Shank, Cases 17, 18:
Foreign Policy Study Guide .5
When the Framers wrote the Constitution
they gave Congress the power to declare war in Article I.. Article II grants authority to the President
to be commander in chief of the armed forces. This illustrates what the framers called separation of powers—no one
person or group of people has all the power.
Even with respect to war, the president’s power is shared with the 435 members of Congress. The
Framers felt that separation of powers
would check and balance the power of both the President and
Congress. The commander in chief, the
President would have to ask Congress to declare war.
In U.S. history, the President has rarely Congress
to declare war--most recently to declare World War II that ended in 1945. However, Presidents have initiated small and
large scale military actions, sometimes known as police actions, in other
countries without first going to Congress.
These have included troops into hostile foreign territories. One example
was President Truman sending US air,
naval and ground forces to South Korea to resist military action from North
Korea without asking Congress. A
second example was President Kennedy
ordering military action against Fidel Castro in Cuba at the Bay of Pigs without letting Congress
know.
A1. What is separation of powers?
A2. What article gives Congress the power to
declare war?
A3. Which article authorizes the President to be
commander in chief of the armed
forces?
B. Congress
approved the War Powers Act in 1973 in response to President Nixon’s action to bomb Cambodia
(also known as Kampuchea) during the Vietnam War. This act required presidents to consult Congress
before sending US troops into hostilities abroad. This act gives Congress a position to negotiate with the
president regarding how long troops will remain and when they will be returned
from military action. The War Powers
Act required the president to return troops within sixty days. If the president exceeds this limit, he must
ask an extension. Presidents Nixon to Clinton have opposed the War Powers Act because they believe it is
an intrusion on their constitutional power to act as commander in chief.
B1. What is the War Powers Act?
B2. When did Congress approve the War Powers
Act?
B3. What is the required time for the president
to return U.S. troops?
B4. If a president does not return troops
within 60 days, what must he do?
B5. What presidents oppose the War Powers Act?
The
Constitution gives the president authority to act as chief of the armed
forces. US presidents believed that it
is their inherent power to send troops overseas if they believe that the US
national security interest is threatened.
The Communist North Korea invaded South Korea in hope to join all of
Korea under communist rule. President Truman in 1950 did not ask Congress to
declare war against North Korea. As authorized by the United Nations, he sent
U.S. air, naval and ground forces to aid South
Korea against North Korea’s invasion.
Truman wanted to contain the
spread of communism. Truman told
Congress that his actions were in the interest of US foreign policy.
C1. Who sent U.S. military forces to assist
South Korea?
C2. What country invaded South Korea?
C3. What part of Korea is under Communist rule?
C4. What was President Truman attempting to
contain?
President Eisenhower sought approval from
Congress to support US military involvement in the Middle East. Congress approved the Eisenhower Doctrine, which authorized the president to use U.S. troops
to assist Middle East nations who
were requesting help against communist threats. President Eisenhower used his authority to send U.S. troops to Lebanon in 1957 during the Cold War.
D1. What Doctrine did Congress approve?
D2. Which American President sent troops to the
Middle East in 1957?
D3. Why did the Middle East nation request help
from U.S.?
D4. President Eisenhower sent U.S. troops to
what country?
President
Kennedy ordered a naval blockade
around Cuba in 1962 to prevent
Soviet ships from bringing missiles to Cuba.
He ordered military action without notifying Congress. The Cuban
missile crisis brought U.S. and the Soviet
Union to the brink of World War III.
President Kennedy explained that secrecy and quick decisiveness was
needed to convince the Soviets to stop arming Cuba with nuclear missiles.
E1. Which American president ordered a naval
blockade around Cuba?
E2. What country did the president prevent from
bringing missiles to Cuba?
E3. What event almost brought U.S. and Soviet
Union to the verge of World War III?
E4. What was President Kennedy’s purpose for not
informing Congress about the naval
blockage in Cuba?
In
1964, during the Cold War that ended in 1989, Congress approved
the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution because Communist North
Vietnam invaded anti-Communist South Vietnam. Under the resolution, Johnson sent a massive
number of US troops and materials to support South Vietnam. When President Nixon took office in
1969, he promised to reduce U.S. involvement in Indochina. However, he secretly bombed Cambodia. After years without U.S.
success, Congress approved legislation to bring about an end to the Vietnam War by withdrawal U.S. military
forces As a result of U.S. withdrawal,
South Vietnam fell and Vietnam was united under Communist rule.
F1. What resolution was approved by Congress?
F2. Under which American president was the
resolution approved?
F3. What part of Vietnam was anti-communist?
F4. What country did President Nixon secretly
bomb?
F5. What amendment did Congress approve in 1971?
F6. The anti-communist South Vietnam fell to
what country?
In
1975, Communist invaded Cambodia and
took captive of the American ship, the Mayaguez. President Ford ordered an attack and sent U.S. troops to rescue the Mayaguez and its crew members. President Jimmy Carter sent a team in 1980 to rescue U.S. hostages in Iran ruled
by the Ayatollah Khomeini. However, the attempt failed. In 1982, President Reagan sent marines to Lebanon
as a peacekeeping force.
G1. President Ford sent troops to rescue what
American ship and its members?
G2. What did President Carter attempt to do in
1980?
G3. Which U.S. president sent marines to
Lebanon?
H1. What year did Iraq invade Iran?
H2. What was the main goal of U.S. and other
regions to prevent Iran from becoming the dominant force in the Gulf?
H4. Who was the dictator of Iraq?
H5. What year did the Iran-Iraq war end?
H6. What country did Saddam invade after the
Iran-Iraq war?
H7. What war had the largest military action
since the Vietnam War?
·
“For
his humaneness in not killing fleeing, defenseless Iraqi troops.”
·
“For
his decisive leadership at home and abroad.”
·
“For
protecting vital U.S. oil interests” (Shank 234).
·
“For
leaving Saddam in power and his WMD (weapons of mass destruction) intact.”
·
“For
not destroying the Republican Guard.”
·
“For
urging Kurds and Shiites to topple the Iraqi dictator without supporting them.
·
“Ending
the war in 100 hours left many loose ends” (Shank, page 234).
In
1993, Congress demanded withdrawal of U.S. peacekeeping force from Somalia following rebel attacks on U.S.
troops and the downing of two U.S. helicopters. After eighteen U.S. Army Rangers were killed, Congress approved a
deadline to return the troops. Clinton returned U.S. troops within six
months and in 1994 the presence of U.S. military in Somalia ended. In 1994, Clinton ordered military planes to
transport troops to Haiti to restore
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to
office. U.S. troops arrived as
peacekeeping rather than military force.
Clinton deployed armed forces in the U.S.-led NATO to intervene military
in Kosovo. In April 1999 the House voted to require President Clinton to
obtain Congressional approval before sending troops, but refused to support NATO airstrikes. The House also rejected the resolution to
declare war against Yugoslavia. The Senate had earlier approved NATO
airstrikes, but postponed action on resolution to give Clinton all authority to
win the war against Serbian
repression in Kosovo.
I3. Which American president sent troops to
Somalia and Haiti?
I4. What country did Clinton deploy armed forces
as military intervention?
I5. What did the House refuse to support
President Clinton?
I6. The House refused to declare war against
what country?