1. FOREIGN AND MILITARY POLICY
The president’s powers in making military and foreign policy are extensive and have expanded over time.
a. Identify and explain two reasons why the president is powerful in military and foreign affairs.
ANSWER:
Although Congress has the power to declare war, the president is the commander-in-chief. Presidents have asserted their ability to commit troops on numerous occasions. This gives the president great power in foreign affairs. One example is when President Kennedy and Johnson

2. sent troops to Vietnam even though there was no official declaration of war. This eventually put half a million troops overseas. The fact that a president cal initiate and maintain such a large military action in the absence of a formal declaration of war demonstrates the power of the presidency. Another reason the president has so much power in foreign affairs is the number of defense and national security agencies under his authority. The Central Intelligence Agency engages in covert activities designed to provide the government with information about threats from abroad. The National Security Council, which coordinates military and foreign policy, includes the secretary of defense, the director of the CIA, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the attorney general. Because of the wide range of executive agencies that are involved in making foreign and defense policy, the president has considerable power.

3. b. Identify and explain one constraint on the president’s policymaking in military and foreign affairs.
ANSWER:
One constraint on a president’s ability to make foreign policy is that the Senate must ratify treaties, they are no more than a promise until the authority over agreements made with foreign nations, and the president’s power is constrained.

4. #2. USING THE CHART COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING TASKS:
ANSWER: a. Identify 2 trends in military spending- One trend is that military spending remains stable at about $300 billion during election years. Another trend is that military spending increases during wartime.

5. b. Identify one event that increased military spending and explain why.
One event that increased military spending was the election of Ronald Regan. President Reagan believed in increasing military spending to invest in new defensive technology. Congress approved his proposals, and as a result, military spending increased from $300 billion in 1980 to about $650 billion in 2009.

6. c. Identify one event that decreased military spending and explain why.
One event that resulted in a decrease in military spending was the end of the Cold War. In 1991, the Soviet Union broke up. Until that point the USSR was considered one of the major threats to the United States, and much of our military spending was geared toward dealing with that threat. After the end of the Cold War, there was a period of lessened tensions, which resulted in a “peace dividend.”