Responsibilities of the President in Foreign Policy

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Response to Foreign Events
Administration Proposal for Legislation
Negotiation of International Agreements
Policy Statements
Policy Implementation
Independent Action
Conclusion
References

Introduction

The Constitution of the United States divides the national powers and responsibilities in foreign policy between the President and Congress, allowing each of the six ways of carrying it out (Grimmett). The President is well placed to exercise foreign policy powers because of several advantages: being the sole elected national holder of the office, a political party leader, playing a unitary role, and having continuous sessions (CQ Press).

The six ways allowed to the President are:

Response to Foreign Events

The President can create foreign policy if U.S. interest is put in danger by sudden developments in foreign nations. Congress usually approves his action, but they may request him to reconsider a few aspects or all of it. A good example is President Bush’s reaction to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. He immediately put in place economic sanctions against Iraq and, along with other countries under U.N authority, sent U.S. troops to force Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait. Congress fully supported his action (Grimmett). While both the President and Congress share responsibility for the foreign policy, the share of the former is larger than the latter and the gravity of the responsibility is also greater as it involves a commitment of the country’s troops and resources.

Administration Proposal for Legislation

Some foreign policy programs require Congressional approval. In such cases, the President proposes the policy to Congress that has to give its approval before the proposal can become foreign policy. A good example is the Marshall Plan that President Truman proposed to Congress in 1947 to undertake an aid program to west European countries to help them recover from the destruction caused by the Second World War. Congress granted its approval and the Marshall Plan was followed during the next 4 years (Grimmett). The responsibility of this foreign policy shifts away from the President, almost totally resting on Congress.

Negotiation of International Agreements

The President has the power to enter into ‘sole international agreements’ without prior approval of Congress. The authority of the President is considered sufficient enough for such action on his part. Examples are the Vietnam Peace Agreement of 1973 and the Iranian Hostage Agreement of 1981. Other international agreements have to get Congressional approval before being signed by the President (Grimmett). While the President shares the responsibility in case of the latter group of international agreements, total responsibility is taken in case of ‘sole international agreements,’ whereby any bad effects in the future could be blamed squarely on the President.

Policy Statements

The President has the power to create foreign policy either unilaterally or bilaterally. Unilateral statements contain broad American goals and objectives. For example, in April 1991 President Bush declared the U.S. would join in international donations of relief materials to Kurdish refugees in the border between Iraq and Turkey. Bilateral statements are joint declarations with governments of other nations. For example, during the Summit conference in May 1986, the U.S. President and leaders of 6 other nations announced they would fight terrorism via certain economic and diplomatic methods (Grimmett). While the responsibility of such policies rests totally with the President, the benign nature of issues involved reduces the overall gravity of such responsibility.

Policy Implementation

In cases where foreign policy is already in place as a result of Congress legislation, the President has the power to change that policy and take on-the-ground implementation decisions. In an example involving arms sale policy, President Bush informed Congress in September 1992 that he intended to sell 72 F-15 fighter planes to Saudi Arabia; the sale was carried out a month later when Congress did not come up with any objections in the meantime (Grimmett). The responsibility of the President is limited to single deals because the action is taken based on already existing foreign policies.

Independent Action

The President has the power to take sudden foreign policy action before such action is properly and informed to Congress. Congress normally approves the President’s action in such cases because anything different would be seen as undercutting the President on the global stage. The best example is the U.S. military invasion of Grenada in October 1983 on the instructions of President Reagan to prevent Communists from forming a dominating base there. Reagan promised to withdraw U.S. troops from Grenada within a maximum period of 2 months. Congress approved of Reagan’s action and even granted Grenada $ 15 million in economic aid (Grimmett). The responsibility of a foreign policy rests on the President, whereby any ill effects resulting from the policy could be squarely blamed on him or her.

Conclusion

While exercising his powers and acknowledging his responsibilities towards foreign policy, the President can take the help of his support staff that includes specialist advisors, executive councils, cabinet secretaries, and other staff members all of whom are well experienced in foreign policy matters (CQ Press).

References

Grimmett, Richard F. “Foreign Policy Roles of the President and Congress” U.S. Department of State. 1999. Web.
“U.S. Foreign Policy: The Paradox of World Power” CQ Press. 2007. Web.

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