term paper us politics

Omar Miguel Sanane
American Politics 4-5:20 pm
Dr. Xiao
Foreign Policy Term Paper In the United States of America the executive branch and the legislative branch deal with foreign policy making. The executive power is vested in the president of the United States and the legislative branch consists of the Senate and House of representatives which is the Congress. The President and the Congress of the United States both play an important role in our relations with other countries and how we negotiate treaties or declare actions of war on them. The President and the Congress must first come to an agreement before any action is taken. The congress are the ones who balance out the president's power and allow for better decision making since they are a larger group of individuals. Private citizens of the United States of America are not allowed to practice foreign policy leaving the job to the President and the Congress of the United States. The President of the United States is the dominant force and face behind foreign policy and plays a crucial role in it with his personality. The President is the voice of the people and the most visible figure in United States government. Every President of the United States has his own personal style and or look. Some examples of styles that presidents had from the textbook “Understanding American Government” were President Kennedy’s young athletic and elegant look, President Reagans look as a rugged individualist, and President George W. Bush’s image of a tough cowboy. The President of the United States is the dominant force in foreign policy because he is the image of the United States and he deals with the relations of politicians from other countries.
The President of the United States of America is the dominant force in foreign policy making In the United States because he is the commander in chief of the armed forces. As commander in chief of the armed forces the President has more immediate access to information than any other foreign policy maker in the United States and can respond quicker and more secretive if need be. An example of how Presidents are dominant in foreign policy is there access to military power; president Truman worked very hard on making the decision to bomb hiroshima and nagasaki with the two nuclear bombs which caused Japan to officially surrender the war.
The President of the United States of America is a great foreign policy maker as he is the Chief Executive. As the Chief Executive the President must implement laws created by the congress and manage the executive branch. When dealing with foreign policy the president must implement laws that affect other countries and oversee the operation of the laws. The president can make treaties with other nations with two thirds of the Senate's approval. A great example of how presidents are the face of the country and are a great force in foreign policy is the Torrijos Carter Treaties on the 7th of September 1977 when United States President Jimmy Carter represented the United States and signed treaties that made the United States no longer control the Panama Canal.
In article two section two of the constitution the president can not appoint ambassadors, public ministers, make treaties and consuls unless advised and received consent by congress. The articles in the constitution limit the powers of the president of the United States of America, this is where the congress takes role by balancing the power of the president. Thanks to the articles in the constitution that limit the president’s powers; the congress has a way to assert itself in foreign policy. When treaties or proposals by presidents do not meet congress’s ideals, congress threaten to decline or decline a treaty or proposal unless a it is edited to their liking. The president is one man and the congress is a large group of people who can better represent the nation. Recently president Barack Obama proposed to launch a military attack against Syria in order to punish them for using chemical weapons. Giving the president Barack Obama permission to launch his military attack was argued and in the end the senate gave the president Barack Obama the power to launch his military attack against Syria with the conditions that he cannot use ground troops and the operation may only last no more than three months. Without the support of some congress members Barack Obama could have been the first president to be denied the use of military force by the congress. The house speaker John Boehner said that the United States of America is the only country that has.the capability to stop the Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and to let everyone around the world know that this type of behavior is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.
According to Article I Section VII and VIII of the constitution, congress has the power to change and collect taxes, declare war, create and support a military, regulate association with foreign governments and among the states. Without congress the president of the United States of America can not declare a war or fund one. In 2010 during the Afghan war there was a lot of disputation of president Barack Obama’s proposal to increase funding for the United States military presence and unmanned aerial vehicle attacks across the border in Pakistan. In the end the House of Representatives approved the funding. This allowed the United States to continue their operation in Afghanistan.
The congress of the United States of America play an important role the United State’s government. Without Congress the president would have all the governing power and the United States government would be more of a dictatorship rather than a republic. The congress and the president work together to take decisions that affect the countries wellbeing with foreign concerns. The reason that the President and the Congress are the most dominant in policy making is because they are the one of the few people who may practice foreign policy with foreign governments because of the Logan act of 1799 which prohibits any unauthorized citizen of the United States from negotiating with foreign governments. Violation of the act is a felony and punishable with imprisonment for up to three years.
The president of the United States of America is the commander in chief of the United States armed forces, the chief diplomat of the United States, the chief executive and head of state. The president of the United States of America has more authority and responsibility than all of the other political positions and citizens of the United States which makes him such a dominant figure in foreign policy. Although the president of the United States has many responsibilities and lots of authority he can not create, operate and execute all the decisions of the United States. One person is not able to always have the best decisions with millions of people in mind. The Congress of the United States’s function is to make sure the choices the presidents create are the correct ones especially in the case of foreign policy where our relations with other countries may affect our wellbeing. The president is definitely the most dominant force in foreign policy but it is shared with the Congress because they always have a say in the presidents actions that deal with foreign policy.