Deck 16: American Foreign Policy

Question 1

Though President Wilson was instrumental in creation of the League of Nations following World War I, the United States never joined the League. Why?

A) The defeated Germany was felt to have received too many concessions from the League.
B) President Wilson quickly became disillusioned with the process of international alliances.
C) The U.S. Senate rejected Wilson's recommendation to adopt the treaty and returned the nation to an era of isolationism.
D) The United States realized that it would subordinate its military to a foreign power.
E) Other League members wanted to allow former enemy nations into the League.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Pacifism is a policy that

A) authorized the United States to fight wars in lands that bordered on the nation or lay within U. S. boundaries.
B) opposed involvement in permanent alliance.
C) refused to sanction any military conflict and opposes all war making.
D) opposes intervention in wars outside the Western Hemisphere.
E) views the United States as authorized to intervene militarily anywhere in the world because of its exceptional status among nations.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

President Wilson played a major role in drafting the agreement that ended World War I. What was the name of this agreement?

A) League of Nations
B) Warsaw Pact
C) NATO Accords
D) Treaty of Versailles
E) European Common Union

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The federal government's role in U. S. foreign policy is

A) with minimal responsibility.
B) lacking accountability.
C) overshadowed by domestic success.
D) one as the sole authority in charge.
E) can be set aside by the president in favor of more important domestic questions.

Question 5

What has been the response of the presidents since the passage of the War Powers Resolution in 1973?

A) They have willingly complied with the act.
B) Every president has either circumvented or ignored the act.
C) Most presidents have complied with the act but purposely wait until the end of the 60-day period before reporting to Congress.
D) The presidents who have had a cooperative Congress have complied with the act.
E) They have not had to deal with it because the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the executive branch by invalidating the act.

Question 6

In the 1800s and early 1900s, many Americans viewed the nation's defining ideology as acquiring lands and occupying the entire continent from ocean to ocean. What was this ideology commonly called?

A) Expansionism
B) Manifest destiny
C) Continentalism
D) Blitzkrieg
E) Isolationism

Question 7

Who or what body has sole authority to ratify treaties with foreign countries?

A) The president of the United States
B) The U.S. House of Representatives with a majority vote
C) The Secretary of State
D) The U.S. Senate with a two-thirds majority vote
E) The U.S. Supreme Court after a majority vote of the Congress

Question 8

The presidential proclamation in 1823 that there would be no attempt to colonize North and South America by European powers and that such action would be cause for military action was called

A) the War Powers Resolution.
B) the Monroe Doctrine.
C) the Truman Doctrine.
D) the Treaty of Versailles.
E) manifest destiny.

Question 9

Which of the following was NOT a provision of the 1973 War Powers Resolution?

A) The president generally cannot wage war without congressional approval.
B) The president must seek congressional approval no later than 60 days after committing troops in an emergency.
C) The role as commander in chief of the armed forces was passed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
D) The president may commit troops to combat in emergency circumstances.
E) The president must report any hostile military actions directly to Congress.

Question 10

The power to receive ambassadors, negotiate foreign treaties, and serve as commander in chief during the course of a war is the exclusive authority of

A) the president of the United States.
B) Congress.
C) individual state governments that are affected by events.
D) the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
E) the Secretary of Defense.

Question 11

The power to raise armies, punish maritime crimes, regulate commerce, and fund wars is the exclusive authority of

A) the president of the United States.
B) Congress.
C) the state governments.
D) the Secretary of State.
E) the Secretary of Defense.

Question 12

What term is used to encompass all of a nation's activities that are directed at conducting relations with other countries, including military operations and diplomatic activities?

A) International exchange
B) Defense policy
C) Foreign policy
D) Comprehensive policy
E) State of the union

Question 13

The status of the United States as a military superpower

A) is unaffected by advances in communication.
B) is negated by advances in transportation.
C) has given it far more leverage in its relations with foreign powers.
D) has lessened the required expenditure of resources and energy necessary to navigate the foreign policy landscape.
E) is unimportant because America is physically isolated from allies and enemies.

Question 14

Aaron Wildavsky's "two presidencies theory" posits that

A) the president can use the "bully pulpit" to communicate policies and generate support.
B) the Senate would exert a strong influence over the nation's foreign policy.
C) a unitary chief executive can respond quickly and forcefully to sudden changes.
D) separation of the power to command from the power to fund the military was to check the war power from being abused.
E) a more powerful presidency in foreign affairs and a more limited presidency in the domestic sphere exists.

Question 15

Which of the following refers to the doctrine of increasing the territory or economic influence of one's own country?

A) Isolationism
B) Expansionism
C) Manifest destiny
D) Pacifism
E) Militarism

Question 16

By the end of World War I, the European Allies owed how much to the United States?

A) $1 billion
B) $10 billion
C) Over $11 billion
D) They owed nothing; war reparations from Germany paid the costs of the war.
E) $100 billion

Question 17

Though World War I began in Europe in 1914, the United States did not enter the war until 1917. What was the primary reason for this delay?

A) The United Nations had forbidden the United States to intervene.
B) The United States had no allies at the time among the European nations.
C) The United States advocated a policy of isolationism and neutrality until its shipping was directly attacked by Germany.
D) The United States saw the war as a European problem and thus stayed clear of intervention.
E) The United States did not have the military personnel or equipment to fight a major war.

Question 18

Following a war with Mexico from 1846 to 1848, the United States acquired considerable territories and land. Which of the following modern states or parts of states was NOT acquired by the United States as a result of the Mexican War?

A) Nevada
B) California
C) Florida
D) Texas
E) Wyoming

Question 19

Which political ideology opposes American interventions in distant wars or involvement in permanent military alliances?

A) Isolationism
B) Pacifism
C) Expansionism
D) Conservatism
E) Containment

Question 20

In the first two decades of the twentieth century, European imperialism increased and the United States took action to protect its interests. As a result, which of the following nations was NOT one of those in which the United States intervened with military action or threat of action during these two decades?

A) Haiti
B) Iran
C) Nicaragua
D) Venezuela
E) Dominican Republic

Question 21

The "new world order" declared by president George H. W. Bush in 1991 was

A) an invasion of WCW by former Degeneration X members.
B) a collection in which numerous nations would work together for the purpose of securing collective peace, security, and the rule of law.
C) a collection of villains operating under the control of Eric Bischoff.
D) a dystopia postulated by Aldous Huxley.
E) an amalgamation of the Avengers and the JLA.

Question 22

Which of the following was NOT true of the U. S. intervention in Iraq in 2003?

A) There was a failure to unearth "weapons of mass destruction" cited as a partial justification for the war.
B) Critics of the Iraqi intervention argued that U. S. interests in the region were just as unclear as they had been in Southeast Asia in the 1960s.
C) The U. S. military failed to contain rebel insurgents even after taking control of Baghdad.
D) The U. S. tried to interdict the Iranian nuclear program.
E) President Bush proclaimed that the United States had removed a brutal dictator.

Question 23

In the 1970s, a period of somewhat eased tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union led to several strategic arms treaties. This period of eased tension was referred to as

A) demilitarization.
B) perestroika.
C) détente.
D) delimited nuclear treaty.
E) manifest destiny.

Question 24

The United States was NOT involved in plots to assassinate which of the following foreign leaders?

A) Patrice Lumumba, Prime Minister of the Congo
B) Fidel Castro, Cuban communist leader
C) Yitzhak Rabin, Israeli Prime Minister
D) Rafael Trujillo, Dominican Republic leader
E) Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda leader

Question 25

Created in 1949, which alliance bound the United States to the military defense of Western Europe and placed it squarely at odds with the Soviet Union?

A) Warsaw Pact
B) North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
C) League of Nations
D) Strategic Air Command (SAC)
E) Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

Question 26

The October, 1962 tense standoff with the Soviets that nearly ignited a nuclear war was caused by

A) the United States airlifting supplies to West Berlin.
B) U. S. military involvement in the Korean War.
C) U. S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
D) JFK's demands for removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba.
E) the domino theory applied to Southeast Asia.

Question 27

Arms limitation treaties and reduced tensions with the Soviet Union in the 1970s gave way to increased tensions and confrontations in the early 1980s. President Reagan outlined a new initiative called the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). What was the basic goal of SDI?

A) The United States, it was later determined, intended to launch preemptive attacks on the Soviet Union from outer space using SDI.
B) The SDI would take the realm of war into space versus the earth's surface, thus future war would destroy only equipment and not lives.
C) There would be an antimissile system based on the use of lasers and particle beams to shoot down Soviet nuclear missiles in outer space.
D) The SDI was to be a military base on the moon that could launch stealth responses to threats on earth.
E) There would be no need for infantry units, as military actions would be fought from vast distances using virtual technologies.

Question 28

How many former Soviet republics declared their independence when the Soviet Union dissolved and the Cold War came to a close?

A) Six
B) Twelve
C) Ten
D) Fifty
E) Eight

Question 29

The Soviet Union, the principal opponent of the United States during the Cold War, dissolved in

A) 1991.
B) 2001.
C) 1999.
D) 1989.
E) 1986.

Question 30

What was a military alliance of Eastern European nations that lay within the Soviet Union's sphere of influence?

A) Warsaw Pact
B) North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
C) Alliance of Communism
D) Strategic Air Command (SAC)
E) Alliance of the Red Star

Question 31

The __________ was a proactive and aggressive action by the United States following World War II to provide $13 billion in aid to help rebuild the nations of former allies who were ravaged by the war.

A) League of Nations
B) United Nations
C) Marshall Plan
D) Warsaw Pact
E) North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Question 32

What is a foreign policy that is virtually the opposite of isolationism, one that advocates economic and military actions to secure boundaries and interests worldwide?

A) Expansionism
B) Internationalism
C) Manifest destiny
D) Secularism
E) Militarism

Question 33

Which theory referred to the policy held by certain U.S. presidents, positing that the Communist takeover of Vietnam or Korea during their respective wars would lead to the fall of other Asian countries as well?

A) Expansion theory
B) Domino theory
C) Asian theory
D) Anti-Communist theory
E) American sphere of influence theory

Question 34

Out of World War II emerged two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, which became locked in a half-century struggle of indirect hostilities. This struggle was referred to as

A) the Communist resistance.
B) American expansionism.
C) the Russo-European War.
D) the Cold War.
E) the East-West alliance.

Question 35

Which of the following was NOT true of the Vietnam War?

A) It validated the domino theory.
B) By 1975 South Vietnam had fallen to the Communists.
C) None of the U. S. aims in the war were accomplished.
D) The conflict eventually cost 58,000 Americans killed or missing in action.
E) It proved longer lasting and more divisive than any previous foreign war involving the United States.

Question 36

What was an American foreign policy following World War II that restricted Soviet power and resisted efforts to expand Communism?

A) Containment
B) Isolationism
C) Manifest destiny
D) De-expansionism
E) Strategic isolation

Question 37

In 1993 Congress enacted, with approval of the Clinton Administration, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Though it has been politically controversial at times within the United States, what is the purpose of NAFTA?

A) To lift trade barriers such as protective tariffs and investment restrictions between the United States, Canada and Mexico
B) To strictly guard American economic interests in the global market
C) To form economic alliances that would later lead to cooperative military cooperation against common threats
D) To lift trade barriers to China and East Asian markets in order to increase American exports into those regions
E) To force American companies to increase trade with Mexico

Question 38

Which of the following was NOT true of the U. S. policy toward Israel?

A) U. S. officials have been forced to confront the dilemma of what to do with uprooted Palestinian refugees.
B) The United States has been committed to its support for Israel as a political haven for the Jews.
C) Israel has emerged as a modernized democratic presence in a region of the world dominated by countries largely hostile to the West.
D) The United States engaged in action to protect petroleum reserves under Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
E) U. S. support for Israel has assured the United States a friendly ally in the Middle East.

Question 39

Which of the following statements about the "Vietnam syndrome" is incorrect?

A) The Vietnam Syndrome was cured shortly after the end of the Vietnam War.
B) The Vietnam Syndrome produced pacifism on the part of American leaders.
C) The Vietnam Syndrome promoted a fear among politicians of prosecuting another war in which public support was flimsy.
D) The Vietnam Syndrome promoted a fear among politicians of unclear military objectives.
E) The Vietnam Syndrome promoted a fear among politicians of another war in which the exit strategy was ill defined.

Question 40

With the collapse of the Soviet Union's status as superpower in the early 1990s, the global community witnessed the rise a new economic force that is often opposed to the United States in ideology and political goals. What is this nation?

A) Canada
B) Mexico
C) Vietnam
D) Taiwan
E) China

Question 41

Which agency has the primary responsibility for most foreign relations contacts and policy programs?

A) Department of Homeland Security
B) Attorney General's Office
C) Department of Defense
D) Department of State
E) United States Embassies

Question 42

Political scientist John Mueller assessed the role of the military in foreign relations and the public's acceptance of that role. Which of the following is Mueller's argument in this regard?

A) The isolationist vein that runs predominantly through American collective ideology is contrary to the American practice of using its troops as international peacekeepers.
B) The public pays little attention or shows little concern regarding military deployments.
C) Americans have a strong tolerance for all types of military action.
D) If they are not being killed, American troops can remain in peacekeeping or other ventures virtually indefinitely with little public criticism.
E) The American public has very low tolerance for long-term deployment of troops in any situation.

Question 43

The National Security Council (NSC) was established in 1947. What is its purpose?

A) It is an advisory body to the president, coordinating information about foreign, military, and economic policies that affect national security.
B) It is an advisory board to the United Nations on issues related to U.S. interests.
C) It is a division of the Department of Homeland Security that is charged with tracking terrorist cells in the United States.
D) It is a military advisory body to the president, making recommendations on military strategy and use of military resources to meet U.S. objectives.
E) It is a federal auditing agency that ensures the military is at peak performance and is utilizing resources appropriately.

Question 44

Though the balance of powers between the legislative and executive branches has been the source of controversies, there are positives to having a presidential dominance over foreign policy. Which of the following is such a positive element?

A) The president has the ability to act quickly and unilaterally to stop the formation of upstart governments that are hostile to U.S. interests.
B) A presidential dominance allows for the U.S. government to act immediately and decisively in response to developments abroad.
C) A large body such as Congress is rarely capable of reaching a suitable solution in the necessary amount of time.
D) Congress rarely gets beyond partisan politics in making decisions on foreign policy, so a strong president needs to act in the place of Congress.
E) Allowing Congress to override presidential prerogatives only serves to encumber the process of responding decisively.

Question 45

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created in 2002. Which of the following federal agencies is NOT subordinate to this department?

A) U.S. Coast Guard
B) U.S. Border Patrol
C) Federal Emergency Management Agency
D) U.S. Foreign Embassy Service
E) U.S. Secret Service

Question 46

Ideological individuals who advocate that diplomacy rather than military action should be the preferred means of protecting U.S. interests abroad are often referred to as

A) hawks.
B) republicans.
C) realists.
D) socialists.
E) isolationists.

Question 47

The preemption doctrine

A) was top secret only until recently.
B) reserved the right of the U. S. military to use advance strikes to stop rogue states from developing WMDs.
C) was widely accepted on a notion of self-defense.
D) was drafted under the George W. Bush administration.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 48

__________ served as secretary of state under George W. Bush's first term in office; he had served a decade earlier as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (the highest military position in the United States) under President George H.W. Bush. In the position of Joint Chiefs of Staff, he/she advocated military action only as a last resort when faced with overwhelming force.

A) Madeline Albright
B) Colin Powell
C) Condoleezza Rice
D) George Schultz
E) Hugh Robinson

Question 49

What is the presidential advisory group that includes the chief military personnel of all four branches of the armed forces?

A) Joint Chiefs of Staff
B) President's Cabinet
C) Homeland Security
D) Joint Executive High Command
E) West Point Advisory Team

Question 50

During the 1980s, Representative Charlie Wilson (D-TX) worked behind the scenes with the CIA to arm and sustain a rebel group to revolt against occupation by the Soviet Union in which foreign country?

A) Afghanistan
B) Iran
C) Russia
D) Iraq
E) North Korea

Question 51

Though the CIA still functions as an intelligence gathering agency, in recent years there have been concerns that the CIA is poorly suited to coordinate intelligence coming from multiple parts of government. This was magnified after the attacks of September 11, 2001. How did Congress respond to this lack of intelligence coordination?

A) Delegated the duties to the Department of State
B) Moved the Central Intelligence Agency under the direction of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
C) Abolished the CIA and distributed its duties to the U.S. Naval Operations
D) Created a new cabinet-level office of Director of National Intelligence (DNI)
E) Created a national division of the Central Intelligence Agency

Question 52

Which of the following is NOT a program of the U.S. Department of State?

A) Foreign aid to developing nations
B) Oversight of homeland security
C) Contributor and policy participant to the World Bank
D) Diplomatic missions to other countries
E) Oversight of all foreign embassies

Question 53

The president's assumption of increased power over foreign policy is

A) because the president is best positioned to respond to sudden changes in circumstances around the globe in a quick and forceful manner.
B) because the president can use the "bully pulpit" of the office to communicate policies and generate support for the administration's goals.
C) because the president can communicate frequently with world leaders on pressing affairs around the world.
D) All of the above are correct.
E) None of the above are correct.

Question 54

What is the executive body, headed by a civilian presidential appointee, that plays a critical role in helping to formulate and implement U.S. foreign policy through management of the nation's military?

A) Joint Chiefs of Staff
B) Department of State
C) Department of the Army
D) Department of Defense
E) United Nations

Question 55

Which of the following is NOT a reason to reduce foreign aid?

A) The dissolution of the Soviet Union has weakened some of the strategic rationale for foreign aid.
B) Much of the money provided by America goes to elites in the recipient nations rather than those who need help.
C) Foreign transfers only tend to increase government consumption, which has no positive effect on growth.
D) Options A, B, and C are true.
E) None of the above is true.

Question 56

Which of the following is true of U.S. Russian relations?

A) Russia was in full support of the 2003 war in Iraq.
B) Russia reduced their stockpile of nuclear weapons in 2010.
C) Vladimir Putin's return to power in 2012 will strengthen the bonds of U.S.-Russia relations, calling it the "fresh start."
D) President Dmitri Medvedev failed to cooperate with President Obama's efforts.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 57

Political scientist John Mueller assessed the risks taken by presidents in developing and implementing foreign policy initiatives. Which of the following represents Mueller's argument?

A) Presidents must exercise prerogatives in foreign policy in order to appear decisive to the American public.
B) The advantage to a president of a success in minor foreign policy ventures is marginal; the disadvantage to a president of a failure in such a venture is more than marginal.
C) The risk of avoiding military action is always greater than that of initiating military action.
D) A policy initiative will always have some level of negative repercussion.
E) The disadvantage to a president is that success in foreign policy will meet with hostility from foreign citizens, whereas failure brings hostility of American citizens.

Question 58

__________ is the term used for the vast network of defense industries in the United States, such as manufacturers of weapons, missiles, aircraft, submarines, and their bureaucratic allies? As a whole, this network maintains a keen interest in foreign policymaking that is concerned with defense and national security.

A) Civilian military influence
B) AFL-CIO
C) Military-industrial complex
D) Aerospace industry
E) Academic/industrial alliance

Question 59

Politicians and presidential advisors who call for aggressive military action wherever hostile forces may be found are often referred to as

A) doves.
B) hawks.
C) realists.
D) precursors.
E) pacifists.

Question 60

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was created by the National Security Act of 1947. Which of the following is NOT an official duty of the CIA?

A) Coordinating worldwide intelligence information affecting national security
B) Performing public relations functions for the U.S. government
C) Disseminating propaganda on behalf of the U.S. government
D) Engaging in covert activities at the direction of the president
E) Assassinating rogue dictators

Question 61

Which governing body supports all the other UN governing bodies by carrying out tasks as directed?

A) The General Assembly
B) The Economic and Social Council
C) The International Court of Justice
D) The Secretariat
E) The Security Council

Question 62

In 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution. Why was this law created? How have presidents responded to this legislation since its enactment?

Question 63

Describe the differences between the ideologies of isolationism, expansionism, pacifism, and internationalism. To which of these does the United States currently tend to gravitate?

Question 64

Describe the constitutional provisions given to each branch of government in regard to foreign policy.

Question 65

Describe the policy and philosophy behind the Monroe Doctrine, and explain how it fundamentally opposed the concept of isolationism.

Question 66

Discuss the impact of 9/11 and how it changed American foreign policy.

Question 67

Which of the following is true of the relations of the United States with the UN?

A) The influence of the United States over the UN has increased in recent years.
B) The United States went to war with Iraq with the authorization of the UN Security Council.
C) After the war in Iraq, the UN began relief and reconstruction efforts in Iraq.
D) Congress is looking to increase aid to the organization.
E) The United States is a nonpermanent, rotating member of the Security Council.

Question 68

How many member states make up the General Assembly?

A) 5 permanent, 10 nonpermanent members
B) 54 members
C) 247 members
D) 192 members
E) 134 members

Question 69

Which of the following is NOT a governing body of the UN?

A) General Assembly
B) Secretariat
C) Supreme Court
D) Security Council
E) Economic and Social Council

Question 70

The five permanent members of the Security Council include

A) France, Germany, Great Britain, the United States, and China.
B) China, the United States, France, Great Britain, and the Russian Federation.
C) the Russian Federation, Japan, India, Spain, and South Korea.
D) Japan, Australia, China, North Korea, and Germany.
E) the United States, Spain, Italy, Greece, and France.

Question 71

What was the Cold War and how did it originate? Who were the major players in this era? What roles did NATO and the Warsaw Pact play? How did the Cold War end?

Question 72

What are the underlying interests/benefits associated with U.S. foreign aid distributions? Analyze the arguments in favor of and opposed to American foreign aid. What is the trickle-down theory and is it still relevant?

Question 73

Analyze the operation of each of the parts of the United Nations. Discuss arguments in favor of and opposed to the proposition that the United Nations still serves an important function in global affairs.

Question 74

What benefits come from increasing our relations with Russia? What progress and decline have we seen in recent years that affect this relationship?

Question 75

Apply John Mueller's four propositions describing American public opinion concerning foreign policy to each of these U. S. foreign policy actions: 1991 Persian Gulf War, Operation Restore Hope countering widespread famine in Somalia, intervention in Bosnia, and the 2003 intervention in Iraq.