Assignment 2: Current Events and U.S. Diplomacy

Students, please view the “Submit a Clickable Rubric Assignment” in the Student Center. Instructors, training on how to grade is within the Instructor Center.Click the link above to submit your assignment.Assignment 2: Current Events and U.S. DiplomacyDue Week 9 and worth 175 pointsThis paper will be a revised and expanded version of the first research paper. Based on your instructor’s feedback, you will first revise the first paper. Write three-to-four (3-4) new pages that address the following:

1. Define presidential doctrine and summarize the regional or global events during the Cold War leading up to the formation of the presidential doctrine you wrote about in Assignment 1.  
2. Select one country you wrote about in Assignment 1 and describe the Cold War relationship that existed between the country you selected and the U.S. before the presidential doctrine was announced. 
3. Describe the relationship that currently exists between the U.S. and the country you selected in section (2) above. 
4. Describe the effect that the presidential doctrine has had on regional or global affairs since it was announced during the Cold War.
5. Assess whether or not the presidential doctrine you wrote about in Assignment 1 doctrine had had the intended effect of altering the behavior of the country you selected in section (2) above since the doctrine was first announced. 
6. Use at least four (4) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources. 

To help you understand this assignment further, the following description and examples may be useful.

Step 1: Define doctrine and identify why a president would want to announce one. A doctrine is an ideological platform that a president uses to advance a policy towards a country or region in order to accomplish foreign policy goals for the United States, so you will need to expand on this theme.   Refer back to Assignment 1, and build on whatever doctrine you wrote about then.  Say, for example, you selected the Truman Doctrine.  Therefore, this is the only thing you will write about in Assignment 2 step 1.   Step 2: Select one country you wrote about in Assignment 1 and describe the Cold War relationship that existed between it and the U.S. Before the presidential doctrine was announced.  In the case of Truman, you would pick either the Soviet Union, Greece, or Iran, since all three were affected by his doctrine.  If you are writing about the Eisenhower Doctrine, you would choose Lebanon or Egypt; if you wrote about the Kennedy Doctrine, you would have write about Cuba or Vietnam; if your wrote about the Nixon Doctrine, you would choose either Vietnam, Saudi Arabia or Iran; if you chose Carter, you would select either Iran or Afghanistan; and if you wrote about the Reagan Doctrine, you would select Nicaragua, Angola, Russia or Afghanistan (although there were several others). Step 3: Describe what effect the presidential doctrine you chose has had on regional or global affairs since it was announced during the Cold War.  That is, how did the doctrine change the status quo regionally or globally after it was announced by the U.S.?  What happened in Western Europe after the Truman Doctrine was announced?  What happened in the Middle East after the Eisenhower Doctrine was announced?  What happened with Cuba or Vietnam after Kennedy offered up his doctrine of flexible response?  What happened in Southeast Asia or the Persian Gulf after the Nixon Doctrine went in effect?  What happened in the Middle East after the Carter Doctrine was announced?  What happened in Central America or Africa or the Middle East after Reagan announced his doctrine? Step 4: Refer back to the country you selected in step two and describe the relationship that currently exists between the U.S. and that country.  How has the relationship changed between the U.S. and that country since the doctrine was announced? Step 5: Evaluate whether or not the presidential doctrine had had the intended effect of altering the behavior of the one country you selected in section (2) above since the doctrine was first announced. Your assignment must:Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length. The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are: Identify the cultural, economic, and political context of information resources, and interpret information in light of that context.Use technology and information resources to research issues in international problems.Write clearly and concisely about international problems using proper writing mechanics.Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic/organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric.Click here to view grading rubric. 

PRESIDENTIAL DOCTRINE OF JOHN F. KENNEDY 2

PRESIDENTIAL DOCTRINE OF JOHN F. KENNEDY 7

Presidential Doctrine of John F. Kennedy

The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy

Vincient McNeil

Strayer University

IR: The New World of International Relations

POL300030VA016-1138-001

Professor David Brand

November 05, 2013

Running head: PRESIDENTIAL DOCTRINE OF JOHN F. KENNEDY 1

Abstract

Shortly after his inauguration, Kennedy permitted a band of Cuban exiles, already armed and trained, to invade their homeland. The attempt to overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro was a failure. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union renewed its campaign against West Berlin. Kennedy replied by reinforcing the Berlin garrison and increasing the Nation’s military strength, including new efforts in outer space. Confronted by this reaction, Moscow, after the erection of the Berlin Wall, relaxed its pressure in central Europe.

The Russians now sought to install nuclear missiles in Cuba. When this was discovered by air reconnaissance in October 1962, Kennedy imposed quarantine on all offensive weapons bound for Cuba. While the world trembled on the brink of nuclear war, the Russians backed down and agreed to take the missiles away. The American response to the Cuban crisis evidently persuaded Moscow of the futility of nuclear blackmail.

Presidential Doctrine of John F. Kennedy

One of the greatest challenges for President John F. Kennedy, was the Cuban Missile Crisis that began in October of 1962. This crisis began one year after the failed invasion of the CIA in Cuba. The Bay of Pigs fiasco had given Khrushchev the impression that the U.S. president was naive and inexperienced (Sage, 2011). This impression was the more likely cause, which fueled the Soviet’s in using Cuba as a base to build a launch pad for their nuclear missiles. The United States successfully used spy planes to photograph the bases and this provide overwhelming evidence that the Soviets had violated the Monroe Doctrine. The Soviets initial claim was that these were lies coming from the United States, but the United Nations, U.S. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson presented the photographs of missile installations to the Soviet ambassador. The United States Navy was ordered to place a “blockade” around the island of Cuba, and this move was to keep the Soviet ships from advancing with their missile cargos (Sage, 2011). The Cuban Missile Crisis lasted for a period of thirteen days, in which the world’s most two superpowers sat at the verge of nuclear war.

The Kennedy doctrine in terms of the Cold War is referred to as “Flexible Response” (Gaddis, 1982). He considered himself a “Cold Warrior” and had been critical of Eisenhower’s foreign policy. Instead, he intended to “take a hard line with communism” (Sage, 2011). Kennedy’s “Flexible Response” also emphasized, that using all possible means at our nation’s disposal, to deal with any or all foreign threats. President Kennedy wanted to deter and even avoid war in general, and especially nuclear war.

The placement of nuclear missiles on the communist island just ninety miles from the state of Florida, posed a very real threat to all American citizens. Khrushchev put Kennedy into a position that demanded a strong and clear response that could have ultimately result in WWIII and the complete destruction of millions of people. His predecessor, Eisenhower, favored nuclear weapons over conventional forces because they “pack more bang for the buck” (Gaddis, 1982); had Eisenhower been president at the time, we may not even be in existence today. On the other hand, the Kennedy doctrine of “Flexible Response” required him to explore other means, such as diplomacy, before even resorting to nuclear war as an alternative.

Khrushchev eventually sent a message to President Kennedy offering to negotiate, in order to find a way to end this standoff. Through various methods of communication the two leaders came to an agreement. The agreement stated, that the Soviets would cease the development of missile sites in Cuba, and the United States would remove some of their missiles stationed in Turkey.

The Cuban Missile Crisis, caused people all over the world to hold their breath in eagerness of each country’s next move. If we look at this crisis, it actually put the fate of the entire planet in the hands of these two men. Kennedy’s management of this situation had a tremendous effect on the United States and the rest of the world. Due to his decision to negotiate with Khrushchev rather than to “push the button” made every country see the effects of nuclear arms in a whole new light. For the first time, world leaders realistically considered the potential devastation that could have been brought on, as a result of what leaders had once viewed as a contest to prove which nation was the most powerful.

Kennedy and Khrushchev both had spoken about the gravity of the situation that they had recently faced, and they both spoke of the realization that dawned on them. Khrushchev stated, “The two most powerful nations had been squared off against each other, each with its finger on the button,” and Kennedy remarked, “It is insane that two men, sitting on the opposite sides of the world, should be able to decide to bring an end to civilization” (Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, n.d.). Both men heartily agreed to take action to reduce tensions between their two countries.

Also in line with his “Flexible Response” doctrine, Kennedy chose to send a representative by the name of Averell Harriman, who was an experienced diplomat and highly respected by Khrushchev, to a summit in Moscow. The result of these talks generated the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, signed on August 5, 1963. This treaty banned all types of nuclear weapons testing, except for those that were conducted underground. Furthermore, underground testing could only be allowed as long as no radioactive debris fell outside the boundaries of the nation conducting the test. Additional results from this treaty, highlighted that both sides would agree to work towards complete disarmament, to end this era of the arms race, and to end contamination of the environment by radioactive substance.

To think, that if John F. Kennedy followed the doctrine of his predecessor (Eisenhower), he may well have led our country into a nuclear war and brought destruction to a large fraction of the world’s population. Since Kennedy decided instead to exercise all other options first, he was instrumental in bringing an end to the frantic race between the two superpowers of the world, which created the most devastating weapons known to mankind. The Kennedy doctrine allowed him to see beyond popular opinion and ideology, the fears of a nation, and the threat of a bully. His actions allowed him to see humanity as a whole and the responsibility that each of us have to one another and as members of the human race. This chapter in history paved his perspective not as the president of a powerful nation, but as a citizen and guardian of the world.

In his commencement address at American University on June 10, 1963, he said, “In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal. We must deal with the world as it is, and not as it might have been, had the history of the last eighteen years been different” (Kennedy, J.F., Foreign Affairs, 2011).

Conclusion

Kennedy now contended that both sides had a vital interest in stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and slowing the arms race, a contention which led to the test ban treaty of 1963. The months after the Cuban crisis showed significant progress toward his goal of “a world of law and free choice, banishing the world of war and coercion.” His administration saw the beginning of new hope for both the equal rights of Americans and the peace of the world.

President John F. Kennedy led a renewed drive for public service and eventually provided federal support for the growing civil rights movement. His assassination on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, sent shockwaves around the world and turned the all too human Kennedy into a larger than life heroic figure. To this day, historians continue to rank him among the best loved presidents in American history.

References

Gaddis, J.L. (1982). Strategies of containment: A critical appraisal of postwar American

national security. New York : Oxford University Press. Retrieved from

http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-weapons/history/cold-

war/strategy/strategy-containment.htm

Kennedy, J.F. (2011). John F. Kennedy – Foreign affairs. Retrieved from

http://presidentprofiles.com/Kennedy-Bush/John-F-Kennedy-Foreign-affairs.html

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-

History/Nuclear-Test-Ban-Treaty.aspx

Roskin, M.G, Berry, N.O. (2010). IR: The New World of International Relations, Chapter 3, “Wrong, Terribly Wrong”: The United States and Vietnam (pg. 43). Upper Saddle River,

NJ. Prentice Hall Publishing.

Sage, H. (2011). America and the cold war: The Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy years.

Retrieved from http://www.academicamerican.com/postww2/coldwar.html

Kennedy, J.F. (N.D.) Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Retrieved from

http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Nuclear-Test-Ban-Treaty.aspx