American Foreign Policy Foreign Policymakers
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Foreign Policymakers
Many people and groups shape American foreign policy, including the following:
- The president
- Cabinet departments
- Intelligence agencies
- Congress and the courts
- State and local governments
- The military-industrial complex
The President
The president is the primary architect of American foreign policy. Article II of the U.S. Constitution names the president commander in chief of the armed forces and designates the president as the nation’s chief diplomat. This role expanded and carried new weight as the United States became more of a global power during the twentieth century.
The National Security Council
The National Security Council (NSC) is a collection of security policy experts who are part of the White House Staff. The NSC, led by the national security adviser, advises the president on security issues.
Important National Security Advisers
Some of the nation’s most powerful foreign policy experts were once national security advisers. President Richard Nixon appointed Henry Kissinger to the post, for example, and Kissinger helped formulate Nixon’s foreign policy. President George H. W. Bush appointed Colin Powell to be his national security adviser, whereas President George W. Bush appointed Condoleezza Rice, one of his most trusted advisers, to the job. When she became secretary of state in 2005, Bush appointed Stephen Hadley to replace her.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff
Although the Constitution names the president as the commander in chief of the armed forces, each branch of the military also has its own head, known as the chief of staff. Together, these chiefs form the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), a group that helps the president make strategy decisions and evaluates the needs and capabilities of the military.
Cabinet Departments
Three cabinet departments usually take center stage in American foreign policy:
- Department of State: Engages diplomacy with other nations
- Department of Defense: Coordinates the American military around the world
- Department of Homeland Security: Protects America from terrorist attacks domestically and deals with natural disasters
Squabbling Secretaries
The secretaries of defense and state do not always agree with each other or with the president. In fact, sometimes the conflicts between the two lead to nasty infighting to get the president’s favor. During the first term of George W. Bush, for example, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld frequently butted heads with Secretary of State Colin Powell, in particular over the prospect of invading Iraq.
Other Agencies
Although the State and Defense Departments are the primary foreign policy organizations in the cabinet, sometimes other departments play a role. When negotiating agricultural trade agreements, for example, the Department of Agriculture might play an important role. Specialized government organizations, such as the Office of the Trade Representative and the Export-Import Bank, also affect and influence foreign policy.
Intelligence Agencies
Many intelligence agencies work to provide the president with accurate, up-to-date information about the rest of the world. At the top of the intelligence services is the director of national intelligence, who coordinates the information that the various intelligence agencies gather. These agencies include the following:
- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
- National Security Agency (NSA)
- Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
- Army, Navy, and Air Force intelligence
The Importance of Intelligence
In order to conduct good foreign policy, officials must have accurate, reliable information. When the intelligence agencies fail to get quality information, policy often fails as well. In 1960, for example, the CIA dramatically underestimated popular support for Fidel Castro’s regime in Cuba. Castro’s military easily crushed the Bay of Pigs Invasion, embarrassing the United States and creating a foreign policy disaster for new president John F. Kennedy. But astute intelligence work in 1962 provided Kennedy with the information he needed a few years later during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Recently, much has been made about what President George W. Bush and his advisers knew and did not know before deciding to invade Iraq in 2003.
