howell reading about?
how presidents can accomplish their agendas through executive orders, executive agreements, NSC directives, and proclamations
Why was Bush criticized after 9/11? (howell)
he took lots of unilateral directives as a response to 9/11
- directed military strikes in Afghanistan against taliban strongholds without congressional approval
- broke Geneva convention by not giving Guantanamo detainees POW status, suspended attorney/client privileges
- does the war one terrorism really equate to unlimited unilateral powers?
why did clinton rely on unilateral powers? (howell)
he was face with a divided congress, so he relied heavily on unilateral powers to implement his healthcare, gun, and legislation plan
How have presidential directives evolved over time?
After ww2, executive orders were no longer just for trivial administrative practices, the majority is now substantive policy
- The constitutional language around executive power allows for presidents to justify their actions under expediency and national security
what does howell say about the power to persuade?
a president's success is determined by too many actors and the public expects the president to accomplish far more than just formal powers
so, success=mastering persuasion, you need to convince other political actors that your interests are their interests and build coalitions
- need an ability to rally support when formal powers are lacking
what makes unilateral powers so powerful according to howell?
Places congress and courts in a reactive position
If they choose not to retaliate, then the order stands
- Bypasses the need for coalitions, committee chairs, cooperation, etc
- Congress may simply lack the votes to overturn
- Stems from institutional advantages
what is the legality of unilateral powers?
- supreme court recognized the president's ability to act unilaterally when it comes to military powers
- series of court cases made exec agreements, exec orders legal
what was the baker reading about?
the appointment of james baker to be reagan's chief of staff
emphasized the personal relationships Reagan had with Ed Meese and James Baker and how this affected the flow of information within the administration
what were personal characteristics of reagan's that led to the appointment of baker?
reagan was a pragmatist and did not want a yes man to be his closest associate. wanted someone that would challenge him
what does the job of the chief of staff entail?
- run staff meetings
- coordinating paper flow
- schedules and appointments
- free walk into the oval office
- baker served as a information buffer to reagan
(reagan wanted all communications vetted by baker and meese)
what was important about the reagan transition?
formed a 100 days team to ease the transition
thought about history: what has worked before and what hasn't?
- coordinated travel, press conferences, meetings, etc
- asked for advice from fmr chiefs of staff
what was the rice reading about?
the role of susan rice as former national security adviser to obama
what was the crisis rice dealt with her first day on the job?
- a coup took place in egypt
- leader (Morsi) placed on house arrest
- us/egypt relations critical to us interests (2nd most recipient of US aid, a reliable bullwark against terrorism, valued neighbor to israel
- us decided not to call it a coup
- us had an awkward relationship with egypt - disappointed with their leadership but not enough to pull the aid
what is the role of the national security advisor? (Rice)
"set up the plays and pass the ball to the star players"
- ensure senior colleagues had the support they needed
- clear strategic direction to deputies and prompt feedback/guidance from the president
- work with agencies to obtain resources
- deliver necessary letters/calls to VP/prez
what did rice say about john kerry?
- very strong negotiator
- would push back and try again and always get a better deal
- key in iran nuclear deal
- never an "I can't type of guy"
what happened to the US/afghan relationship under rice?
US needed prez karzai to agree to bilateral security agreement so that US forces could stay there
- rice met with him, he had a lot of negative things to say about US forces (rice upset and left because of his disrespect for US troops)
- karzai said he didn't care if taliban took over, as look as afghanistan was united
what is classified information?
if disclosed, could REASONABLY DAMAGE us national security
what is secret information?
could be REASONABLY EXPECTED to cause serious damage to the US
what is top secret information?
could be REASONABLY EXPECTED to cause EXCEPTIONALLY GRAVE damage to US national security
what is the honor system with security clearances?
you should only look at information that is related to your task, and no other information
what are the extensive measures taken to secure information?
- secure laptops, not on wifi
- paper material is locked in a safe in a room
- secret info cannot be discussed a normal room with windows or cell phones
what is classification by compilation?
information can become classified when paired with other important information
what actions can the commander in chief take that does not need congresional approval?
committing/sending forces
why is the president considered the chief diplomat?
president nominates the secretary of state and ambassadors
- president can negotiate treaties
- president receives ambassadors
- head of state and government, reps the US abroad
how can congress constrain the commander in chief?
congress can refuse to fund president's efforts
what is the bandwith problem?
the president only has so much time and must pick and choose priorities
what was the carter reading about?
how the carter administration handled the uprising of Khomeini in iraq. Emphasized carter's relationship with diplomats, the strategy behind supporting the shah, and the events leading up to the iran hostage crisis
why was Iran such a key asset for the US?
- we relied on iran to maintain good relations with the saudis and egypt, and to provide oil to israel
why was the shah being opposed?
he had a bad track record of human rights violations
- religious leaders, middle class, and students significantly repressed
- shah justified this saying that he was doing so to prevent the spread of communism
what was the shah's strategic move he made? (carter)
a moderate prime minister took power, shah trying to appeal to both sides
- the shah was advised to leave iran, the only way to restore peace and he said he'd be willing to do that if it meant peace
- khomeini disapproved of the new PM or any shah loyalists
what was the relationship between the ambassador to iran and carter?
sullivan's judgement seemed biased in carter's eyes
he suggested that we support khomeini (thought khomeini would create a democracy) and get the shah to leave
carter instead appointed another person to give him advice on the situation
why was the shah brought to the US and what happened?
carter didn't want him to stay in the US because it would place Americans in Iran in danger
- Shah got leukemia and needed to be treated in NY
- Tehran police expected 1 million people to protest in front of the US embassy
- 3000 militants stormed the embassy and took 50-60 US staff hostage
- the militants became heroes in Iran and Khomeini praised them
What was the difference between the cold war and the post cold war presidency?
cold war: domestic president constrained by Congress and public, but the foreign policy aspect was less constrained. Congress was more willing to concede to the president's will
post cold war: presidents struggled to lead and manage foreign policy, stronger emphasis on the public's opinion, more need to convince other's of the president's decision
what is the presidential life cycle?
you start the term at the peak of power
- honeymood period with Congress, media, public, and foreign leaders
what are the keys to persuasion?
- professional rep, how others see the president and their ability to get things done
- public prestige, how others see public support for the president
when was the national security council created?
national security act of 1947
what does the NSC do?
advise, long range planning, and integrating/coordinating policies
what are the 2 trends in NSC use?
- not really used for long range planning anymore
- NSC staff and advisory more important, the role of the council has decreased
- centralized under kennedy after bay of pigs, he needed a new foreign policy process to get more accurate information
- since nixon, the national security advisor has become like a foreign policy spokesperson
what is the competitive management style?
emphasizes diverse advice and analysis
- compete to advise the president
- being good at argumentation is a plus
- maximum number of options reach the president
- devotes time to refereeing
- risk of president being overwhelmed by too much info
ex) Trump
what is the formalistic management style?
designed to promote order and discipline
- formal procedures/style
- hierarchical structure
- there is a gatekeeper to the president
- open conflict is discouraged
- efficient, but can limit the number of options the president receives
ex) Reagan
what is the collegial style of management?
middle ground between formalistic and competitive
- range of policy experts, cabinet, etc see each other as equals
- engage in group problem solving
- helps if policy makers have a common world view but differ slightly in opinions
- still structure, but less competition and more perspectives
ex) Obama, Kennedy
what is optimizing?
examines every alternative
- ranks each option
- a rational process with cost/benefit analysis
what is satisficing?
does not look at every possible alternative
- choose the first choice that meets the minimum conditions
- determining all possible options takes time and effort, information may be limited and conflicting
what is the snyder reading about?
congressional activism on human rights in the in the 1970's. Highlights Fraser's commission and how it helped shape how the state dept conducted foreign policy
what were the key goals of the fraser commission?
- consider US policy toward states that abused human rights
- criticized US reluctance to condemn certain governments
- if they commit clear abuses, we should sever relations
- push senate to ratify human rights treaties
- wanted state dept to treat human rights as a part of foreign policy decision making
why did kissinger/nixon not really care about the fraser commission?
"real politik" - both had more of a realist point of view and saw the nuclear crisis as more important than human rights issues
what did the state dept do to promote human rights?
undertook 2 studies to investigate US foreign policy and human rights
- created new HR positions (bureau of human rights and humanitarian affairs - created annual HR reports on countries)
- wanted to balance non interference with upholding human rights
what was the henkin reading about?
it was about how to interpret congress's foreign policy powers from the constitutional language. he argues that congress should take more of a leadership role in foreign policy than they currently have because of their peacemaking/war abilities
why did the framers trust congress more with FP? and what happened during washington's first term?
- wanted to make congressional approval needed for many presidential actions, they were worried he would become too powerful
- realized that the presidency was "always in session" so the president could act quickly and informally
- congress generally became agreeable to president's actions (before party politics came into play)
why does henkin think congress should have more power over foreign policy?
they have the commerce power and the war mkaing power
ex) the plan for our nuclear weapons should be given to congress because it falls under their powers
what is the twilight zone according to henkin?
- areas where the president and congress have concurrent authority
- either branch has claimed the authority to act when the other is silent
- however, presidents have rarely asserted power to act when Congress said not to
what was the baker (gorbachev) reading about?
the personal diplomacy that came into play towards the end of the world war and the need to have a unified message coming out of the state dept on key foreign policy issues
why was a US unified message so important at the end of the cold war?
US soviet cooperation seemed more likely than ever
- we wanted to promote glasnost and perestroika because it would lead to mutual US/soviet advantages
- would lead to favorable press and optimism from allies
- we supported gorbachev's ideas and wanted him to succeed even though we were doubtful on the inside
how did the state dept frame the fall of the wall?
we called it normalization instead of reunification, saying US and Germany are partners in leadership
- with hesitation from britain and germany, we emphasized that we did not want to start over, we wanted the european institutions to "evolve" in this new era
what was important about the malta summit?
- bush and gorbachev met and established a personal bond
- emphasized that they were strongly pro-perestroika
what are some of congress's constitutionally given powers for foreign policy?
1) law making - legal authority to authorize/prevent actions
2) power of the purse - decide how gov't revenue is spent & can threaten to remove funding if changes aren't made
3) oversight - can oversee how laws are implemented and how policies are impacting people (hold hearings, ask questions, etc)
4) power to declare war
5) framing - members of congress can come in front of the media and can start a public foreign policy discussion
what are limits on congress's foreign policy power?
1) lack of expertise, more focus on constituents
2) congressional structure - congress is designed to move slowly
3) diversity of views - hard for congress to speak in one unified voice
what is the pendulum effect?
at times of crisis/emergency, the president gains power and congress may give up some of its powers
- after a crisis, congress gains power back, BUT congress fails to return to previous levels of authority,
- thus, the president gains more power over time
what is schlesinger's "imperial presidency"?
the president monopolizes power and excludes congress
ex) use of military force, vietnam is seen as a turning point
how did congress take a more active role in foreign policy after vietnam?
- old southern dems replaced by young liberals who had more active views on foreign policy
- subcomittees formed and their chairs gained more power
- more committees became involved in foreign affairs
- congressional staffing expands to combat information asymmetry with the executive
what are the legislative branch agencies that can help congress with info about foreign policy?
1) congressional research service
- research and analysis for congressional policy
- provides very quick reports
2) congressional budget office
- major policies proposed can receive a CBO score to estimate costs
3) GAO
- deep dives into fed govt actions
- investigative arm, key to oversight
- independent and nonpartisan
- can respond to requests from congressional committee, congress can mandate through law
what is the war powers resolution?
1973 - Nixon's veto is overridden
- requires presidential consultation before troops are committed
- requires reporting to congress after troops are committed
- requires congressional action if troops overseas become involved in situations of hostility
what is the thompson/jones reading about?
- this reading is about the US's efforts to aid Burma after the cyclone. it highlights how the Burma govt was being stubborn to accept aid and incompetent in its relief efforts
why did the devastation expose the burma govt? (thompson/jones)
showed the military junta's incapacity to care, exposed them as incompetent and paranoid
why did the US want to intervene and why was it hard to do so? (thompson/jones)
- US knew Burma couldn't handle the damage and we felt it was in our best interest to help
- burma government was resistant to letting volunteers into the country to help
- thought the US had other motives...invasion
why did the cyclone lead to a change in thinking for the burma people?
gave the burmese people a reason to wish for government leader removal
- when local NGOs got involved to help, they had the potential to move Burma towards democratic change on a grassroots level
what are the characteristics of the bureaucracy?
1. hierarchy: strict order of precedence, power at the top
2. specialization: people working have defined responsibility, leaders have more generalized knowledge
3. routine: same tasks carried out the same, time after time
what are the functions of the state department?
1. representing US govt overseas (embassies, consulates, foreign service officers)
2. representing outside view to US gov - learn policies and preferences of other governments (mass media has made this easier
3. give policy advice to the president
4. engaging in negotiations and diplomacy
5. analyze events and report back to washington using "cables" (annual reports, reports on current events, combine "scene setters" to present to visitors)
what is the structure of the state department?
1. secretary of state (battles loyalty to president vs loyalty to the department, if too close to the state dept than you lose influence with the president)
2. deputy secretary of state - heads the department when the secretary is away, day to day operations
3. "under secretaries", each with specialization
as you move further down the hierarchy, the specialization increases
what are the challenges the state department faces?
- questioning of motives
- FSOs that report feel like no one is listening --> policy disconnect
- lack of natural constituency that defends their interests
- inefficient, hard to get info up the chain of command
- foreign service culture - FSOs very smart and think they are always right
- foreign policy increasing in complexity over time
- rise of economics plays an increasing role
what was the kohn reading about?
issues that arise between civilian leaders and military leaders and he identifies 4 points of friction that have risen between the 2 sides
what is one example of poor civilian/military relations? (Kohn)
nixon/mcnamara - hated the military advisors and did not listen to their advice on Vietnam
how did the endgame in iraq generated friction? (kohn)
- politicians and generals pointing fingers at one another
- retired army lieutenant blamed: bush admin, civilian bureaucracy, congress, partisanship, press, american people (heavy cynicism)
- the end game was difficult - don't want to leave and have suffered pointless consequences, resentment would sink deep into the ranks
how has the pentagon budget generated friction? (kohn)
- dems have no choice but to cut the budget which makes them look weak
- budget request left out many important aspects like VA funding, homeland security, military equipment repairs
- politicians have other initiatives they want to undertake and need money for, this excludes military needs
- even with fiscal challenges, the military refuses to cede anything, continues to demand more money
how has the mismatch between 21st century threats vs cold war threats generated friction? (kohn)
- american military establishment is the same as it was in the 1940s
- pentagon downsized and has not been able to rethink purpose, organization, command, and control in 2 decades
ex) effectiveness of national guard
how have social concerns generated friction? (kohn)
concerns about gay people undermining unit cohesion and threatening discipline have lost credibility
- but disagreement still remains in the older generals
- tension between military leadership and congress
what steps should the next secretary of defense take in order to manage the 4 points of friction?
1. lead firmly while holding military accountable, someone who can keep the confidence of military and congress
2. staff: no politicians with special interests, no inexperienced people, and need those that respect them military
3. insulate military leaders from partisan politics
4. president should reach out to armed forces in THEIR spaces
what is the gates reading about? (gates as sec of defense)
gates displays how he circumvented the dept of defense bureaucracy and pushed for the funding of necessary military vehicles to save lives of soldiers in Iraq
what did gates hope to accomplish as secretary of defense?
wanted to restore a sense of urgency to the bureaucracy, they needed to support the war with efficiency
- the needs of field commanders and troops disappeared into the pentagon black hole
what was the tension between gates's view and the service leader's views?
they were concerned about going back to training and equipping for a conventional war, but gates wanted to focus on the task at hand, beating the insurgency
gates and mine resistant ambush protected vehicles
gates noticed no one at the senior level wanted to obtain the funding for these armored vehicles, no one believed in their effectiveness, seen as a waste of money
- MRAPs became his #1 priority, he did what he could to increase efficiency and cut through red tape
- 40 billion dollars invested
- many lives saved as a result
- funded the redesign of the vehicles so that they could be better at offroading, per the field commander's requests
why was the need for intelligence and surveillance not being met in the iraq war?
field commanders wanted unmanned drones for intel gathering, analysts, linguists, etc
- limited number of analysts and linguists
- limited production capacity
- small number of people to pilot the drones (seen as an unfavorable job in the military)
what was gate's plan to fix the intelligence and surveillance?
- accelerated training for new crews
- gathered drones from around the world
- listened to complaints of drone pilots and fixed them to make the job better
- promoted a change in culture of military (rethink how service is organized, manned, and equipped
how did gates deal with the wounder warriors issue?
- cut through bureaucratic red tape, wanted more people to act with urgency -- members of the military were being mistreated
- directed a department wide review of military medical programs, facilities, procedures
- confronted with more complex medical issues with wounded vets (TBIs, prosthetics, etc)
- struck down delays in making disability decisions
- worked on a booklet of available benefits/care
what is the job of the intelligence community? (miscik)
provide the best and timely information on global affairs and national security issues to inform and direct the president's foreign policy objectives
- the intelligence community listens to the objectives of the administration, they are the "servants" of foreign policy
why does the intelligence community have to have close access to senior policymakers? (miscik)
if producers of intelligence do not know the status of ongoing operations and negotiations, the "product" won't meet consumer's needs and their intelligence is irrelevant
- small window for policy relevance
- personal connections and regular meetings are important
things intel does vs things intel can't do (miscik)
can: gather intelligence, assess it, and evaluate possible actions and outcomes, can anticipate contingencies and warn of possible outcomes
can't: predict the future, only can warn the administration of what they THINK might happen
- false/incorrect info is not fake
- intel is cumulative, earlier reports can be less accurate
what is politicization of intelligence? (miscik)
when intelligence professionals alter their findings to meet policymakers desires
- policymakers should be able to question intelligence without being accused of politicizing
what are the risks with covert operations? (miscik)
1. exposure
2. failure
3. unintended consequences
4. public backlash if exposed (raising questions about civil liberties and privacy)
what is the subject of the miscik reading?
tells us about the jobs of the intelligence community
what is the function of the department of defense?
- defend the government and the state
- stay prepared for and carry out military operations: at any given moment, the US military should be able to respond to any military conflict, we have a plan for everything
when was the dept of defense and the joint chiefs of staff created?
national security act of 1947
what was the goldwater nichols act of 1986?
- chair of JCS is the sole military advisor to the president and the national security council (there used to be too many voices on military issues which led to military inefficiencies)
- the chair of the JCS is removed from the chain of command, cannot give orders, only advice
- created combatant command regions across the world
- makes service on the JCS mandatory for high level officers
- created special operations control, concerns special forces
- dealt with coordination problems and centralized power
what is the structure of the department of defense?
1. secretary of defense: chief advisor to the president, implements policies and conducts internal affairs
2. office of the secretary of defense, dept of army, navy, air force, JCS
what are some criticisms of the dept of defense?
- interservice rivalry: pursuing own goals, no unified strategy despite goldwater nichols reforms
- sharing of information is difficult between departments
- media relationship can be tenuous in times of war
- duplication: overlap in jobs of each branch of the military. ex) each branch has own aviation wing
- resistant to change: the future is always uncertain, resistant to dramatic changes
- waste and inefficient: affects military's readiness and safety, overpays for weapons
- civil military relations are rocky
- funding: very focused on $ and will go to great lengths to protect funding
what are the types of intelligence?
1. signals: info from electronic signals by plane, satellite, ground. ex) intercepting phone calls
2. photo imagery: by plane, satellite, or drone
ex) during cuban missile crisis
3. human intel: agents in foreign countries, stealing documents, planting sensors, just observing
4. open source intel: publicly available, may help place intel that is gathered in other forms
intelligence vs intelligence analysis
intelligence: info that has been collected, refined, and provided to policymakers to meet their needs in the foreign policy process
intelligence analysis: collecting, analyzing, and communicating information that is relevant to foreign policy makers
what are the functions of the intelligence community?
1. informing policy: information goes to policymakers, either responding to or taking the initiative to give intel where you see fit
2. provide advance warning to prevent surprises
3. preventing theft of US secrets: counter intelligence, protecting from other states intelligence agencies:
what are outside agents trying to do in the US? also can feed false info to their agencies
4. covert operations: an option between diplomacy and military actions
how did the national security act of 1947 affect the CIA?
the CIA became the new leader of the intelligence community
- director of central intelligence had great influence with the president
what are the national intelligence organizations?
1. central intelligence agency: created by the national security act of 1947, analysis, spying, covert operations
2. national security agency: deals with signal intelligence, head of the department is not known
3. national reconnaissance office: oversees research and development of satellites to identify information about US threats
4. national geospatial intelligence agency: works closely with NRO, takes their data and creates images
what are the department of defense intelligence agencies?
1. defense intelligence agency: created because of bay of pigs, didn't trust CIA, DoD wanted its own organization, it is the voice of the military on intelligence issues
2. military service intelligence organizations: looks at tactics and capabilities of military adversaries
what are the civilian intelligence agencies?
state: bureau of intelligence and research - gets reports from diplomatic channels, works to make sure state dept policy is in line with intelligence
energy: office of intelligence and counterintelligence: looks at foreign nuclear development
homeland security: office of intelligence and analysis: looks at terrorists, their weapons and techniques
justice dept: DEA and FBI
what does the director of national intelligence do?
(after the intelligence reform and terrorism prevention act of 2004) their job is to make sure intelligence gets shared to the proper channels to ensure maximum coordination
develops and executes the budget for the intelligence community
what are the challenges to the intelligence community?
- coordination
- Producer/consumer problems: consumers can be overwhelmed with intelligence and may ignore information that contradicts their point of view
3. variation in intelligence success: signal vs noise problems
4. concerns about covert operations: post 9/11- public backlash about human rights violations in guantanamo bay
director of national intelligence vs director of central intelligence
DNI - created after 9/11 to increase info sharing, gets budget authority
DCI - appointed, created by national security act of 1947 to head the intelligence community, advise the president, and advise the national security council
Sets with similar terms