CH DIPLOMATIC AND MILITARY POWERS ADVANCED AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

THE POWER TO MAKE TREATIES  TREATY—formal agreement between two or more sovereign states  The Secretary of State represents the President during most negotiations  Senate must give “advice and consent” with a 2/3 vote.  Treaty is ratified when documents are exchanged between the various parties involved.  Congress may pass a law to repeal a treaty  A 2/3 vote means that a relatively small group of senators could kill a treaty

EXECUTIVE AGREEMENTS  EXECUTIVE AGREEMENT—a pact between the President and the head of a foreign state, or between their subordinates  Example:  Destroyers-for-bases deal of 1940  USA gave Great Britain 50 “over-age” U.S. Destroyers that Britain needed  The United States received 99-year leases to a string of air and naval bases extending from Newfoundland to the Caribbean

THE POWER OF RECOGNITION  RECOGNITION--The President receives the diplomatic representative of another sovereign state  This act acknowledges the legal existence of that state.  The USA does not have to agree with the policies or conduct of the other state (ex.—China)  The President can show displeasure with another country by asking for that country’s ambassador to leave the country  The person removed is now called “persona non grata”  Or “an unwelcome person”

COMMANDER IN CHIEF  Leader of all American armed forces  President’s powers as commander in chief are almost without limit  President has the finally authority and responsibility on all military decisions  MAKING UNDECLARED WAR  Does the Constitution give the President the power to make war without a declaration from Congress?  Some people say “No” but history says otherwise

 1798—John Adams had the Navy fight and win battles against the French  Early 1800s—Thomas Jefferson and James Madison used the military against Barbary Coast pirates  Others include Korea, Panama, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan  CONGRESSIONAL RESOLUTIONS  No declared war since WWII  Congress has authorized the President to use force under certain conditions

 —Marines sent to Lebanon to stop a Soviet-backed coup  1962—Cuban Missile Crisis—Soviets began installing nuclear missiles in Cuba  1962—Sanctioned military action dealing with erection of the Berlin Wall  1964—Defeat communist aggression in Southeast Asia (American forces finally withdrawn in 1973)  1991—Military campaign to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait (Operation Desert Storm—approx. 6 weeks)  2001—War in Afghanistan begins  2002—War in Iraq begins

 OTHER USES OF MILITARY POWER  Invasion of Grenada in 1983 to stop a coup  1989—Invasion of Panama to oust the dictator and protect American interests  Use of force in the Balkans: 1995—Bosnia; 1999—Kosovo in response to civil war and ethnic cleansing  THE WAR POWERS RESOLUTION  Enacted in 1973  Initially vetoed by President Nixon

 Congress overrode the veto with a 2/3 vote  1) President must report to Congress within 48 hours of committing troops to combat with details about the operation  2) Commitment of troops can last no more than 60 days unless Congress agrees to a longer period. The deadline may be extended for 30 days to allow for the safe withdrawal of troops  3) Congress may end the combat mission at any time by passing a concurrent resolution  The constitutionality of the War Powers Act remains in dispute  THE END