Cabinet Departments
Three cabinet departments usually take center stage in American foreign policy:
- Department of State: Engages diplomacy with other nations
- Department of Defense: Coordinates the American military around the world
- Department of Homeland Security: Protects America from terrorist attacks domestically and deals with natural disasters
Squabbling Secretaries
The secretaries of defense and state do not always agree with each other or with the president. In fact, sometimes the conflicts between the two lead to nasty infighting to get the president’s favor. During the first term of George W. Bush, for example, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld frequently butted heads with Secretary of State Colin Powell, in particular over the prospect of invading Iraq.
Other Agencies
Although the State and Defense Departments are the primary foreign policy organizations in the cabinet, sometimes other departments play a role. When negotiating agricultural trade agreements, for example, the Department of Agriculture might play an important role. Specialized government organizations, such as the Office of the Trade Representative and the Export-Import Bank, also affect and influence foreign policy.
Intelligence Agencies
Many intelligence agencies work to provide the president with accurate, up-to-date information about the rest of the world. At the top of the intelligence services is the director of national intelligence, who coordinates the information that the various intelligence agencies gather. These agencies include the following:
- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
- National Security Agency (NSA)
- Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
- Army, Navy, and Air Force intelligence
The Importance of Intelligence
In order to conduct good foreign policy, officials must have accurate, reliable information. When the intelligence agencies fail to get quality information, policy often fails as well. In 1960, for example, the CIA dramatically underestimated popular support for Fidel Castro’s regime in Cuba. Castro’s military easily crushed the Bay of Pigs Invasion, embarrassing the United States and creating a foreign policy disaster for new president John F. Kennedy. But astute intelligence work in 1962 provided Kennedy with the information he needed a few years later during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Recently, much has been made about what President George W. Bush and his advisers knew and did not know before deciding to invade Iraq in 2003.