American Foreign Policy

America as we know is made of many tight knit pieces that work together to achieve a common goal. An analysis of the surveillance programs enacted by the United States reveals that the United States uses only a few pieces to establish a strong and somewhat overbearing surveillance program. Through Stevenson’s America’s Foreign Policy Toolkit we are able to analyze further the parts that the United States focuses on.

The greatest tool that the United States focuses on is the ability of its’ Intelligence Community (IC) page 231 (Stevenson, 2012). The Intelligence Community is made up of 16 members whose actions are broadly known, with even more suspected. Hidden within the cloak of secrecy this community is largely blamed when things happen that are unfavorable or hurtful to the United States, while maintaining face about when they are successful. One of the “elements” of the IC, the CIA, as even been stated as “the president’s personal sword of power in foreign lands if all else fails, one he can use without asking Congress first.” To have such a strong arm as president can be extremely useful in many situations. However, with the collaborative efforts of each of these departments, we will sometimes hit a wall. With each intelligence agency used to their own standard operating procedures, it can be quite difficult to collaborate with other “elements” unless someone is pulling you by the arm.

The biggest “element” with the most exposure in the media is the National Security Agency. The NSA’s primary goal is to collect signals intelligence and code breaking. An agency under the Department of Defense, the NSA, has only a small description in the Toolkit however; we know they have only quite recently resurfaced. They were always know...

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...llect and process as much data about everyone no matter what country of origin they belong.

While the United States has been lack luster on the Diplomatic side of things, at least they are retaining their mission of Cyber Security page 263 (Stevenson, 2012). In the formation of Homeland Security, the internet was deemed a new avenue of vulnerability. Even more so, since the United States relies heavily on the internet to host and administer our infrastructure systems, such as Water, Gas, and Electric control systems. Leaving us wide open to an attack that could potentially disrupt our entire country at once. Luckily, the Obama administration has done something that I am appreciative of and recognizing that Cyber Security is not something to mess around with. With an ever-increasing budget, the government hopes to have a “full spectrum military cyberspace operation”.