NSC Flashcards
Federalist paper 23:
- essay by Alexander Hamilton
- attempts to justify the increased strength of the federal government under the proposed US Constitution compared to the Articles of Confederation
- this paper is entitled “the Necessity of a Government as energetic as the one proposed to the preservation of the union”
- Anti-federalists (critics of the constitution), opposed the expansion of federal power, brought counter arguments against Hamilton’s position
Federalist paper 29:
- essay published by Hamilton
- titled “Concerning the Militia”
- Hamilton states that a well-regulated militia composed of the people will be more uniform and beneficial to the “public defense” of Americans. He argues that an excessively large militia can harm a nation’s work force, as not everyone can leave their profession to go through military exercises. Thus, a smaller, but still well-regulated militia, is the answer.
- Hamilton concludes that the militia, as it is constituted directly of the people and managed by the states, is not a danger to liberty when called into use by other states to do things such as quell insurrections.
Federalist Paper 70:
- essay written by Hamilton
- Titled “the executive department further considered”
- Hamilton argues that unity in the executive branch is a main ingredient for both energy and safety. Energy arises from the proceedings of a single person, characterized by, “decision, activity, secrecy, and dispatch,” while safety arises from the unitary executive’s unconcealed accountability to the people.
Federalist paper 74:
- essay by Hamilton
- Its title is “The Command of the Military and Naval Forces, and the Pardoning Power of the Executive”
- Hamilton justifies the President’s status as the commander of the militia, as well as the President’s power to grant pardons
US Constitution:
- originally comprising seven articles, delineates the national frame of government. Its first three articles entrench the doctrine of the separation of powers, whereby the federal government is divided into three branches: executive, judicial and legislative
- In general, the first ten amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, offer specific protections of individual liberty and justice and place restrictions on the powers of government.
- The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States. Under the Articles of Confederation, the central government’s power was quite limited. The Confederation Congress could make decisions, but lacked enforcement powers. Implementation of most decisions, including modifications to the Articles, required unanimous approval of all thirteen state legislatures.
Washington’s Farewell Address:
• Looking at the world, we’re young, it’s young we have to worry about attachments and aversions to foreign powers; they got their own dynamics in Europe and we don’t want to be a part of that. Lets work on us and not get caught up in these attachments and aversions
• Warns us how to conduct ourselves
• The way he lead is reflected in the document
First public expression of NS at that time
Definitions of National Security
• National Security is a term thrown around to describe threats that we are facing at the time
• The thought of who we are and that we want to preserve ourselves
• What is most central to our way of life is the constitutional republic and we want it to endure all enemies throughout time
o Respects the rights of individuals as the sovereign of that nation
State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee:
• a federal committee created in 12/1944 to address the political-military issues involved in the occupation of the Axis powers following the end of WWII
was an important pre-cursor to the NSC, and represents the most successful integration of military and civilian assets in the history of US Foreign Policy
Ferdinand Eberstadt and James Forestall
• Ferdinand:
o Important policy advisor to the US government who was instrumental in the creation of the NSC
o The Eberstadt report identified a serious lack of coordination between the CIA, FBI, State, and military intel services- the report led to the creation of the NSC
• James:
o Cabinet-level US Secretary of the navy and the first Sec Def.
o Help developed the NS Act of 1947 that created the National Military establishment
National Security Act of 1947
• a massive restructuring of the governments military and intel agencies following WWII
• merged the Department of War (now the Department of the Army) and the Department of the Navy into the National Military Establishment.
• Also created the Department of the Air Force
• Established the NSC; a central place of coordination for NS policy in the executive branch and the CIA
o The council’s function was to advise the president on domestic, foreign, and military policies, and to ensure cooperation between the various military and intelligence agencies
o Established the Joint Chief of Staff
• The act was a major component of Truman’s Cold War Strategy
Truman Doctrine
- US Foreign Policy to Stop soviet imperialism during the Cold War
- Announced on 3/1947- when he pledged to contain Soviet threats to Greece and Turkey
- Truman Doctrine implied American support for other nations threatened by Soviet communism
- Became the foundation of American foreign policy: led to the formation of NATO- a military alliance still in effect to this day
Marshall Plan
• an American initiative to aid Western Europe • the US gave $13 billion in economic support to help rebuild Western Europe economies after the end of WWII • goals: o rebuild war-devastated regions o remove trade barriers o modernize industry o make Europe prosperous again o prevent the spread of communism
NSC 68
- top-secret policy paper by the NSC presented to Truman in April 1950
- one of the most important statements of American policy in the cold War
- “provided the blueprint for the militarization of the Cold War from 1950 to the collapse of the Soviet Union at the beginning of the 1990s.”
- advocated a large expansion in the military budget of the United States, the development of a hydrogen bomb, and increased military aid to allies of the United States. It made the containment of global Communist expansion a high priority. NSC-68 rejected the alternative policies of friendly détente or aggressive rollback of the Soviet Union.
Operations Coordination Board
- committee of the ES Executive created in 1953 by Eisenhower’s Executive Order 10483v
- the board which reported to the NSC was responsible for integrating the implementation of national security policy across several agencies
- board was abolished in 1961 by JFK
Massive Retaliation
- a military doctrine and nuclear strategy in which a state commits itself to retaliate in much greater force in the event of an attack
- goal: to deter another state from initially attacking. For it to work, it must be made public knowledge to all possible aggressors
- The aggressor also must believe that the state announcing the policy has the ability to maintain second-strike capability in the event of an attack. It must also believe that the defending state is willing to go through with the deterrent threat, which would likely involve the use of nuclear weapons on a massive scale.
Flexible Response
- defense strategy implemented by JFK in 1961
- implemented to address Kennedy’s skepticism of Eisenhower’s New Look and its Massive Retaliation Policy
- Flexible response calls for mutual deterrence at strategic, tactical, and conventional levels, giving the US the capability to respond to aggression across the spectrum of warfare and not just limiting it to nuclear arms
Bay of Pigs Invasion
- a failed military invasion of Cuba undertaken by the CIA in 1961
- A counter-revolutionary military, trained and funded by the United States government’s CIA Brigade 2506 fronted the armed wing of the Democratic Revolutionary Front (DRF) and intended to overthrow the increasingly communist government of Fidel Castro. Launched from Guatemala, the invading force was defeated within three days by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces under the direct command of Prime Minister Fidel Castro.
- Castro, which severed the country’s formerly strong links with the US after expropriating the assets of US corporations and mobsters, and developing links with the Soviet Union, with whom, at the time, the United States was engaged in the Cold War
Cuban Missile Crisis: 1962
- confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba.
- It played out on television worldwide and was the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war.
Containment
- A military strategy to stop the expansion of an enemy
- Best knows as the Cold War policy of the US and its allies to stop the spread of communism abroad
- This policy was a response to moves by the USSR to spread communist influence in Eastern Europe, China, Korea, Africa and Vietnam
- Represented a middle ground position between détente and rollback
Détente: 1969
• the easing of geo-political tensions between the USSR and the US
• Nixon and Ford called it a “thawing out” or “un-freezing”
• The period was characterized by the signing of treaties:
o SALT 1
o Helsinki Accords
• the two superpowers agreed to install a direct hotline between Washington D.C. and Moscow, enabling leaders of both countries to quickly interact with each other in a time of urgency, and reduce the chances that future crises could escalate into an all-out war.
• Détente ended after the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan
Rollback
- the strategy of forcing change in the major policies of a state, by replacing its ruling regime.
- Reagan instituted a successful rollback strategy against the USSR in the 1980’s
Enlargement
- In between engagement and isolationism
- NATO
- Post-Cold War; taking in the countries of Easter Europe
- Implications: buffer against Soviet expansion
- Consequences: take on a lot more problems
Isolationism
- assertion that a nation’s best interest is best served by keeping the affairs of other countries at a distance
- one possible motivation for limiting international involvement is to avoid being draw into dangerous and otherwise undesirable conflicts
Realism
• a school of thought in IR based on 4 central propositions: o political groupism o egoism o international anarchy o and power politics
Neo-Conservatism
- a political movement in the US starting in the 1960’s among democrats who became disenchanted with the party’s domestic and foreign policy
- advocate the promotion of democracy and promotion of American national interest in international affairs, including by means of military force
- ex: paul wolfowitz
exceptionalism
- the perception that a country, society, institution, movement, or time period is exceptional in some way and does not need to conform to normal rules or general principles
- today it is applied to national or regional exceptionalism
pre-emption
- Preemptive: when there’s an imminent attack; Caroline Doctrine
- Consideration of a harm that would occur if the attack were allowed to commence
- Probability attack will occur based on sound evidence
- Availability of Non-forcible means of response: can you respond to this perceived to this eminent threat based on use of force
- Ex: Israel in the 6 Day War
Nixon Doctrine
- put forth during a press conference in Guam on July 25,1969
- formalized in his speech on Vietnamization
- Nixon stated that “the United States would assist in the defense and developments of allies and friends,” but would not “undertake all the defense of the free nations of the world.”
- This doctrine meant that each ally nation was in charge of its own security in general, but the United States would act as a nuclear umbrella when requested. The Doctrine argued for the pursuit of peace through a partnership with American allies.
SALT I and II
• The Strategic Arms Limitations Talks were two rounds of bilateral conferences and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union on the issue of armament control
• SALT I:
- May 26, 1972
- SALT I froze the number of strategic ballistic missile launchers at existing levels and provided for the addition of new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) launchers only after the same number of older intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and SLBM launchers had been dismantled. SALT I also limited land-based ICBMs that were in range from the northeastern border of the continental United States to the northwestern border of the continental USSR.
SALT II
•
o a series of talks between United States and Soviet negotiators from 1972 to 1979 which sought to curtail the manufacture of strategic nuclear weapons.
o The SALT II Treaty banned new missile programs (a new missile defined as one with any key parameter 5% better than in currently deployed missiles), so both sides were forced to limit their new strategic missile types development.
o an agreement to limit strategic launchers was reached in Vienna on June 18, 1979, and was signed by Brezhnev and Carter.
o Six months after the signing, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, and in September of the same year, the United States discovered that a Soviet combat brigade was stationed in Cuba.
Goldwater-Nichols Legislation
• The Goldwater–Nichols Act was an attempt to fix problems caused by inter-service rivalry, which had emerged during the Vietnam War, contributed to the catastrophic failure of the Iranian hostage rescue mission in 1980, and which were still evident in the invasion of Grenada in 1983.
War Powers Resolution
- 1973
- a federal law intended to check the president’s power to commit the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of the US Congress
- provides that POTUS can send armed force into action abroad only by declaration of war by congress “statutory authorization,” or in case of “a national emergency created by attack upon the US, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces”
IRTPA of 2004
- intelligence reform and terrorism prevention act of 2004
- This act established both the position of Director of National Intelligence (DNI), the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), and the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.
- The IRTPA requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to take over the conducting of pre-flight comparisons of airline passenger information to Federal Government watch lists for international and domestic flights.
Strategic Defense Initiative
- a proposed missile defense system intended to protect the US from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons
- was to combine ground-based units and orbital deployment platforms
- set up in 1984 within in the DOD to oversee the SDI
New World Order
- has been used to refer to any new period of history evidencing a dramatic change in world political thought and the balance of power.
- it is primarily associated with the ideological notion of global governance only in the sense of new collective efforts to identify, understand, or address worldwide problems that go beyond the capacity of individual nation-states to solve.
• State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee
o was a United States federal government committee created in December 1944 to address the political-military issues involved in the occupation of the Axis powers following the end of World War II.
o SWNCC was an important precursor to the National Security Council, and represents perhaps the most successful integration of military and civilian assets in the history of U.S. foreign policy. As a result, it has received renewed scrutiny in the wake of the Iraq War as the U.S. government attempts to overhaul its interagency national security system.[1]
o During World War II, interagency coordination had been largely informal and mediated by president Roosevelt, but recognizing the need for deeper integration, theSecretary of State, Secretary of War, and Secretary of the Navy began holding weekly meetings to work through shared problems. However, the so-called “Committee of Three” had no specific mandate or authority, and this weakness became apparent as the war moved toward its conclusions and the details of occupation planning began to occupy the various departments.
• Ferdinand Eberstadt and James Forestall
o James Vincent Forrestal (February 15, 1892 – May 22, 1949) was the last Cabinet-level United States Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense.
Ferdinand A. Eberstadt (June 19, 1890 – November 11, 1969) was an American lawyer, investment banker, and an important policy advisor to the United States government who was instrumental in the creation of the National Security Council.
• National Security Act of 1947; and amendments
o The National Security Act of 1947 was a major restructuring of the United States government’s military and intelligence agencies following World War II. The majority of the provisions of the Act took effect on September 18, 1947, the day after the Senate confirmed James Forrestal as the first Secretary of Defense. His power was initially limited and it was difficult for him to exercise the authority to make his office effective. This was later changed in the amendment to the act in 1949, creating what was to be the Department of Defense.
o The Act merged the Department of War (renamed as the Department of the Army) and the Department of the Navy into the National Military Establishment (NME), headed by the Secretary of Defense. It also created the Department of the Air Force, which separated the Army Air Forces into its own service. Initially, each of the three service secretaries maintained quasi-cabinet status, but the act was amended on August 10, 1949, to ensure their subordination to the Secretary of Defense. At the same time, the NME was renamed as the Department of Defense. The purpose was to unify the Army, Navy, and Air Force into a federated structure.
o Aside from the military reorganization, the act established the National Security Council, a central place of coordination for national security policy in the executive branch, and the Central Intelligence Agency, the U.S.’s first peacetime intelligence agency. The council’s function was to advise the president on domestic, foreign, and military policies, and to ensure cooperation between the various military and intelligence agencies.
o The Joint Chiefs of Staff was officially established under Title II, Section 211 of the original National Security Act of 1947 before Sections 209–214 of Title II were repealed by the law enacting Title 10 and Title 32, United States Code (Act of August 10, 1956, 70A Stat. 676) to replace them.
o The act and its changes, along with the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, were major components of the Truman administration’s Cold War strategy.
o The bill signing took place aboard Truman’s VC-54C presidential aircraft Sacred Cow, the first aircraft used for the role of Air Force One.
• Truman Doctrine
o The Truman Doctrine was an American foreign policy to stop Soviet imperialism during the Cold War. It was announced to Congress by President Harry S. Truman on March 12, 1947 when he pledged to contain Soviet threats to Greece and Turkey. No American military force was involved; instead Congress appropriated a free gift of financial aid to support the economies and the militaries of Greece and Turkey. More generally, the Truman doctrine implied American support for other nations threatened by Soviet communism. The Truman Doctrine became the foundation of American foreign policy, and led in 1949 to the formation of NATO, a full-fledged military alliance that is in effect to this day. Historians often use Truman’s speech to date the start of the Cold War.
o Truman told Congress that “it must be the policy of the United States to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” Truman reasoned, because these “totalitarian regimes” coerced “free peoples”, they represented a threat to international peace and the national security of the United States. Truman made the plea amid the crisis of the Greek Civil War (1946–49). He argued that if Greece and Turkey did not receive the aid that they urgently needed, they would inevitably fall to communism with grave consequences throughout the region. Because Turkey and Greece were historic rivals, it was necessary to help both equally, even though the threat to Greece was more immediate. Eric Foner argues, the Truman Doctrine “set a precedent for American assistance to anticommunist regimes throughout the world, no matter how undemocratic, and for the creation of a set of global military alliances directed against the Soviet Union.”
o For years Britain had supported Greece, but was now near bankruptcy and was forced to radically reduce its involvement. In February 1947, Britain formally requested the United States take over its role in supporting the Greek government. The policy won the support of Republicans who controlled Congress and involved sending $400 million in American money, but no military forces, to the region. The effect was to end the Communist threat, and in 1952 both Greece and Turkey joined NATO, a military alliance that guaranteed their protection.
o The Doctrine was informally extended to become the basis of American Cold War policy throughout Europe and around the world. It shifted American foreign policy toward the Soviet Union from détente (a relaxation of tension) to a policy of containment of Soviet expansion as advocated by diplomat George Kennan. It avoided the policy of rollback because it implicitly tolerated the previous Soviet takeovers in Eastern Europe.
• Marshall Plan
o The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative to aid Western Europe, in which the United States gave $13 billion (approximately $130 billion in current dollar value as of August 2015) in economic support to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1947. The goals of the United States were to rebuild war-devastated regions, remove trade barriers, modernize industry, make Europe prosperous again, and prevent the spread of communism. The Marshall Plan required a lessening of interstate barriers, a dropping of many petty regulations constraining business, and encouraged an increase in productivity, labor union membership, as well as the adoption of modern business procedures.
o The Marshall Plan aid was divided amongst the participant states roughly on a per capita basis. A larger amount was given to the major industrial powers, as the prevailing opinion was that their resuscitation was essential for general European revival. Somewhat more aid per capita was also directed towards the Allied nations, with less for those that had been part of the Axis or remained neutral. The largest recipient of Marshall Plan money was the United Kingdom (receiving about 26% of the total), followed by France (18%) and West Germany (11%). Some 18 European countries received Plan benefits. Although offered participation, the Soviet Union refused Plan benefits, and also blocked benefits to Eastern Bloc countries, such as East Germany and Poland. The United States provided similar aid programs in Asia, but they were not called “Marshall Plan”.
o The initiative is named after Secretary of State George Marshall. The plan had bipartisan support in Washington, where the Republicans controlled Congress and the Democrats controlled the White House with Harry S. Truman as president. The Plan was largely the creation of State Department officials, especially William L. Clayton and George F. Kennan, with help from Brookings Institution, as requested by Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Marshall spoke of an urgent need to help the European recovery in his address at Harvard University in June 1947.[1] The purpose of the Marshall Plan was to aid in the economic recovery of nations after WWII as well as to antagonize the Soviet Union. By providing economic assistance to nations including the USSR, the United States was informing nations of the squalid and depraved conditions that they lived in. In order to combat the effects of the Marshall Plan, the USSR developed and forcefully imposed its own economic plan, known as the Molotov Plan
o The phrase “equivalent of the Marshall Plan” is often used to describe a proposed large-scale economic rescue program.
• NSC 68
o National Security Council Report 68 (NSC-68) was a 58-paged top secret policy paper issued by the United States National Security Council on April 14, 1950, during the presidency of Harry S. Truman. It was one of the most significant statements of American policy in the Cold War. NSC-68 largely shaped U.S. foreign policy in the Cold War for the next 20 years, and involved a decision to increase the pressure of Containment against global Communist expansion a high priority. It rejected the alternative policies of friendly Détente or aggressive Rollback
• NATO Alliance
o North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a military alliance signed in 1949 by 16 countries: Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Luxembourg, United States, and Canada. The purpose of NATO is the joint defense of all its members and the peaceful coexistence with all nations; it regards an attack upon any one member as an attack upon all members. NATO currently has 29 member states.
• Operations Coordination Board
o The Operations Coordinating Board was a committee of the United States Executive created in 1953 by President Eisenhower’s Executive Order 10483. The board, which reported to the National Security Council was responsible for integrating the implementation of national security policies across several agencies.
o The board’s membership was to include the Under Secretary of State, who was to chair the board, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Director of the Foreign Operations Administration, the Director of Central Intelligence, and the President’s Special Assistant for Psychological Warfare. Also authorized to attend were the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs and the Director of the United States Information Agency.
o The creation of the board was a recommendation of the Jackson Committee, chaired by William Harding Jackson, set-up to propose future United States Government information and psychological warfare programs. The same committee recommended the existing Psychological Strategy Board be abolished.
o The Operations Coordinating Board was abolished by President Kennedy on February 19, 1961.
• Massive Retaliation
o Also known as massive response or massive deterrence, is a military doctrine and nuclear strategy in which a state commits itself to retaliate in much greater force in the event of an attack.
• Flexible Response
o A nuclear strategy implemented by John F. Kennedy in 1961 to develop several options, other than the nuclear option, for quickly dealing with enemy aggression. The strategy sought to target an enemy’s military force first, not its civilian population. It hoped to provide a genuine alternative to the ‘suicide or surrender dilemma of Massive Retaliation strategy’.
• EXCOM
o The Executive Committee of the National Security Council (commonly referred to as simply the Executive Committee or ExComm) was a body of United States government officials that convened to advise President John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. It was composed of the regular members of the National Security Council, along with other men whose advice the President deemed useful during the crisis. EXCOMM was formally established by National Security Action Memorandum 196 on October 22, 1962. It was made up of twelve full members in addition to the president. Advisers frequently sat in on the meetings, which were held in the Cabinet Room of the White House’s West Wing and secretly recorded by tape machines activated by Kennedy. None of the other committee members knew the meetings were being recorded, save for possibly the president’s brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.
• Bay of Pigs
o Known in Hispanic America as Bahia De Cochinos, was an unsuccessful military invasion of Cuba undertaken by the CIA-sponsored paramilitary group Brigade 2506 on 17 April 1961. A counter-revolutionary military trained and funded by the United States government’s CIA, Brigade 2506 fronted the armed wing of the Democratic Revolutionary Front and intended to overthrow the revolutionary left wing government of Fidel Castro. Launched from Guatemala, the invading force was defeated within three days by the Cuban armed forces, under the direct command of Prime Minister Fidel Castro.
• Cuban Missile Crisis
o Known as the October crisis in Cuba and the Caribbean crisis in the former USSR- was a 13-day confrontation in October 1962 between the Soviet Union and Cuba on one side and the United States on the other side. The crisis is generally regarded as the moment in which the Cold War came closest to turning into a nuclear conflict, and is also the first documented instance of mutual assured destruction being discussed as a determining factor in a major international arms agreement.
• Containment
o A US Foreign Policy using military, economic, and diplomatic strategies to contain the spread of Communism, enhance America’s security and influence abroad, and prevent a “domino effect”. One of the most successful long-term U.S. foreign policies. Containment is usually credited to George Kennan and his Long Telegram and was formally announced as US policy y Truman in 1947 in the Truman Doctrine.
• Détente
o The relaxation of strained relations or tensions (as between nations); A policy toward a rival nation or bloc characterized by increased diplomatic, commercial, and cultural contact and a desire to reduce tensions, as through negotiation or talks. Détente presupposes that the two powers will continue to disagree but seeks to reduce the occasions of conflict. The US adopted a policy of détente towards the Soviet Union in the 1970s. It was a strategic blunder as the Soviets used that time to either catch or create alarming disparities in nuclear arsenals and vital weapons systems. It ended with the election of Ronald Reagan to the presidency.
• Rollback
o A term used by American foreign policy thinkers during the Cold War. It was defined as using military force to “roll back” communism in countries where it had taken root. These attempts began as early as 1945 with attempts in Eastern Europe, including attempts to provide weapons to independence fighters in the Baltic States and Ukraine. The most elaborate effort was against Albania, where a trained force of guerillas were landed by the Americans. The people failed to support these fighters, however, and they were mostly captured or killed.
• Engagement
o Engagement is applied in diplomacy as a synonym for a wider range of more specific practices of contact between an international actor and a foreign public, including public diplomacy, communication and the deployment of international aid. It is associated with the approach to foreign policy that some have dubbed smart power. It was the title of a 2008 anthology of essays on the future of public diplomacy published by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
o Since January 2009 it has been widely used by the administration of President Barack Obama in the United States. In May 2009 the Obama administration announced the creation of a unit within the National Security Council responsible for coordinating diplomacy, aid and international communication called the Global Engagement Directive.
o Variations on ‘Engagement’ include ‘Strategic Public Engagement’ which was first seen in June 2009 in a report by the Washington-based Think Tank Center for a New American Security entitled Beyond Bullets: A Pragmatic Strategy to Combat Violent Islamist Extremism.
o The term engagement is used in both military and marketing contexts and thus has the advantage for the Obama administration of reassuring both these constituencies. Other terms might imply less neutrality or greater continuity with the approach of previous administration.
• Isolationism
o The policy or doctrine of isolating one’s country from the affairs of other nations by declining to enter into alliances, foreign economic commitments, international agreements, etc… seeking to devote the entire efforts of one’s country to its own advancement and remain at peace by avoiding foreign entanglements and responsibilities.
• Realism
o Realism is a school of thought in international relations theory based on four central propositions, namely Political Groupism,Egoism, International anarchy and Power politics. Realpolitikal diplomacy first came to be known through the works ofThomas Hobbes and Niccolò Machiavelli, but it was not until Hans Morgenthau that scholars began to study such theory methodically, with Realism emerging as an international relations-based approach in the inter-war years of the 20th century. As the theories began to anchor themselves in international relations studies throughout the 20th century, branches began to emerge such as classical realism, neorealism, defensive realism, offensive realism, and neoclassical realism.
o Realism is often associated with Realpolitik as both are based on the management of the pursuit, possession, and application of power. Realpolitik, however, is an older prescriptive guideline limited to policy-making (like foreign policy), while Realism is a particular paradigm, or wider theoretical and methodological framework, aimed at describing, explaining and, eventually, predicting events in the international relations domain. The theories of Realism are contrasted by the cooperative ideals of Liberalism.
• Neo-Conservatism
o Neo-conservatism (commonly shortened to neocon) is a political movement born in the United States during the 1960s among Democrats who became disenchanted with the party’s domestic and especially foreign policy. Many of its adherents became politically famous during the Republican presidential administrations of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Neoconservatives peaked in influence during the administrations of George W. Bush, George H W Bush and Tony Blair, when they played a major role in promoting and planning the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Prominent neoconservatives in the Bush administration included Paul Wolfowitz, John Bolton, Elliott Abrams, Richard Perle, and Paul Bremer. Senior officials Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, while not identifying themselves as neoconservatives, listened closely to neoconservative advisers regarding foreign policy, especially the defense of Israel, the promotion of democracy in the Middle East, and the buildup of American military forces to achieve these goals. The neocons have influence in the Obama White House, and neo-conservatism remains a staple in both parties arsenal.
o The term “neoconservative” refers to those who made the ideological journey from New Deal liberalism to the camp of American conservatism. Neoconservatives typically advocate the promotion of democracy and promotion of American national interest in international affairs, including by means of military force, and are known for espousing disdain for communism and for political radicalism. Many early neoconservative thinkers were Zionist and published articles in Commentary, published by the American Jewish Committee. They spoke out against the New Left, and in that way helped define the movement. C. Bradley Thompson, a professor at Clemson University, claims that most influential neoconservatives refer explicitly to the theoretical ideas in the philosophy of Leo Strauss (1899–1973), though in doing so they may draw upon meaning that Strauss himself did not endorse.
• Exceptionalism
o American exceptionalism has been historically referred to as the perception that the United States differs qualitatively from other developed nations, because of its unique origins, national credo, historical evolution, and distinctive political institutions. It does not refer to any innate superiority of the American people, but rather stresses the genius of the Constitutional arrangements that permit self-government, protect against human frailty and corruption (through such structures as checks and balances), enable a maximum of political and economic liberty, and minimize the waste of human talent. The term was first used by Alexis Tocqueville in 1831.
• Pre-emption
o The anticipatory use of force in the face of an imminent attack.
• Nixon Doctrine
o The Nixon Doctrine (also known as the Guam Doctrine) was put forth during a press conference in Guam on July 25, 1969 by U.S. President Richard Nixon[1] and later formalized in his speech on Vietnamization on November 3, 1969 According to Gregg Brazinsky, Nixon stated that “the United States would assist in the defense and developments of allies and friends,” but would not “undertake all the defense of the free nations of the world.” This doctrine meant that each ally nation was in charge of its own security in general, but the United States would act as a nuclear umbrella when requested. The Doctrine argued for the pursuit of peace through a partnership with American allies. The Nixon Doctrine implied the intentions of Richard Nixon shifting the direction on international policies in Asia, especially aiming for “Vietnamization of the Vietnam War.”
• SALT I and II
o Strategic Arms Limitations Talks- refers to two rounds of bilateral talks and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union- the Cold War Superpowers- on the issue of armament control. There were two rounds of talks and agreements- SALT I and SALT II. Negotiations started in Helsinki, Finland in 1969 and focused on limiting the two countries’ stocks of nuclear weapons. These treaties have led to START.
• START
o Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty- START I, a 1991 agreement between the US and the Soviet Union and START II, a 1993 between the US and Russia, placed specific caps on each side’s number of nuclear weapons.
o Was a strategic arms limitation treaty between the US and the Soviet Union. The treaty placed limits on the number of various types of vehicles and attributed warheads that could be deployed by either side. It remains in effect, as a treaty between the US and Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine. Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine have since totally disarmed their strategic arms capabilities.
• Goldwater-Nichols Legislation
o The Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 Pub. L. 99–433, (signed by President Ronald Reagan), made the most sweeping changes to the United States Department of Defense since the department was established in the National Security Act of 1947 by reworking the command structure of the United States military. It increased the powers of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and implemented some of the suggestions from The Packard Commission, commissioned by President Ronald Reagan in 1985. Among other changes, Goldwater–Nichols streamlined the military chain of command, which now runs from the President through the Secretary of Defense directly to combatant commanders (CCDRs), bypassing the service chiefs. The service chiefs were assigned to an advisory role to the President and the Secretary of Defense as well as given the responsibility for training and equipping personnel for the unified combatant commands.
o Named after Senator Barry Goldwater (R-Arizona) and Representative William Flynt “Bill” Nichols (D-Alabama), the bill passed the House of Representatives, 383-27, and the Senate, 95-0. It was signed into law by President Reagan on October 1, 1986. Admiral William J. Crowe was the first Chairman to serve under this new legislation.
• War Powers Resolution
o The War Powers Resolution of 1973 (50 U.S.C. 1541–1548) is a federal law intended to check the president’s power to commit the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of the U.S. Congress. The resolution was adopted in the form of a United States Congress joint resolution; this provides that the U.S. President can send U.S. Armed Forces into action abroad only by declaration of war by Congress, “statutory authorization,” or in case of “a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.”
o The War Powers Resolution requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days, with a further 30 day withdrawal period, without an authorization of the use of military force or a declaration of war. The resolution was passed by two-thirds of Congress, overriding a presidential veto.
o It has been alleged that the War Powers Resolution has been violated in the past, for example, by President William J. Clinton in 1999, during the bombing campaign in Kosovo. Congress has disapproved all such incidents, but none has resulted in any successful legal actions being taken against the president for alleged violations.
• IRTPA of 2004
o Intelligence Reform and Prevention Act of 2004
o Reorganized the IC
o Established the position of DNI
o Established the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB)
o Adopted the key principles of Executive Order 13356- Strengthening the sharing of terrorism information to protect Americans, and directed the establishment of the Information Sharing Environment (ISE)
• Strategic Defense Initiative
o The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was a proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons (Intercontinental ballistic missiles and Submarine-launched ballistic missiles). The system, which was to combine ground-based units and orbital deployment platforms, was first publicly announced by President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983.[1] The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic offense doctrine of mutual assured destruction (MAD). The Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) was set up in 1984 within the United States Department of Defense to oversee the Strategic Defense Initiative.
New World Order
o The term “new world order” has been used to refer to any new period of history evidencing a dramatic change in world political thought and the balance of power. Despite various interpretations of this term, it is primarily associated with the ideological notion of global governance only in the sense of new collective efforts to identify, understand, or address worldwide problems that go beyond the capacity of individual nation-states to solve.
o One of the first and most well-known Western uses of the term was in Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, and in a call for a League of Nations following the devastation of World War I. The phrase was used sparingly at the end of World War II when describing the plans for the United Nations and the Bretton Woods system, and partly because of its negative associations with the failed League of Nations. However, many commentators have applied the term retroactively to the order put in place by the World War II victors as a “new world order.”
o The most widely discussed application of the phrase of recent times came at the end of the Cold War. Presidents Mikhail Gorbachev and George H. W. Bush used the term to try to define the nature of the post-Cold War era, and the spirit of great power cooperation that they hoped might materialize. Gorbachev’s initial formulation was wide ranging and idealistic, but his ability to press for it was severely limited by the internal crisis of the Soviet system. Bush’s vision was, in comparison, much more circumscribed and realistic, perhaps even instrumental at times, and closely linked to the Gulf War.
Operations Desert Shield and Storm
o The Gulf War (2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991), codenamed Operation Desert Shield (2 August 1990 – 17 January 1991) for operations leading to the buildup of troops and defense of Saudi Arabia and Operation Desert Storm (17 January 1991 – 28 February 1991) in its combat phase, was a war waged by coalition forces from 34 nations led by the United States against Iraq in response to Iraq’s invasion and annexation of Kuwait.
o The war is also known under other names, such as the Persian Gulf War, First Gulf War, Gulf War I, Kuwait War, First Iraq War, or Iraq War before the term “Iraq War” became identified instead with the 2003 Iraq War (also referred to in the U.S. as “Operation Iraqi Freedom”).The Iraqi Army’s occupation of Kuwait that began 2 August 1990 was met with international condemnation, and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the U.N. Security Council. U.S. President George H. W. Bush deployed U.S. forces into Saudi Arabia, and urged other countries to send their own forces to the scene. An array of nations joined the Coalition, the largest military alliance since World War II. The great majority of the Coalition’s military forces were from the U.S., with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Egypt as leading contributors, in that order. Saudi Arabia paid around US$36 billion of the US$60 billion cost.
o The war was marked by the introduction of live news broadcasts from the front lines of the battle, principally by the U.S. network CNN. The war has also earned the nickname Video Game War after the daily broadcast of images from cameras on board U.S. bombers during Operation Desert Storm.
o The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial and naval bombardment on 17 January 1991, continuing for five weeks. This was followed by a ground assault on 24 February. This was a decisive victory for the Coalition forces, who drove the Iraqi military from Kuwait and advanced into Iraqi territory. The Coalition ceased its advance, and declared a cease-fire 100 hours after the ground campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, and areas on Saudi Arabia’s border. Iraq launched Scud missiles against Coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia and against Israel.
Operation Enduring Freedom
o “Operation Enduring Freedom” (OEF) is the official name used by the government of the United States of America to describe the Global War on Terrorism.
o The Operation comprises several subordinate operations:
• Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan (OEF-A), lasted from October 2001 to 31 December 2014. Succeeded by Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
• Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines (OEF-P, formerly Operation Freedom Eagle)
• Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa (OEF-HOA)
• Operation Enduring Freedom – Pankisi Gorge
• Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara (OEF-TS; see also Insurgency in the Maghreb)
• Operation Enduring Freedom – Caribbean and Central America (OEF-CCA)
• Operation Enduring Freedom – Kyrgyzstan
• Operation Iraqi Freedom
o The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began with the 2003 invasion of Iraq led by the United States. The invasion regime toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. However, the conflict continued for much of the next decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces and the post-invasion Iraqi government. An estimated 151,000 to 600,000 or more Iraqis were killed in the first 3–4 years of conflict. The United States officially withdrew from the country in 2011 but became re-involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition; the insurgency and many dimensions of the civil armed conflict continue.
o The invasion began on 20 March 2003, with the U.S., joined by the United Kingdom and several coalition allies, launching a “shock and awe” bombing campaign. Iraqi forces were quickly overwhelmed as U.S. forces swept through the country. The invasion led to the collapse of the Ba’athist government; Saddam was captured in December 2003 and executed by a military court three years later. However, the power vacuum following Saddam’s demise and the mismanagement of the occupation led to widespread sectarian violence between Shias and Sunnis as well as a lengthy insurgency against U.S. and coalition forces. The United States responded with a troop surge in 2007 to attempt to reduce the violence. The U.S. began withdrawing its troops in the winter of 2007–08. The winding down of U.S. involvement in Iraq accelerated under President Barack Obama. The U.S. formally withdrew all combat troops from Iraq by December 2011.
o The Bush administration based its rationale for war principally on the assertion that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and that Saddam’s government posed an immediate threat to the United States and its coalition allies.[51][52] Select U.S. officials accused Saddam of harboring and supporting al-Qaeda, while others cited the desire to end a repressive dictatorship and bring democracy to the people of Iraq. After the invasion, no substantial evidence was found to verify the initial claims about WMDs. The rationale and misrepresentation of pre-war intelligence faced heavy criticism within the U.S. and internationally.
• Operation Eagle Claw
o Operation Eagle Claw (or Operation Evening Light or Operation Rice Bowl) was a United States Armed Forces operation ordered by US President Jimmy Carter to attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis by rescuing 52 diplomats held captive at the embassy of the United States, Tehran on 24 April 1980. Its failure, and the humiliating public debacle that ensued, damaged US prestige worldwide. Carter concluded that the failure to free the hostages played a major role in Ronald Reagan’s victory in the 1980 US presidential election.
o The operation encountered many obstacles and was eventually aborted. Eight helicopters were sent to the first staging area, Desert One, but only five arrived in operational condition. One encountered hydraulic problems, another got caught in a cloud of very fine sand, and the last one showed signs of a cracked rotor blade. During planning it was decided that the mission would be aborted if fewer than six helicopters remained, despite only four being absolutely necessary. In a move that is still discussed in military circles, the commanders asked President Carter for permission to abort and Carter granted the request.
o As the U.S. force prepared to leave, one of the helicopters crashed into a transport aircraft which contained both servicemen and jet fuel. The resulting fire destroyed both aircraft and killed eight servicemen. Operation Eagle Claw was one of Delta Force’s first missions.
• Operation Provide Comfort
o Operation Provide Comfort and Provide Comfort II were military operations initiated by the United States, the United Kingdom, and some of the Gulf War allies, starting in April 1991, to defend Kurds fleeing their homes in northern Iraq in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War and deliver humanitarian aid to them.
• Operation Just Cause
o The United States Invasion of Panama, code-named Operation Just Cause, was the invasion of Panama by the United States in December 1989. It occurred during the administration of U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and ten years after the Torrijos–Carter Treaties were ratified to transfer control of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama by 1 January 2000.
During the invasion, de facto Panamanian leader, general, and dictator Manuel Noriega was deposed, president-elect Guillermo Endara sworn into office, and the Panamanian Defense Force dissolved.
• Operation Inherent Resolve
o Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) is the U.S. military operation name for the Military intervention against ISIL, including both the campaign in Iraq and the campaign in Syria.
o Unlike their coalition partners, and unlike previous combat operations, no name was initially given to the conflict against ISIL by the U.S. government. The decision to keep the conflict nameless drew considerable media criticism. U.S. service members remain ineligible for Campaign Medals and other service decorations due to the continuing ambiguous nature of the continuing U.S. involvement in Iraq.
o The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) news release noted:
• According to CENTCOM officials, the name INHERENT RESOLVE is intended to reflect the unwavering resolve and deep commitment of the U.S. and partner nations in the region and around the globe to eliminate the terrorist group ISIL and the threat they pose to Iraq, the region and the wider international community. It also symbolizes the willingness and dedication of coalition members to work closely with our friends in the region and apply all available dimensions of national power necessary - diplomatic, informational, military, economic - to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL.
o The Defense Department announced at the end of October 2014 that troops operating in support of Operation Inherent Resolve after June 15 were eligible for the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. Service areas are: Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, as well as troops supporting the operation in the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea east of 25 degrees longitude. The medal is approved retroactively beginning June 15, the Pentagon said.
o As of December 4, 2014, three U.S. service members have been lost through accidents or non-combat injuries/incidents.
Freedom Agenda
o The multifaceted push by the George W. Bush to inject more democracy into the Middle East—a set of policies sometimes grouped under the label of the “Freedom Agenda”
National Security Decision Document 75
o Dealt with US relations with the Soviet Union
o During Reagan administration and called to stop containment and begin rollback strategy
• NSC, NEC, HSC, OVP, OMB, OSTP, and ONDCP
o National Security Council o National Economic Council o Homeland Security Council o Office of the Vice President o Office of Management and Budget o Office of Science and Technology o Office of National Drug Control Policy
• Executive Order 12333
o On December 4, 1981, U.S. President Ronald Reagan signed Executive Order 12333, an Executive Order intended to extend powers and responsibilities of U.S. intelligence agencies and direct the leaders of U.S. federal agencies to co-operate fully withCIA requests for information. This executive order was entitled United States Intelligence Activities.
o It was amended by Executive Order 13355: Strengthened Management of the Intelligence Community, on August 27, 2004. On July 30, 2008, President George W. Bush issued Executive Order 13470 amending Executive Order 12333 to strengthen the role of the DNI.
• Titles 6, 10, 18, 22, and 50 of the U.S. Code
o Title 6- governs Domestic Security
o Title 10- outlines the role of armed forces in the United States Code.[1] It provides the legal basis for the roles, missions and organization of each of the services as well as the United States Department of Defense. Each of the five subtitles deals with a separate aspect or component of the armed services.
o Title 18- outlines crimes and criminal procedure; domestic in nature
o Title 22- outlines the role of foreign relations and intercourse
o Title 50- outlines the role of War and National Defense
• PCCs or IWGs, DCs, PCs, and NSCs
o Policy Coordinating Committee/Interagency Working Group • Generally assistant secretary level o Deputy Committee • Deputy \_\_\_\_\_ secretary of \_\_\_\_\_ level o Principles Committee • Secretary level o National Security Council
Threat Assessment
• self explanatory
Risk Assessment
self explanatory
“Left of Boom”
o Any event that happened before the “crisis”
• Think anything September 10th, 2001 or before
• Contingency Planning
o It is often used for risk management when an exceptional risk that, though unlikely, would have catastrophic consequences. Contingency plans are often devised by governments or businesses. For example, suppose many employees of a company are traveling together on an aircraft which crashes, killing all aboard. The company could be severely strained or even ruined by such a loss. Accordingly, many companies have procedures to follow in the event of such a disaster. The plan may also include standing policies to mitigate a disaster’s potential impact, such as requiring employees to travel separately or limiting the number of employees on any one aircraft.
o During times of crisis, contingency plans are often developed to explore and prepare for any eventuality. During the Cold War, many governments made contingency plans to protect themselves and their citizens from nuclear attack.
• SASC, HASC, SSCI, HPSCI, SFRC, HFAC
o Senate Armed Services Committee
o House Armed Services Committee
o Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
o House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
o Senate Foreign Relations Committee
House Foreign Relations Committee
• SAC-D and HAC-D
o Senate Appropriations Committee
• Subcommittee on defense
o House Appropriations Committee
• Subcommittee on defense
• The “150 Account”
o Function 150 is the international affairs account which includes money allocated for aid for developing nations, and consequently where a significant amount of global poverty and hunger funding falls
• U.S. Intelligence Community
o The United States Intelligence Community (I.C.) is a federation of 17 separate United States government agencies that work separately and together to conduct intelligence activities considered necessary for the conduct of foreign relations and national security of the United States. Member organizations of the I.C. include intelligence agencies, military intelligence, and civilian intelligence and analysis offices within federal executive departments. The I.C. is headed by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), who reports to the President of the United States.
• Annual Worldwide Threat Assessment
o Released annually by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and outlines the largest threats to the United States
“Russia Reset”
o The Russian reset was an attempt of the newly elected Obama administration to improve relations between the United States and Russia.
o On 6 March 2009 in Geneva, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented Sergei Lavrov with a red button with the Russian text “перегрузка”. It was intended that this would be the Russian word for “reset”. Clinton explained that she wanted to reset relations between Russia and the United States. However, Lavrov explained to Clinton that “перегрузка” actually means “overcharge”. The two pressed the button anyway. Clinton explained that the American side meant it; they wanted a new era of better ties.
“Asia Pivot”
o Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell spoke with FPI Director Robert Kagan on the Obama administration’s strategic “pivot” from the Middle East to East Asia.
o Campbell began by saying that the countries of the Asian-Pacific recognize that while the dominant issues of the 21st century will be decided in that region, the United States was still in the initial stages its engagement there. They recognize that the United States still had pressing situations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a premature withdrawal from America’s commitments in those countries would not be positively indicative of Washington’s commitment to the Asia-Pacific.
• While the United States has spent a great deal on defense spending in the decade following September 11, 2001, Campbell remarked that much of that spending was on post-conflict reconstruction related spending. While many states in the region were investing heavily in power-projection capabilities, the United States had not kept up. Moreover, while the United States had traditionally focused its attention in Northeast Asia, America had typically lagged in its engagement with countries in Southeast Asia. The pivot to Asia, Campbell said, will not be completed in a few years, but will require a sustained and different allocation of diplomatic and military resources.
o Campbell said the United States must recognize that every country in the region wants a better relationship with China as well as the United States. This is not necessarily due to geo-strategic concerns, he noted, but simple geography. The country’s prominence and position in the region requires that smaller nations maintain strong ties with both Beijing and Washington, much unlike the bipolar divide of the Cold War. America’s relationship with China will be the most complex relationship that we have ever had, and continued engagement with Beijing will be critical to managing the security and economic issues of the 21stcentury.
o Campbell emphasized that America’s approach to China on human rights is indivisible from our economic and security policy. He believes that previous remarks from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that human rights would not impact the other elements of America’s China policy were taken out of context. He emphasized that the United States has repeatedly broached human rights with Beijing as well as other authoritarian countries in the region. He admitted that while those conversations were not easy ones to have, they were critical to democracy promotion.
Berlin Blockade
o The Berlin Blockade (1 April 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies’ railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under allied control. The Soviets offered to drop the blockade if the Western Allies withdrew the newly introduced Deutschmark from West Berlin. In response, the Western Allies organized the Berlin airlift to carry supplies to the numbers of people in West Berlin. This would be a tough task because of the numbers of people living in West Berlin. Aircrews from the United States Air Force, the British Royal Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and the South African Air Force. Flew over 200,000 flights in one year, providing up to 8,893 tons of necessities daily, such as fuel and food, to the Berliners. Neither side wanted a war; the Soviets did not disrupt the airlift.
o By the spring of 1949 the airlift was clearly succeeding, and by April it was delivering more cargo than had previously been transported into the city by rail. On 12 May 1949, the USSR lifted the blockade of West Berlin. The Berlin Crisis of 1948–1949 served to highlight competing ideological and economic visions for postwar Europe, particularly Germany.
Collective Security
Is a system that aspires to the maintenance of peace, in which the participants agree that any breach of the peace is to be declared a concern to all of the participating states. A system by which states have attempted to prevent or stop wars. Under a collective security arrangement, an aggressor against any one state is considered an aggressor against all other states, which act together to repel the aggressor.
• Cuban Missile Crisis
o Known as the October crisis in Cuba and the Caribbean crisis in the former USSR- was a 13-day confrontation in October 1962 between the Soviet Union and Cuba on one side and the United States on the other side. The crisis is generally regarded as the moment in which the Cold War came closest to turning into a nuclear conflict, and is also the first documented instance of mutual assured destruction being discussed as a determining factor in a major international arms agreement.
Intervention in Somalia
o United Nations Operation in Somalia I (UNOSOM I) was the first part of a United Nations (UN) sponsored effort to provide, facilitate, and secure humanitarian relief in Somalia, as well as to monitor the first UN-brokered ceasefire of the Somali Civil War conflict in the early 1990s.
o The operation was established in April 1992 and ran until its duties were assumed by the UNITAF mission in December 1992. Following the dissolution of UNITAF in May 1993, the subsequent UN mission in Somalia was known as UNOSOM II.
o United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II) was the second phase of the United Nations intervention in Somalia, from March 1993 until March 1995.
o UNOSOM II carried on from the United States-controlled (UN-sanctioned) Unified Task Force (UNITAF), which had in turn taken over from the ineffectual United Nations Operation in Somalia I (UNOSOM I) mission. All three of these interventions were aimed at creating a secure enough environment for humanitarian operations to be carried out in the increasingly lawless and famine-stricken country.
o The UNOSOM II intervention is well known for the Battle of Mogadishu and the resulting events portrayed in the book Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, and its associated film Black Hawk Down.
• ABM Treaty
o The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty or ABMT) was a treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union on the limitation of the anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems used in defending areas against ballistic missile-delivered nuclear weapons. Under the terms of the treaty, each party was limited to two ABM complexes, each of which were to be limited to 100 anti-ballistic missiles.
o Signed in 1972, it was in force for the next 30 years. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, in 1997 the United States and four former Soviet republics agreed to succeed to the treaty. In June 2002 the United States withdrew from the treaty, leading to its termination.
• Shanghai Communique
o The Joint Communiqué of the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China, also known as the Shanghai Communiqué(1972), was an important diplomatic document issued by the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China on February 28, 1972 during President Richard Nixon’s visit to China. The document pledged that it was in the interest of all nations for the United States and China to work towards the normalization of their relations, although this would not occur until the Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations seven years later.
o The US and China also agreed that neither they nor any other power should “seek hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region”. This was of particular importance to China, who shared a militarized border with the Soviet Union.
o Regarding the political status of Taiwan, in the communiqué the United States acknowledged the One-China policy (but did not endorse the PRC’s version of the policy) and agreed to cut back military installations on Taiwan. This “constructive ambiguity” (in the phrase of US Secretary of StateHenry Kissinger, who oversaw the American side of the negotiations) would continue to hinder efforts for complete normalization.
o The communiqué included wishes to expand the economic and cultural contacts between the two nations, although no concrete steps were mentioned.
• Reagan’s “Evil Empire” Speech
o The phrase evil empire was first applied to the Soviet Union in 1983 by U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who took an aggressive, hard-line stance that favored matching and exceeding the Soviet Union’s strategic and global military capabilities, in calling for a rollback strategy that would, in his words, write the final pages of the history of the Soviet Union. The characterization demeaned the Soviet Union and angered Soviet leaders. According To G. Thomas Goodnight, the “Evil Empire” speech along with the “Zero Option” and “Star Wars” speeches represented the rhetorical side of the United States’ escalation of the Cold War. In the former, Reagan depicted nuclear warfare as an extension of the “age old struggle between good and evil”, while arguing that an increased nuclear inventory as well as progress in science and technology were necessary to prevent global conflict. Through these speeches, the Reagan Administration used rhetoric to reshape public knowledge about and attitudes toward nuclear warfare.
