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| Charged with overseeing world trade, adjudicating trade disputes, and lowering tariffs and other barriers to trade. Became operational in 1995 and superceded the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Claims that not all nations are treated equally, criticized as a tool of multinational corporations, and an enemy of the environment. |
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| Weapons of Mass Destruction |
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| chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, a subset of which are "radiological weapons", or "dirty bombs" (conventional explosive encased by radioactive material) |
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| acting alone and independently, usually without consulting others |
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| NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) |
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| --a free trade agreement among Canada, the United States, and Mexico, went into effect on January 1, 1994. --called for immediately eliminating duties on half of all U.S. goods shipped to Mexico and gradually phasing out other tariffs over a period of about 14 years --also used to refer to the tripartite trading bloc of North American countries. |
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| alliances comprised of bureaucrats, lawmakers, and lobbyists A close relationship between an agency, a congressional committee and an interest group that often becomes a mutually advantageous alliance. most notably the military-industrial complex, the relationship among military contractors(industry), the military bureaucracy headquarters at the Pentagon(military), and the political power exercised at Congress(government) |
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| Legislative oversight of foreign policy |
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| The review of executive branch programs by lawmakers A function of Congress that is generally viewed as ignored or overlooked due to preference for law making AND desire to remain blameless from FP blunders and missteps |
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| An amendment passed by the Senate during the Vietnam War to force withdrawal of US forces from their May 1970 "incursion" into Cambodia It was worded to cut off all funding for support of US troops in Cambodia if Nixon failed to withdraw them by July 1, 1970 It is known as the first amendment to limit presidential powers during war time. |
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| a top-secret United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political and military involvement in the Vietnam War from 1945 to 1971, with a focus on the internal planning and policy decisions within the U.S. Government, and the embarrassing mistakes made during Johnson's and Nixon's administration. The Supreme Court found against Nixon and allowed The NY Times, and Washington Post to publish the papers that were leaked to them by Daniel Ellsberg due to the fact that nothing would lead to "irreparable harm" to the US if published Revealed that the government had deliberately expanded its role in the war by conducting air strikes over Laos, raids along the coast of North Vietnam, and offensive actions taken by U.S. Marines well before the American public was told that such actions were necessary. All of this had happened while president Lyndon Johnson had been promising not to expand the war. The document increased the credibility gap for the U.S. government, and was seen as hurting the efforts by the Nixon administration to fight the war. |
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| Gulf of Tonkin Resolution |
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Definition
| Essentially a blank check for President Johnson to pursue the war in Vietnam as he saw fit, relinquishing control of war power, and giving him unlimited authority to use military force in Indochina Passed after North Vietnamese forces allegedly attacked two US destroyers on patrol off the coast of Vietnam Authorized President Johnson to take "all necessary steps, including the use of armed forces," to assist American allies in Southeast Asia |
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| Ballistic missile defense, presently referred to as a ground based interceptor system, a military strategy and associated systems to shield an entire country against incoming Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). The missiles may be intercepted by other missiles, or possibly by lasers. Proponents: necessary to prevent destruction by accidental launch, means of defense rather then threat of offense, insulate the US from nuclear attack blackmailing. Opponents: will threaten relations with Russia and China over nuclear threat from rogue nations that will not materialize for some time, very expensive, set off new round in arms race, and could be easily confused by decoy missiles. |
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| US strategy during the Cold War to protect its means to launch a nuclear attack against the Soviet Union from a surprise attack by the Kremlin A system of strategic defense consisting of: ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles), SLBMs (submarine-launched ballistic missiles), and intercontinental bombers armed with nuclear bombs |
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| Cognitive devices that help policymakers perform six diagnostic tasks central to political decision-making. They - help define the nature of the situation confronting the policymaker
- help asses the stakes, and
- provide prescriptions.
- help evaluate alternative options by predicting their chances of success
- evaluating their moral rightness, and
- warning about dangers associated with the options
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| A generic concept stored in memory typically derived from generalizing from one's experiences It may refer to objects, situations, events, or sequences of events and people. A schema may also be viewed as a person's subjective "theory" about how the social or political world works |
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| -20th Century foreign policy theory. -if one land in a region came under the influence of Communists, then more would follow in a domino effect Originally used by Eisenhower in 1954 to describe the prospects of communist expansion in Asia if Indochina were to fall, all of south east asia could fall Used by US during Cold War to justify intervention in Vietnam |
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| The "knowledge needed for the protection and preservation of the military, economic, and productive strength of the United States, including the security of the Government in domestic and foreign affairs against or from espionage, sabotage, and all other similar clandestine activities designed to weaken or destroy the United States" |
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| National Intelligence Estimate |
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Definition
| A hefty, long, in-depth research intelligence report on a country or subject. Its purpose is to present "a statement of what is going to happen in any country, in any area, in any given situation, and as far possible into the future" |
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Definition
| The means by which intelligence is gathered from around the world and channeled to the desks of policymakers which can be viewed as a multiphase process Phases: preliminary planning, then the collection, processing, analysis, and dissemination of information. The ultimate purpose: "to find the best minds available to produce the best one-page report on subject x" |
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| support for the use of government tariffs and quotas against imports to protect US industries from foreign competitors |
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| One of the three forms of international agreement making in the US, a simple majority vote must be met in both chambers of Congress. Congress authorizes a formal relationship with another country by passing a law to that effect. |
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| A designated group of countries that have agreed to eliminate tariffs, quotas and preferences on most (if not all) goods between them. It is the second stage of economic integration (FTAA - Free Trade Area of the Americas) In 1994 under the agreement 34 western hemisphere states pledged to eliminate trade barriers between the americas by 2005 |
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| A product of nuclear explosions The weapons expert says: "Gamma rays will cause electrons to be ejected from atoms in the air, thus ionizing the atmosphere around the burst. This will result in disturbances of electromagnetic waves transmitted by radar and communications equipment" All communications and radar operations, along with microchips in the ignition of automobiles and computers, would be disrupted or destroyed!!!! |
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| Counterforce/countervalue targeting |
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Definition
| Nations with nuclear weapons have targeting plans that revolve around two major options: an attack against military weapons and facilities (a counterforce targeting strategy) or against industrial and communications centers (a city-oriented countervalue targeting strategy) In both cases the blast effect is very important to war planners, more so then the thermal effect. |
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| National technical means or "techint" |
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Definition
| Technical intelligence(TECHINT) is intelligence about weapons and equipment used by the armed forces of foreign nations (often referred to as foreign materiel). Technical intelligence is intended primarily to allow the armed forces to avoid technological surprise. Knowledge of the characteristics and capabilities of enemy weapons allows nations to develop effective countermeasures for them Surveillance machines |
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| Most favored nation rights bestow upon another country the best trading relationship for their imports that the US has to offer A form of economic reward for nations friendly towards the US who in turn is looking for the same treatment Renamed "normal trade relations" in 1998, historically withdrawn from communist countries but now only Cuba and North Korea An instrument of economic power, it is a negative trade sanction |
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