State Department Role

The Secretary of State is an official of the Federal Government that heads up the U.S. Department of State. The Secretary of State is appointed by the President, and is the highest ranking appointed executive branch official. A Secretary of State’s main concerns deal with foreign policy, and the position is considered to be the United States successor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs job. The Secretary of State as well as the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Treasury, and Attorney General are thought of as the four most important cabinet members. As the highest ranking member of the cabinet, the Secretary of State is the third-highest official of the executive branch of the Federal Government, after the President and Vice President. Six Secretaries of State have gone on to be elected President. The Secretary of State, with the counsel of the Senate, is the President’s main foreign affairs representative. The Secretary of State carries out foreign policies through the Foreign Service and the State Department of the United States. The duties of the Secretary of State in relation to foreign policy hasn’t changed that much since the late 1800s, but they have become much more complex and complicated as international countries evolved and multiplied. The secretary of State has many duties within the inner circle of the President, as The Secretary of State acts as the President 's first adviser on current issues within United States foreign policy. It’s also their job to

Department of State: presently Secretary John Kerry leads the state department. One of the original cabinet positions, the Secretary of State important for foreign relations. He or she is the main point of contact for foreign issues and first to advise the president of any issues that may occur. “Under the Constitution, the President of the United States determines U.S. foreign policy. The Secretary of State, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, is the President’s chief foreign affairs adviser. The Secretary carries out the President’s foreign policies through the State Department and the Foreign Service of the United States” (US Department of State 2009). When it comes to handling foreign issues, from treaties to conferences, conflict and resolution, the Secretary of State is the second most important person in regards to gaining and developing foreign relations. It is important to understand this vital role in maintaining peace talks, expanding our trade market, and forming alliances. Though President Washington did not want to be involved with international issues, President Jefferson served as the first Secretary of State implementing the ground rules for this position

The DNI has modestly more power than the old Directors of Central Intelligence (DCIs), but not enough to give the ODNI/AIS real clout. “Herding cats” remains a decent description of the ODNI’s basic role. The DNI has several duties and responsibilities, but for the subject of improving intelligence information sharing the focus will be directed towards: Improving Analytics, Improving Information Security, Improving Foreign Liaison Relationships, and the end state of Improving Information Sharing.

1. In President Obama’s speech at West Point, he announced that 30,000 additional troops would be sent to Afghanistan. He made this decision because he said it was vital to the United States’ national interest. The vital national interest at risk in President Obama’s address is the security and safety of the American people as well as the “security of our allies and the common security of the world.” By involving the military and increasing the troop strength, President Obama can achieve the objectives of his strategy. His objectives are to keep the Taliban from becoming powerful, prevent them from government rule, improve Afghanistan security forces and government so they can manage their own country and prevent Al Qaeda from

“What We Are Fighting For” written by Canadian veteran Rex Murphy challenges the reasons for Canada's mission in Afghanistan. Murphy begins by advocating that Canada entered into the war on terror not only to back our American allies but also in retaliation to the Al-Queida attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. He states that we needed to do step in since in both of these attacks not only killed Canadians, but jeopardizes our sense of security. Murphy continues to discuss Canada's current role in Afghanistan. Firstly, he discusses how we need to displace the Taliban Government as a means of protection for the future, both for the Afghan people and Canadians. Secondly, Murphy believes that we play an important part providing the

The most important, and most difficult, challenge for the country--Congress as well as the President--is to create an anti-terrorism coalition in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as the Middle East that will suppress terrorist conspiracies at their roots. This cannot be done by the United States and NATO from outside, but must be done internally through effective law-enforcement and education by governments, many of which we have been at odds with over a whole range of issues. To induce neutral, indifferent, and even traditionally hostile governments to effectively stop terrorist conspiracies, to deploy sufficient police effort to law-enforcement, to share intelligence information, and to cooperate securely in trans-border investigations, will require significant inducements. This will be the hard part.

The main role of the Secretary of State is to serve as the President’s Chief Foreign Affairs adviser. The Secretary also “carries out the President’s foreign policies through the State department & the Foreign Service of the United States”. Some of the Secretary of State’s specific tasks includes “conducting negotiations relating to U.S. foreign affairs, granting & issuing passports to American citizens and exequaturs to foreign consuls in the United States, supervising the administration of U.S. immigration laws abroad, and promoting beneficial economic intercourse between the United States and other

The Secretary of Defense outlined three strategic pillars in the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR): defending the homeland; building security globally by projecting U.S. influence and deterring aggression; and remaining prepared to win decisively against any adversary should deterrence fail. All three pillars are nested within the objectives of the NSS and arguably, the second pillar establishes a strategic to operational bridge through security cooperation operations (SCO). The assessment of SCO as a bridge between strategic guidance and operational objectives is supported by Joint Publication 3-0 which states that Military Engagement, Security Cooperation, and Deterrence are “ongoing activities (that) establish, shape, maintain, and refine relations with other nations and domestic civil authorities (e.g., state governors or local law enforcement). The general strategic and operational objective is to protect US interests at home and abroad.”

Rajiv Chandrasekaran, is a Washington Post reporter and editor. He has spent three years in Afghanistan and reported extensively about the operations conducted by the ISAF and NATO forces in the post troop’s surge period. He is also the author of Imperial Life in the Emerald City: inside Iraq’s Green Zone, one of the New York Times’s 10 best books of year 2007. Interestingly the author was a guest speaker at the USAWC and presented his thoughts to the students of class of AY 14. His talk at the USAWC and relevance of situation in Afghanistan to Pakistan prompted me to select his book “Little America” for writing the critical book report.

First of all, the president is a dominant role in making foreign policy because he is a chief diplomat. As a chief diplomat, a spokesman, the president is granted the powers to appoint the secretary of state and ambassadors to represent the United States aboard. Moreover, the president has the power of negotiate treaties with other countries and receive foreign diplomats (335). Although most of international

At the beginning of the 1990s the Department of Defense and the United States Army had been responsible for defending our national interests and protecting the U.S. national security. After the attacks on 9/11, it was also made the responsibility of the State Department and USAID including their civilian teams and inter-agency deployment teams. The war on terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq is focused on rebuilding and teaching the occupants to self sustain. Defeating al Qaeda

The war between Afghanistan and the United States has been one that has lasted longer than any war; the civil war combined with both World War I and World War II do not match the duration the United States currently faces with Afghanistan. With both countries engaging little to no military conflict, the U.S. continues to be on Afghanistan’s territory, securing the country from the rise of militias potentially threatening our counterpart’s sovereignty. Many people have been arguing whether the US should withdraw from Afghanistan and when. Currently, as the U.S. plans to withdraw from the Afghan nation, the issue is not one that pertains to the U.S. and Afghanistan, for they are not the only two involved. American forces had planned to leave the opponent’s nation but fear the security along with the sovereignty of Afghanistan continues to be one that is porous. The initiation of the war was the 9/11 attack and has been lasting for 13 years. However, many people complain about the extreme high cost of the war The United States should withdraw completely from Afghanistan because of the high cost of the war, popular opinion’s support, and very few al-Qaeda members are left.

The Counter Insurgency operations in Vietnam have taught the U.S. a lot that can be applied to Afghanistan. According to Phillips (2015) “Although our understanding and steadfast support can make a significant difference, ultimate success depends on

In an age when mankind has the ability to completely annihilate itself through nuclear combat, war can be a more terrifying and powerful thought than ever before. Unfortunately, because of the extent of the actions that the Taliban has committed against both America and its own followers, the United States’ war against terrorism seems to be a necessity. I do feel, however, as if there are many things that can be done by the American government in the near future to peacefully approach a more civil and politically involved Afghanistan. Although my feelings on a war against terrorism are mixed, I do feel that significant actions must be taken in order to restrict the spread of

The first tenet of COIN aligns with the first two statements of COMISAF’s Counterinsurgency Guidance. The primary focus is on the people and earning their trust. The people function as the internal intelligence for the government and support the goal of eliminating, harboring and providing safe havens for the enemy. This effort is supported by the United States Soldiers and its allies taking up residence in the community with the Afghanistan people. This also reinforces President Obama core element of a civilian surge to reinforce positive action. It is imperative to get the people out in the public view and not living in fear. Constant and daily interaction is essential in gathering local intelligence on what is going in the government in hopes of understanding how the people feel and think about their leadership. Communication is helpful but being a good listener is an invaluable asset to information gathering. Secondly, the United States military goal is to support the fostering of renewed trust of the Afghanistan people in their government and security forces. The ultimate goal is that the Afghanistan people reject the insurgents and stop them from infiltrating their infrastructure. This approach was taught by