Transcript 21st-Century-US-L4-f..

Warm-up:
• What is foreign policy?
• a policy pursued by a nation in its dealings
with other nations, designed to achieve
national objectives
st
21 -Century
United States
Foreign Policy & America’s
Role in the World
Factors that shaped Foreign Policy
• Economics
– Multi-national corporations
– Economic power elite
– Military industrial complex
• Ideology
–
–
–
–
Vision of national greatness—America’s mission
Racial hierarchy
Extremely anti-revolutionary
Unilateralism—acting alone and independent
• Domestic politics
– Most Americans are ill-informed
– Nation of immigrants
– Can’t appear weak
• Rise of Imperial President
– Bypass checks & balances
– Violates foundation of American government
• Resource wars
– oil
Policy up to 2000
•
•
•
•
•
Isolationism to War with Spain 1898
Isolationism & Imperialism to WWI—Lusitania
Isolationist to WWII—Pearl Harbor 1941
Containment to End of Cold War
With the Cold War over in 1992, the U.S. had to
redefine its role in the world.
• Nation-building to September 11, 2001
– Upholding international order
– Nipping aggression in the bud—respond to aggression
– America’s “credibility” as a superpower
U.S. Military Intervention in the 1990s
• Many Americans favored
economic support for foreign
countries.
• Just as many feared lending
military support to embattled
nations.
• But Clinton felt several
conflicts demanded U.S
intervention.
1992 Somalia-US
troops to stop civil war
but failed to stop it
1994 Haiti-US troops to
stop civil turmoil
1995 Bosnia-US troops
to stop ethnic cleansing
of Muslims & Croats
Conflict in the Middle East increased in the 1990s.
Fighting between the
Israelis and Palestinians
became more violent
In 2000, Clinton brought
Palestinian leader Yasir
Arafat and Israeli leader
Ehud Barak to Camp David
to broker a peace agreement
between them.
It was not successful.
The U.S. itself became a target of
Middle Eastern extremists.
A terrorist group called al Qaeda exploded a bomb in
the World Trade Center in New York City in 1993.
The group also set off bombs killing more 225 people
at American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
In 2000, they attacked the USS Cole, a warship
anchored off Yemen, killing 17 American sailors.
American leaders learned that fighting
terrorism would be extremely difficult.
America’s Foreign Policy 2001
• 2001—George Bush Administration
– September 11, 2001
– Preventative war
– “Changing” international order
– More intimidation than of credibility
• War on terrorism
– WMDs---there were none
– alQaeda & Hussein—truthfully they were enemies
– Manipulation of evidence & misleading public
– Invasion of Iraq—undermined economy & social
welfare system
– Iraq has 10% of world oil reserves
• Taliban government supported al Qaeda & bin
Laden in Afghanistan
• US overthrew Taliban and freed Afghanistan
• Bin Laden escapes in mountains and US pursues
him and his al Qaeda forces in the region
America’s Foreign Policy
• In the United States “national interests”
– Democracy
– Economics/Trade
– Big business profit---outsourcing
• 2010-advancing American interests
– Security of American people
– Growing U.S. economy
– Support for our values
– An international order that can address 21stCentury challenges
Osama bin Laden, leader of the al Qaeda
network, was thought to be hiding in
Afghanistan where the Taliban allowed him to
operate.
The United States and
its allies sent forces to
Afghanistan and
overthrew the Taliban.
Bin Laden escaped capture; Afghanistan
held free elections and wrote a new
constitution.
11
Activity:
• Defining Moment
• Superpower