US Policy
Foreign Policy
• “ a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an
enigma”
Winston Churchill (describing Soviet
foreign policy)
Overview
• Definitions
– Foreign Policy
– National Security Strategy
• Policy Influences
– Executive Branch
– Legislative Branch
– The American People
Overview
• Foreign Policies
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Isolationism
Imperialism
Pacifism
UN Cooperation
Containment
Post Containment
Preemptive Strike
National Renewal and Global Leadership
US Foreign Policy
• The goals and guidelines that shape the
conduct of American relations with other
nations
• How we interact with other countries
politically!
US National Security Policy
• Guidelines for the
protection of the nation’s
people and territories
against physical assault,
and protection of vital
economic and political
interests, the loss of which could
threaten fundamental values and the
vitality of the nation
• How we interact with other countries
militarily!
NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY
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FOREIGN POLICY
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Policy Influences
• The Executive Branch
• The Legislative Branch
• The American People
Policy Influences
• The Executive Branch
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The President
The State Department
The National Security Council (NSC)
The National Security Advisor (NSA)
Policy Influences
• The Legislative Branch
– Congress can:
• Declare war
• Raise and maintain the
military
• Power of the purse
• Treaty ratification
• Presidential appointees
Policy Influences
• The American People
– Public opinion
• Uninformed public
• Informed public
• Effective public
– Interest groups
– The press
Foreign Policies
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Isolationism
Imperialism
Pacifism
UN Cooperation
Containment
– Deterrent Strategies
• Post-Containment Era
Isolationism (1796)
• New nation
– Still in turmoil internally
• Physical separation
• Neutrality & Non-Entanglement
– Europe in violent times
– Very dependent on
European trade
• Monroe Doctrine
…served us well for a century
Imperialism (1893)
• Social Darwinism (by Europe)
– Colonialism race
– United States “expanded overseas”
• Hawaii, Guam, Philippines, Puerto Rico
• Panama Canal…rebellion against
Columbians
• Roosevelt Corollary to Monroe
Doctrine
– “Moral right & obligation to intervene
in Latin America” to protect/restore
interests
…Set the stage for WWI
Imperialism (1893)
1914-1918
• World War I
• 10 million people lost their lives
• “War to end all wars”
Pacifism (Post WWI)
• United States emerged as world’s
most respected country
• Treaty of Versailles sought to
punish Germany
• League of Nations…discuss
& settle disputes and not to
resort to war…United States rejected
• Neutrality acts/Kellogg Peace
Pact…outlawed war as legitimate
instrument of national policy
• United States cut many ties to Europe
Setting the stage for WWII...
• Harsh reparations on Germany
• Great Depression
• Lack of treaty enforcement
• Lack of political will
World War II
• The next war to end all wars
• Beginning of the atomic age
• Over 40 million more die!
UN Cooperation
(Post WWII)
• Had full political backing of United States
and USSR…but competition
• Stressed “open communication” among
nations…international cooperation would
preclude war
During this same period…
Communist Expansion
• Soviet Union
– Poland, Baltics, Eastern European bloc
– Instigated communist rebellions elsewhere
• China falls to Communism
– Serious blow to US relations
…United States felt the need to stop Communist expansion
Communist Expansion
• Reasons for expansion
– Communist doctrine
• “Capitalist pigs”
– World War II
– China’s government had poor admin control
Communist Expansion
“Let every nation know…that we shall pay any
price, bear any burden, meet any hardship,
support any friend, oppose any foe to assure
the survival and success of liberty”
~ President J. F. Kennedy
inaugural address, 1961
Containment
• United States had to stop Soviet expansion
– Marshall Plan (1947)
– Berlin Airlift (1948)
– North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1949)
• Significantly rebuilt Europe
– Countries able to resist communist
expansion
• Korea
– Third World nation stalemated us!
– Altered US foreign policy…
Massive Retaliation
• Focus on technological and strategic
superiority
• Use nuclear weapons “at a time & place
of our choosing”
• Launch of Sputnik and ICBM in 1957
– America shocked
– America’s age of innocence was over
– America changed its
deterrent policy once
again...
Graduated Response
• Soviet military capabilities
• Expanded alliances in Pacific region
– ANZUS Pact (1951)
– Japan (1954)
• Tactical nuclear weapons
– Countered being outnumbered conventionally
– Main reason USSR kept in check?
• Support SE Asia from communism domino
theory
…Graduated Response still relied heavily on nukes
Flexible Response
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Respond to any level conflict…
Restructure conventional forces
Green Berets and Dual Basing
Reconstruct airlift and sealift
Mutually Assured Destruction
No one wins...
Then comes Vietnam…
Realistic Deterrence/
Nixon Doctrine
“…the United States will
participate in the defense and
development of allies and
friends, but… America cannot—
and will not—conceive all
plans, design all programs,
execute all the decisions, and
undertake all the defense of the
free nations of the world.”
~ President Richard Nixon
18 Feb 1970
Realistic Deterrence/
Nixon Doctrine
• Essential Equivalence basic nuclear
strategy
– Soviet nukes bigger and outnumbered
ours, but ours more accurate
• Total Force concept to policy
– Active duty, National Guard, Reserves
• Trained nations to fight, loans, foreign
aid
– No Troops
Watergate…President Carter…Iranian Hostage Crises…
Contemporary Containment/
Reagan Doctrine (1981)
• More outspoken about dislike of communists
and USSR…“Evil Empire”
• Military rebuilt
– Increased pay raises
– New weapon systems
• Security Assistance Programs increased
– Third World help…stop communist assistance
• Allies shouldered more responsibility for own
defense
End of cold war…
World started to change in 1989…
• Warsaw Pact crumbling
• Berlin Wall coming down
• Countries asserting
independence from USSR…
…leads us to today
Post Containment Era:
A Strategy of Engagement
• To enhance America’s security
• To bolster America’s economic prosperity
• To promote democracy and human rights
abroad
Preemptive Strike Era
• The “Bush Doctrine”—Signaled a
new focus on security by the United
States
“Our Nation’s cause has always been larger than our
Nation’s defense. We fight, as we always fight, for a
just peace—a peace that favors liberty. We will defend
the peace against the threats from terrorists and
tyrants. We will preserve the peace by building good
relations among the great powers. And we will extend
the peace by encouraging free and open societies on
every continent.”
~ President Bush
West Point, New York
1 June 2002
Preemptive Strike Era
• Key Aspects
– Championing human dignity
– Strengthening alliances to defeat
global terrorism
– Preventing our enemies from
threatening us with weapons of mass
destruction
– Expanding the circle of development
by opening societies and building the
infrastructure of democracy
– Transforming America’s national
security institutions to meet the
challenges and opportunities of the
twenty-first century
National Renewal and
Global Leadership Era
• Advancing our Interests
– Security
– Prosperity
– Values
– International Order
“More than at any point in human history—the interests of nations and
peoples are shared. …religious convictions…can forge new bonds
among people, or tear us apart. …technology…can light the path to
peace, or forever darken it. …energy…can sustain our planet, or destroy
it.”
—President Barack Obama
United Nations General Assembly
September 22, 2009
Security
• The security of the United States, its citizens, and
US allies and partners. Accomplished through:
– Strengthening Security and Resilience at Home
– Disrupting, Dismantling, and Defeating Al-Qa’ida and its Violent
Extremist Affiliates in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Around the World
– Using Force
– Reversing the Spread of Nuclear and Biological Weapons and
Securing Nuclear Materials
– Advancing Peace, Security, and
Opportunity in the Greater Middle
East
– Investing in the Capacity of Strong
and Capable Partners
– Securing Cyberspace
Prosperity
• A strong, innovative, and growing US
economy in an open international
economic system that promotes
opportunity and prosperity. Involves:
– Strengthening Education and
Human Capital
– Enhancing Science, Technology,
and Innovation
– Achieving Balanced and
Sustainable Growth
– Accelerating Sustainable Development
– Spending Taxpayers’ Dollars Wisely
Values
• Respect for universal values at home and around
the world.
– Strengthen the Power of Our Example
– Promote Democracy and Human Rights Abroad
– Promote Dignity by Meeting Basic Needs
International Order
• An international order advanced by US leadership
that promotes peace, security, and opportunity
through stronger cooperation to meet global
challenges.
– Ensure Strong Alliances
– Build Cooperation with Other
Twenty-First Century Centers
of Influence
– Strengthen Institutions and Mechanisms for Cooperation
– Sustain Broad Cooperation on Key Global Challenges
……Leading to Extremely Exciting Next Era……
Detachment 225 and
Universe Leadership Era
• Advancing our Future Interests across universe
– Fighting
For Freedom
– ???
– ????
Summary
• Definitions
• Policy Influences
• Foreign Policy 1776 - 1950
– Isolationism through Containment
• Deterrent Strategies 1950-89
– Massive Retaliation through
Contemporary Containment
• Foreign Policies (1989 - ?)
– Post Containment Era
– Preemptive Strike Era
ANY QUESTIONS?