Chapter 18: Politics and National Security Flashcards
Foreign policy (definition) is
The sum of the goals, decisions, and actions that govern a nation’s relation with the rest of the world
Three components of U.S Foreign Policy
1) Economic component: Foreign aid and Economic sanction
2) Diplomatic component
3) Military component
National policy (definition) is
The basic protection and defense of the nation
The president is both the
Leading diplomat and Commander-in-Chief
The president has the advantage in foreign policy because he has access to
Top secret information not available to anyone else open to anyone else
The Powell Doctrine: The U.S should use military force only:
1) In support of vital national interests
2) If forces are committed, they must have clearly defined military objectives, the destruction of enemy forces and/or the capture of enemy-held territory
3) U.S forces must have sufficient strength to ensure an overwhelming and decisive victory with the fewest possible casualties
4) Before committing to U.S forces, there must be reasonable assurances the effort is supported by America and Congress
5) The use of military force should be a last resort
According to Karl von Clausewitz, military force may be used to
Protect interests that are important, but not necessarily vital
According to Hans Morgenthau, a demonstration of a nation’s military strength serves to
Impress others with that power
According to the view of Clausewitz and Morgenthau, the express or implied threat of military force is needed to
Accomplish diplomatic objectives
Consistent with this view, U.S military forces must be prepared to:
1) Demonstrate U.S resolve in a crisis and support democratic government
2) Protecting U.S citizens living abroad
3) Peacemaking among warring factions or nations
4) Peacemaking, where hostile factions or nations have accepted a peace agreement
5) Providing humanitarian aid under warlike conditions
6) Assisting in an international war against drug trafficking
U.S policy to prevent an enemy to
Expanding its boundaries and/or influence
This was the major U.S foreign policy during
The Cold War to contain the Soviet Union
The Marshall Plan 1947: The U.S program to
Rebuild the economies of the nation of Western Europe after World War II to prevent the spread of communism
Cost $13.3 billion at the time. In today’s dollar, that would equal
$43.5 billion
America pledged to
“Support free people who are resisting” internal or external threats to their freedom
A nation can dissuade a rational enemy from attacking by
Maintaining the ability to destroy the enemy’s homeland even after the nation has suffered a surprise attack by the enemy
Second-strike Capability: A deterrence is based on
A nation maintaining a second-strike capability
The ability of a nation’s forces to survive a surprise nuclear attack by
The enemy and then to retaliate effectively
President George W. Bush’s foreign policy is
Strike First (A.K.A, the Bush Doctrine)
The policy is to pursue, apprehend, and kill terrorists worldwide and stop their
Financing funding and attack countries aiding terrorist organizations
Strike First increased importance on:
1) Having a flexible and rapid military response
2) Accurate intelligence
3) Convert activities
The Obama Doctrine’s characteristics:
1) Emphasis on sanctions to pressure enemies
2) Use of economic aid to address specific crises
3) Supportive role to countries in the Middle East combating terrorists
4) Emphasis on diplomacy,not military pressure
President Trump’s Foreign Policy characteristics:
1) Increasing defense spending
2) Rebuilding and modernizing American military strength
3) Aggressively combating international terrorism
4) Working with allies and partners to confront our enemies
5) Restoring American leadership in the Middle East
The Cold War Begins: In 1946, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill warned the U.S that
The Soviets were dividing Europe with an “Iron Curtain” and this statement signed the start of the Cold War
The Cold War: The political, military, and ideological struggle between the
U.S and the Soviet Union following the end of World War II and ending with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991
The United Nation began in 1945 with the U.S and other world power in an attempt to
Resolve disputes by allowing its members to vote on a proposed course of action
Major Bodies of the United Nations: The Security Council:
1) The Security Council
2) Permanent Members: the U.S, Russia, Britain, France, and China
3) Any of these can veto any action taken by the Security Council
4) Primary Responsibility: maintain international peace and security
The General Assembly: Composed of all member nations, each with one vote. Generally, most resolutions require a
Majority vote to pass
The U.N Modernly: There is currently
196 member nations, most headed by anti-democratic regimes
Western democracies are outnumbered by
Anti-democratic regimes
The United Nation must rely on
The U.S to enforce its resolutions
The United Nations has been riddled by
Scandals which has harmed its reputation
The belief that all nations would join together to
Guarantee each other’s territorial integrity and existing political independence against external aggression by any nation
Collective security is
What the United Nation is based on
In 1949, the U.S and many of the nations of Western Europe formed, what?
NATO (The North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
It is the first and most important collective security pact whose members pledged to
Defend each other if attacked
Regional alliances between
A superpower and nations of a particular region
NATO is based on
This concept (Regional security)
In 1998, the former Soviet-dominated countries of Poland, Hungry, and the Czech Republic were admitted to
NATO and currently has 29 member-nations
The Cuban Missile Crisis
Was the most serious threat of nuclear war
The Cuban Missile Crisis involved the
The Soviet Union placed nuclear missiles in Cuba
President Kennedy ordered
A naval blockade of Cuba
Secretary Kennedy and Soviet leader Khrushchev agreed to
Withdraw U.S nuclear missiles from Turkey in exchange for Soviet withdrawal of nuclear missiles from Cuba
The Vietnam War began in
1961 (U.S involved) and the last 25 years. 47,378 U.S battle deaths and/or missing in action
According to the document U.S Period of Wars and Dates of Recent Conflicts prepared by
Congressional Research Service member
In response to the South Vietnamese communist guerrilla forces (the Vietcong) threatening the South Vietnamese government, President Kennedy sent
Counterinsurgency forces
Vietcong (Southern Vietnam) ask to
Stabilized the government
The U.S sent more than
500,000 troops
In 1968, the Vietcong launched attacks against
All major cities in South Vietnam
During the attack, the Vietcong held
The U.S embassy for six hours
These attacks were known as
The Tet Offensive
The U.S military response to the
Tet Offensive was a military success,
But, it was a major political victory for the communists because
It seemed to mock President Johnson’s promises of an early end to the war
Soon after the Tet Offensive, President Johnson announced
The bombing of North Vietnam would stop, and peace talks would start
The North Vietnamese refused to give any concessions, the talks stopped, and President Nixon
Unleased a devastating attack on five North Vietnamese cities, including its capital for the first time
January 27th, 1973: The Paris Peace Accords are
Signed
The North Vietnamese agreed to the terms of the U.S, and the South Vietnamese had
Earlier worked out, and the White House declares this is “Victory in Vietnam Day.”
January 28th, 1973:
Cease fire
Two years later, the North Vietnamese again attacked South Vietnam, and the U.S refused to
Provide emergency military aid and abandoned the region
January 27th, 1973:
Signing of Paris Peace Agreement
February 12th, 1973:
Operation Homecoming brings home 591 American prisoners of war
March 29th, 1973:
Last American troops leave Vietnam
August 16th, 1973:
The U.S. bombing of Cambodia ends, and the last U.S combat activity in Southeast Asia
December 13th, 1974:
North Vietnam wins decisively Battle of Phuoc Long and concluded that American involvement has ended
April 11th, 1975:
President Ford begs Congress for $722 million and Congress refuses
April 30th, 1975:
North Vietnamese tanks crashed gates of the Imperial Palace (The fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese)
America was humiliated by
The North Vietnamese reinvasion of South Vietnam and the U.S. evacuation from the region
The Vietnam Syndrome: A new isolationism permeated
American foreign policy following U.S involvement in the Vietnam War
Some Americans became reluctant to
Use military intervention whether or not the U.S vital interests were at stake
This led to Americans being unwilling to
Believe their leaders when they warned of dangers
President Reagan greatly
Increased defense spending, improved strategies, nuclear weapon rebuilding, and reequipping the U.S conventional forces, and began a sophisticated ballistics missile defense system
The Collapse of the Soviet Union 1991 (Contributing Factors)
The arms race grew under Presidents Reagan and George H.W Bush
The Soviet Economy was on
The verge of collapse
President Reagan provided aided
Lech Walesa, the leader of Poland’s independence movement
Reagan challenged the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s response to
President Reagan’s challenge to tear down the Berlin Wall
Communist hardliners in the military and the KGB attempted to
Forcibly remove Gorbachev
Boris Yeltsin led
The democratic resistance in aiding Gorbachev stand down the attempted coup
Yeltsin emerged as
Most powerful leader of the nation
Strong independence movements emerged in
The nations under communist control
All fifteen republics of the Soviet Union declared their
Independence
After December 25th, 1991, the Soviet Union
Ceased to exist
Al Qaeda attacked the
World Trade Center and the Pentagon
Al Qaeda is a network of
Terrorist cells organized by wealthy Saudi Arabian Osama bin Laden
Its political grievances include America’s support of Israel,
American presence in Islamic holy lands, and notably in Saudi Arabia
Al Qaeda attacks on American interests around the globe are as follow:
1) August 7th, 1998: Car bombs destroy embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
2) October 12th, 2000: Rubber boat filled with explosives detonates next to USS Cole in Yemen
3) September 11th, 2001
On October 7th, 2001, the U.S began attacks on
Al Qaeda based in Afghanistan and against the Taliban regime
President Bush ordered
Military intervention against Iraq
Following the successful military invasion, the prolonged U.S. occupation eroded
U.S political support
The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) signed by
President Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev
SALT is the first treaty between the U.S and the Soviet Union to
Limit the total number of offensive nuclear missiles
ABM Treaty: The U.S and the Soviet Union agreed not to
Build or deploy anti-ballistic missiles
ABM Treaty signed by
President Nixon and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Breznev
SALT II set an overall limit on
Strategic nuclear launch vehicles
SALT II limited the number of
Missiles that could have multiple warhead (MIRVs)
Strategies Arms Reduction Treaty (START 1) was the first treaty between the superpowers to
Reduce the number of strategic nuclear weapons
START 1, signed by
President George H.W Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on July 31st, 1991
START 2 eliminated all
Multi-warhead (MIRV ed) land-based missiles
START 2 limited each country to
3500 strategic warheads
START 2 treaty provided the hope to
Eliminate a first strike capability by either country
The Treaty of Moscow calls for an
Overall limit of nuclear warhead at 1700-2200 by 2012
The Treaty of Moscow says that each country can
Determine the composition and structure of its strategic forces consistent with this limit
The Treaty of Moscow, signed by
President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2002
The New Start Treaty limits
The number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads to 1550 and limit each country to 700 missiles and bombers
The New Start Treaty signed by
President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in 2010
Nuclear Terrorism threats from non-deterrable sources are increasing. These are estimated to be:
1) Missiles launched by a terrorist nation
2) Unauthorized missile launches by terrorist organizations
3) Accidental missiles launches
Ballistic Missile Defense Systems defending against terrorist missile attacks requires
The development and deployment of ballistics missile defense systems, weapons capable of detecting, intercepting, and destroying ballistics while they are in flight
