Deck 16: Foreign Policy

Question 1

Goals of the al Qaeda terrorist network have apparently included

A) getting U.S. forces out of countries in the Middle East.
B) ending U.S. support for Egypt.
C) independence for the Basque region of Spain.
D) getting Turkish forces out of Cyprus.
E) forcing the United States to withdraw troops from South Korea.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Political realism is a philosophy that

A) sees nations as normally willing to cooperate and agree on moral standards for conduct.
B) mandates non-interference with the internal policies of sovereign nations.
C) supports steps to establish a single world government.
D) sees each nation as acting in its own interest regardless of moral considerations.
E) contends that spreading Christianity ought to be a major goal of U.S. foreign policy.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The set of policies having to do with the U.S. armed forces is called

A) the foreign policy process.
B) defense policy.
C) military-industrial policy.
D) foreign assistance policy.
E) diplomacy.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Terrorism

A) is a systematic attempt to inspire fear to gain political ends.
B) typically includes indiscriminate use of violence against non-combatants.
C) is a term that was coined to refer to radicals who were in control of the government at the height of the French Revolution (1789-1799).
D) Options A and B are true.
E) Options A, B, and C are true.

Question 5

Diplomacy refers to

A) a title given to senior members of the State Department.
B) a philosophy that sees nations as normally willing to cooperate.
C) formal public meetings held by heads of government.
D) the settling of disputes and conflicts among nations by peaceful methods.
E) the manner in which the armed forces are deployed.

Question 6

Assistance to other nations in the form of grants, loans, or credits to buy the assisting nation's products is called

A) an in-kind subsidy.
B) a tariff.
C) exports.
D) economic aid.
E) military aid.

Question 7

If a U.S. president supports an allied foreign regime, even when that regime is non-democratic or oppressive of its people, that president is acting in line with

A) humanitarian assistance.
B) collective security.
C) political realism.
D) moral idealism.
E) Both B and D.

Question 8

A nation's external goals and the techniques and strategies to achieve them are through

A) foreign policy.
B) diplomacy.
C) aid.
D) technical assistance.
E) None of the above.

Question 9

Critics of the Bush Doctrine

A) believed that a pre-emptive attack was better than what President Bush had proposed as part of his new doctrine.
B) cited the damage it would do to the domestic economy.
C) pointed out that pre-emptive wars against other nations have traditionally been waged by dictator and rogue states, not democratic nations.
D) claimed that launching pre-emptive war would allow the United States to pursue world peace by eliminating terrorism.
E) believed that by endorsing such a policy, the United States could argue against decisions of other nations to do the same when they felt threatened.

Question 10

Foreign and domestic policies designed to protect the independence and political integrity of a country is

A) a military alliance.
B) collective defense.
C) statesmanship.
D) foreign policy.
E) national security policy.

Question 11

U.S. foreign policy may be carried out through

A) diplomacy.
B) economic aid.
C) technical assistance.
D) military intervention.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 12

The 1990 Persian Gulf War began as a result of the invasion of ____________ by ______________.

A) Saudi Arabia; Iraq
B) Kuwait; Iran
C) Iran; Iraq
D) Kuwait; Iraq
E) Israel; Iran

Question 13

Which of the following statements is true of the terror attacks of 9/11?

A) Americans were forced to change their views of national security.
B) One of the major challenges for U.S. foreign and national security policy became how best to respond to an attack on the United States by China.
C) Americans found that the attacks on the World Trade Center had been planned and carried out by a terrorist network called al Qaeda.
D) Americans still knew that regional conflicts in other parts of the world had no direct impact on the United States.
E) Options A and C are true.

Question 14

In 2002, President George W. Bush enunciated a new foreign policy doctrine, the "Bush Doctrine," which held, in part, that

A) the United States was prepared to wage preemptive war against perceived threats, with or without allies.
B) the United States would go to war with any country that attacked it.
C) Islamists would not be allowed to take power in any additional nations.
D) America would leave the United Nations if that body did not support its military initiatives.
E) the United States would no longer participate in the World Trade Organization or in the World Bank.

Question 15

The U.S. led invasion of Iraq in 2003

A) was a consequence of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
B) was an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden.
C) was done with the full backing of the NATO alliance.
D) included Great Britain, Germany, and France as coalition partners.
E) was done after failing to get UN Security Council approval for the military action.

Question 16

The three principle ethnic groups in Iraq are

A) Sunni Arabs, Shiite Arabs, and Christian Arabs.
B) Sunni Arabs, Shiite Arabs, and Kurds.
C) Sunni Arabs, Shiite Persians, and Kurds.
D) Sunni Arabs, Christian Arabs, and Kurds.
E) Shiite Arabs, Shiite Persians, and Kurds.

Question 17

Moral idealism is a philosophy that

A) sees nations as normally willing to cooperate and agree on moral standards for conduct.
B) mandates non-interference with the internal policies of sovereign nations.
C) supports steps to establish a single world government.
D) sees each nation as acting in its own interest regardless of moral considerations.
E) contends that spreading Christianity ought to be a major goal of U.S. foreign policy.

Question 18

President Woodrow Wilson's proposal for _______________ was in line with _______________.

A) the League of Nations; moral idealism
B) the League of Nations; political realism
C) the NATO alliance; moral idealism
D) the NATO alliance; political realism
E) Both A and D.

Question 19

National Security Policy is often made based on determinations and recommendations from

A) the Defense Department.
B) the National Security Council.
C) the State Department.
D) Both A and B.
E) All of the above.

Question 20

Which of the following statements is true regarding terrorism?

A) The 9/11 attacks were the only attacks on civilians by Islamic extremists.
B) The Basque terrorists in Spain have no clear objectives.
C) Al Qaeda affiliates have not been active in Islamic nations, preferring to focus on western targets.
D) Al Qaeda's ultimate goals are limited to forcing the United States to withdraw from the Middle East.
E) None of the above.

Question 21

Presidents have been largely successful in getting treaties

A) approved by the World Court.
B) through both the House and the Senate.
C) approved by the Supreme Court.
D) through the Senate.
E) approved by the State Department.

Question 22

In January 2006, __________ won a majority of the seats in the Palestinian legislature, an alarming development since it has called for the destruction of Israel.

A) the militant group Hamas
B) the Kurdish People's Liberation Front
C) the militant group Hezbollah
D) the Palestine Liberation Organization
E) the extremist group Free Jerusalem Now

Question 23

The State Department is

A) directly responsible to Congress.
B) not involved in short-term foreign policy.
C) the executive agency that is most directly concerned with foreign affairs.
D) responsible for making foreign policy, not the president.
E) one of the largest cabinet departments.

Question 24

Which of the following statements regarding China's economy is true?

A) China's economy has grown at a rate of about 10 percent annually for the past several decades.
B) In 2007, China manufactured more passenger automobiles than did the United States.
C) The growth of the Chinese economy during the last thirty-five years is one of the most important developments in world history.
D) Options B and C are true.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 25

North Korea

A) has been of little concern for the United States since the U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
B) has dismantled all of its nuclear weapons in exchange for food.
C) pulled back on its treaty obligations and in 2009 tested a long-range missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead.
D) ordered UN inspectors to come back to the country to verify that all nuclear missiles had been destroyed and that it was only using nuclear devices for creating electricity.
E) had its navy attacked by South Korean and a North Korean ship was sunk.

Question 26

President Obama initially _________________, but has since ________________.

A) doubled the number of troops in Iraq; brought most of them home
B) pulled many troops out of Iraq; increased the troop presence to its highest level
C) doubled the number of troops in Afghanistan; brought most of them home
D) pulled many troops out of Afghanistan; increased the troop presence to its highest level
E) None of the above.

Question 27

The country that can exercise the economic leverage that might bring North Korea back to the negotiating table is

A) the United States.
B) South Korea.
C) Japan.
D) Russia.
E) China.

Question 28

The U.S. war in _____________ was fought against _______________.

A) Afghanistan; al Qaeda and the Taliban regime
B) Iraq; al Qaeda and the Taliban regime
C) Syria; the Hussein regime
D) Iraq; the Assad regime
E) Afghanistan; the Hussein regime

Question 29

The use of military force without a Congressional Declaration of War has been exercised by

A) President Harry Truman.
B) President Bill Clinton.
C) President George W. Bush.
D) President Barack Obama.
E) All of the above.

Question 30

In 2011, Osama bin Laden was killed in his hiding place in

A) Afghanistan.
B) Iraq.
C) Iran.
D) Pakistan.
E) Saudi Arabia.

Question 31

Countries known to have nuclear weapons include

A) the United States, France, and Iran.
B) Russia, the United States, China, and Syria.
C) France, Egypt, Pakistan, and China.
D) China, Pakistan, India, and Great Britain.
E) China, India, Iran, and Iraq.

Question 32

The internationally recognized solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute is that

A) the Palestinians resettle in Jordan with full compensation.
B) Israel yields the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the Palestinians in return for security guarantees and Palestinian abandonment of any right of return to Israel proper.
C) both Israelis and Palestinians should be part of a single state in which all citizens have equal rights.
D) Israel yields the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the Palestinians; both Israelis and Palestinians may settle in either country.
E) Israel should yield up all territory not granted to it by the UN in 1948, including all of Jerusalem.

Question 33

One of the problems for the State Department domestically is that

A) it has "negative constituents"-citizens who oppose the government's policies.
B) it is responsible for the CIA.
C) it answers to Congress first and only then to the president.
D) no new president will retain senior-level diplomats who are not of his or her political party.
E) it is criticized for not spending enough on foreign aid.

Question 34

Efforts to combat Iran's development of nuclear weapons include all of the following except

A) direct negotiations with Iran.
B) economic sanctions against Iran.
C) persuading countries to refuse importation of Iranian oil.
D) the 2010 assassination of the pro-nuclear weapons Iranian president.
E) using a computer worm to target and destroy Iran's enrichment centrifuges.

Question 35

Most of the meaningful resistance to sanctioning Iran for its nuclear program comes from

A) Israel.
B) Saudi Arabia.
C) Iraq.
D) Great Britain.
E) China.

Question 36

All of the following are true of China and the United Sates except

A) since 1972, American policy has hoped to gradually engage the Chinese in diplomatic and economic relationships to move China in a pro-western direction.
B) there are large and growing trade ties between the United States and China.
C) instead of goods and services, China has imported U.S. securities.
D) China exports substantially more goods and services to the United States than it imports.
E) in 1980, China was not given most-favored-nation status by the United States and this has hurt their relationship.

Question 37

To which international issues has the United States applied diplomacy instead of military force?

A) the proliferation of nuclear weapons
B) the growing power of China.
C) the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
D) the global economic crisis
E) All of the above.

Question 38

The economic crisis in Europe is complicated by the fact that

A) seventeen nations share a common currency.
B) Greece and Portugal had borrowed excessively.
C) in Ireland and Spain, many real estate loans went sour, threatening the banks that made them.
D) the Euro-periphery countries could not borrow from the European central bank to shore up money supplies.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 39

Since the end of the Cold War

A) nearly all of the world's nuclear weapons have been dismantled.
B) terrorists have successfully detonated a nuclear device.
C) the number of countries with nuclear weapons has declined.
D) the United States and Russia have maintained Cold War level nuclear stockpiles.
E) the United States and Russia have reduced their nuclear stockpiles.

Question 40

Which of the following is true of the Iraq War?

A) The U.S.-led invasion was largely supported by the Kurdish population
B) By 2006, two-thirds of Americans wanted to end the war.
C) The 2007 troop surge helped the Iraqi government gain control over its territory.
D) An insurgency was led by Sunni Iraqis.
E) All of the above.

Question 41

The key official member of the intelligence community is the

A) Central Intelligence Agency.
B) Department of Defense.
C) Federal Bureau of Investigation.
D) Drug Enforcement Administration.
E) National Security Agency.

Question 42

U.S. foreign policy toward Europe during most of 1800s was

A) isolationism.
B) interventionist.
C) internationalist.
D) one of détente.
E) multilateral.

Question 43

During the Cold War, there was (were)

A) continuous conversation between U.S. and Soviet military advisors.
B) no direct military conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union.
C) an occasional exchange of artillery fire across the East German/West German border.
D) direct fighting between U.S. and Soviet ground troops during the Korean War.
E) occasional dogfights between U.S. and Soviet fighter planes over Europe.

Question 44

One potential congressional tool for ending a war is

A) cutting funding for the war.
B) negotiating peace treaties.
C) replacing the secretary of defense.
D) canceling weapons system orders.
E) sending an ultimatum with unanimous signatures to the president.

Question 45

American isolationism permanently ended

A) with the onset of the Great Depression.
B) with the bombing of the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor.
C) when the United States entered the United Nations.
D) when France and the United States signed a mutual alliance pact.
E) with the Korean War.

Question 46

The government agencies that are involved in gathering information about the capabilities and intentions of foreign governments are collectively known as

A) the Washington community.
B) the armed services consortium.
C) the intelligence community.
D) the National Security Council.
E) regulatory agencies.

Question 47

During the 1800s, the United States generally

A) stayed out of European conflicts and politics but pursued an expansionist policy in the western hemisphere.
B) pursued an expansionist and activist policy in both European conflicts and matters in this hemisphere.
C) pursued an expansionist policy in European conflicts but stayed out of matters in this hemisphere.
D) stayed out of both European conflicts and matters in this hemisphere.
E) has been characterized as Pax Americana.

Question 48

After World War I, the United States returned to a state of "normalcy" in foreign policy, which meant

A) a continued commitment to international peacekeeping.
B) reassuring the public that the United States would act in the role of world policeman.
C) a sharp increase in military spending in order to honor commitments made to the allied powers.
D) a reduction in military forces and defense spending and a return to isolationism.
E) the annexation of additional territory in the western hemisphere.

Question 49

Which of the following is true of the Soviet bloc?

A) Its formation was the turning point in World War II.
B) It helped to improve relations between the Soviet Union and the United States.
C) It consisted of the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries with Communist regimes.
D) It was designed to prevent supplies from entering West Berlin in 1948.
E) It was the alliance setup by the United States and Western Europe to counter the Soviet Union.

Question 50

A major determinant of U.S. foreign policy in the formative years was

A) that this country was destined to become a very powerful nation.
B) that the United States has been very weak militarily.
C) the influence of religion.
D) the strength of the new navy.
E) its interest in the Pacific.

Question 51

The concept of détente

A) comes from a Spanish word meaning peace.
B) comes from a French word meaning a relaxation of tensions.
C) came to symbolize the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1970s.
D) Options B and C are true.
E) None of the above is true.

Question 52

The influence of the secretary of state on the president of the United States has

A) frequently been weakly exercised.
B) been greater than normal for Secretary Hillary Clinton in the Obama administration.
C) generally been greater than the National Security Council.
D) Options A and B are true.
E) Options A, B, and C are true.

Question 53

All of the following statements about the war in Vietnam are true except

A) the war was an effort to exercise containment policy.
B) the war was between the pro-west North and the pro-Communist South Vietnam.
C) more than 58,000 American forces were killed.
D) the U.S. involvement in the war caused contention at home and led to congressional efforts to limit the war powers of the presidency.
E) the war greatly expanded during the Johnson administration.

Question 54

The United States was the only major country to emerge from World War II with

A) an addition to its territory.
B) operational nuclear weapons.
C) the same leader of government that it had when it started World War II.
D) a weakened economy.
E) an intention to expand its role in the world.

Question 55

The Department of Defense

A) is smaller than the State Department.
B) was created in 1947, to gather all military activities under one department secretary.
C) is headed by the military joint chiefs of staff.
D) has consistently grown in size under every president.
E) is staffed entirely by uniformed personnel.

Question 56

The power of the purse means that

A) the president controls the budget appropriations process.
B) the Congress retains the constitutional power on spending authority.
C) the military branch heads determine the budget allocations for defense spending depending on the cost of weapons systems.
D) the president has the power to raise taxes in time of war.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 57

The Monroe Doctrine stated that

A) the United States would not accept any new European intervention in the western hemisphere and the United States would not meddle in European affairs.
B) the United States had the authority to intervene in the affairs of European nations if American interests were at stake.
C) the United States would take action against the Barbary pirates in order to protect American lives and commerce.
D) the United States would not wait to be attacked, but rather would take pre-emptive action against clear and present dangers.
E) the United States would only conduct business with other nations by employing treaties.

Question 58

The doctrine of containment set forth by George F. Kennan

A) proposed that the United States should seek to "roll back" Communism in Eastern Europe.
B) was expressed in the Truman Doctrine enunciated by President Harry Truman in 1947.
C) called for the United States to initiate arms reduction talks.
D) said that the United States should seek to block the spread of Communism to additional countries.
E) Options B and D are true.

Question 59

Intelligence activities

A) consist mostly of overt information gathering.
B) are administered by the Department of Education since the main focus is intelligence gathering.
C) play a rather small role in foreign policy formation.
D) include covert actions carried out in secret that most Americans rarely find out about.
E) Options A and D are true.

Question 60

In 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution, which

A) required congressional approval before the president could dismiss the secretary of defense.
B) limited the president's use of troops in military action without congressional approval.
C) extended the president's power over the military.
D) was necessary because of the increased threat of nuclear war.
E) allowed the president to declare an unlimited national emergency.

Question 61

Describe the difference between moral idealism and political realism and provide examples of each from the history of American foreign policy.

Question 62

Describe the details of isolationist and internationalist foreign policies and argue which general policy is in the best interests of the United States today.

Question 63

Will the relationship between the United States and Russia be substantially different from the relationship that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War? Why or why not?

Question 64

Describe the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and the efforts to bring peace to this troubled part of the world.

Question 65

Explain the constitutional clash of powers between the president and Congress in the area of foreign policymaking.

Question 66

Describe the various uprisings in the Arab Spring countries and the outcomes of each revolt to date.

Question 67

Evaluate the foreign policy powers of the president and Congress, and craft an argument about which you believe to be the true holder of foreign policy power in the U.S. government.

Question 68

Explain the role that China has come to play in the world. How should the United States interact with China?

Question 69

Describe the Bush Doctrine and criticisms of it, and craft an argument for or against this piece of U.S. foreign policy.

Question 70

Describe U.S. efforts to handle international issues with diplomacy rather than armed force. In your examples, were these efforts largely successful or failures?