They represent America's interests and assist U. It negotiates treaties and trade agreements. That includes the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership , which would have been the world's largest. It's between the United States and the European Union.
It was awaiting ratification when President Trump withdrew the United States from it. The other participants moved forward anyway. Those funds are for its participation in the fight against terrorism. The department can be considered part of defense spending since part of its mandate is to "shape and sustain a peaceful, prosperous, just, and democratic world. It supports local law-enforcement. It eliminates terrorist safe havens.
The State Department reports to Congress on human rights and religious freedom in almost countries. The federal government uses the reports to guide decision making in matters ranging from assistance to asylum.
China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are of particular concern. It also provides analyses of black market activities such a narcotics, human trafficking, and terrorism. These activities are often perpetrated by global criminal organizations. There is a huge service industry that supports these organizations. They include providers of false documents and money launderers.
They also include legal, financial, and accounting professionals. These activities contribute between 8 percent and 15 percent of the global economy. The State Department assists small countries combat these global organizations.
The State Department provides services, including passports, for citizens traveling and living abroad. It provides visas for foreigners visiting the United States. It also provides expertise to U. It identifies opportunities for them.
It works to achieve fair business practices for U. That includes intellectual property protection, intervening with local corruption and bribery, and promoting a climate for entrepreneurship. The secretary of state is the president's principal adviser on foreign policy. The secretary is the person chiefly responsible for U. The U. Department of State provides information and services for U.
For those pursuing university degrees and professionals who are interested in an executive development program in public service, the Department offers a number of programs, including internships and fellowships. In , he voted against the U.
When Sen. Highlights of his chairmanship include guiding a new nuclear arms pact with Russia to confirmation and personally persuading Afghan President Hamid Karzai to agree to a runoff election after prematurely declaring himself the winner of first round elections.
Kerry has two daughters with his first wife, Alexandra and Vanessa. Main Menu. Back to Departments Back to Department of State. Department of State. The State Department, originally known as the Department of Foreign Affairs when it was created in , is the oldest of the cabinet-level agencies in the Executive Branch. It consists largely of diplomats and Foreign Service officers who carry out American foreign policy throughout the world.
This task involves a multitude of issues ranging from trade and commerce to cultural interests to security measures. The State Department interfaces with representatives of foreign governments, corporations, non-governmental organizations and private individuals to advance US interests all across the globe.
During the two-terms of President George W. Bush, the State Department has been particularly focused on the issue of terrorism as a result of the attacks on Sept. Controversies stemming from this top policy concern include hiring private security guards to protect American diplomats in Iraq—some of whom were accused of killing innocent Iraqi citizens.
The department also has spent lavishly on a new embassy in Baghdad, which was found to be poorly designed in spite of costing more than half a billion dollars to build. History: In July , Congress and President George Washington approved legislation establishing a Department of Foreign Affairs, making it the first federal agency to be created under the new Constitution.
In September of that same year, additional legislation changed the name to the Department of State and assigned to it a variety of domestic duties, including managing the US Mint, taking the census and maintaining the Great Seal of the United States. Most of the domestic duties were eventually turned over to other federal departments and agencies during the 19th century, putting the State Department primarily in charge of foreign affairs.
The Federalists and Jeffersonians also disagreed over US foreign policy in regards to political events in Europe. After the outbreak of the French Revolution in , the Federalists distrusted France and encouraged closer commercial ties to England, while the Jeffersonians preferred to support the new French Republic. US and French negotiators restored peace with the Convention of , also known as the Treaty of Mortefontaine.
During most of the s, the US concentrated on its westward expansion, beginning with the Louisiana Purchase and other agreements that greatly enlarged American territory on the North American continent. The most pressing foreign affairs problems for American diplomats were the Barbary Wars of and and the outbreak of the War of with Great Britain. A critical event came in when Commodore Matthew Perry sailed to Japan and successfully opened up the then-isolated island nation to American trade.
In , the federal government purchased the territory of Alaska from Russia. The most significant international event for the US came in with the outbreak of war with Spain. The Spanish-American War led to the US gaining control of the Philippines and turning it into a quasi-colony and asserting its authority over Cuba.
Also in al, though entirely separate from the war, the US annexed the Hawaiian Islands. At the dawn of the 20th Century, the United States began to behave as an international power and took steps to protect American territories and aggressively expand its international commercial interests.
At the same time, President Theodore Roosevelt oversaw the construction of the Panama Canal only after the US aided the cause of Panamanian independence from Colombia , which would have profound economic implications for American trade. United States Marines were sent to Nicaragua with the objective of ensuring the rule of a government friendly to American political and commercial interests and preserving political stability in Central America. Although officials within the administration of President William H.
Taft saw themselves as intervening to ensure good government, many Nicaraguans became increasingly alarmed at what became a foreign takeover of their political, banking and railroad systems. Following its intervention in Nicaragua, the US invaded and occupied Haiti from and the Dominican Republic Disillusionment with WWI, and fear of international commitments that could lead to war and economic uncertainty curbed US involvement in global affairs during the s and s. The United States, however, did not retreat into complete isolation, as the necessities of commercial growth dictated continued government support for overseas private investment that drove both American engagement with Latin America and the rebuilding of Europe in the s.
With the rise of fascism in the s, concerns began to grow in the US over threats to international peace from Japan, Germany and Italy. Isolationists were determined to keep the US out of the wars in Europe and Asia. Congress passed a series of neutrality acts designed to prevent the United States from being drawn into the widespread international conflict that some US officials believed was inevitable. Kennan, a career State Department official.
As part of American efforts to curb the expansion of Soviet-backed Communist movements, US diplomats in Europe helped implement two major strategies designed to stabilize and protect Great Britain, France and the rest of Western Europe.
Refusing to allow the USSR to claim full possession of the former German capital, President Harry Truman launched the Berlin Airlift in which the US Air Force flew round-the-clock supply missions into the city for the next year to keep its residents from starving. The airlift ceased after the Soviets conceded and reopened the roads and train routes into West Berlin.
In the ensuing decades of the s and s, other major Cold War flashpoints occurred. Both independence movements were greatly encouraged by the US. During the remainder of the s and into the early s, US foreign policy was largely preoccupied with the war in Vietnam.
The war in Vietnam continued into the presidency of Richard Nixon, who initially sought a resolution to the conflict in Southeast Asia by decreasing the number of troops on the ground while extending air raids into Cambodia and Laos. However, the combination of domestic anti-war fervor and Congressional determination to extend limits on Presidential war power meant that finding an end to the conflict was a political necessity.
Although this process was not successful, the United States negotiated a peace agreement in and withdrew from South Vietnam, which soon fell to the Communist regime in the north. Arms limitation talks with the Soviets reduced military spending and established formal commitments to future discussions between the two powers. President Nixon and Secretary Kissinger also reached out to the other major Communist powers and cleared the way for future American recognition of the People's Republic of China.
During the late s the US and USSR escalated tensions in Europe over the deployment of a new generation of medium-ranged nuclear missiles. This provoked huge protests in the early s in London and other major Western European cities calling for the US to withdraw its Pershing II and cruise missiles.
Meanwhile, American and Soviet arms control negotiators discussed offers to pull the weapons out of the European Theater.
Little progress was made until a new reformist leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, took control of the Soviet Union. As part of his promises to change the domestic Perestroika and foreign Glasnost policies of the USSR, Gorbachev reached a breakthrough agreement over nuclear missiles with President Ronald Reagan at the Reykjavik summit in The accord led to the signing of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces INF Treaty the following year that withdrew all such weapons from Europe, and marked the beginning of the end of the Cold War between the two superpowers.
During the s, US foreign policy was heavily involved in thwarting Socialist regimes Nicaragua and revolutionary movements in Latin America. The change in government led to warmer relations between the United States and Russia, as the US led economic efforts, such as passage of the Freedom Support Act of , to help the former Soviet Union transition from a command economy to a free market one. With the fall of the Iron Curtain, Europeans all over the continent looked forward to new era of peace and prosperity.
That hope was quickly dashed when a bloody civil war erupted in the Balkans in NATO inaction allowed Serbian paramilitary forces to conduct ethnic-cleansing campaigns against Croats and Muslims, the worst single incident occurring in Srebrenica in July The failure on the part of NATO to stop the slaughter was still fresh in the minds of American and Western European leaders when, in , the predominantly Albanian province of Kosovo tried to secede from Serbia.
Thousands still perished in the fighting. This shifting of priorities was cemented on September 11, , when hijackers crashed American commercial jetliners into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. From that point on, the No. In , President George W. What it Does: The US Department of State functions as the diplomatic wing of the federal government, handling matters of foreign affairs with other nations and international bodies. Employing diplomats and career Foreign Service personnel, the State Department interfaces with representatives of foreign governments, corporations, non-governmental organizations and private individuals.
Dozens of large offices and programs handle the vast responsibilities of the State Department, including geographically-based and subject-oriented bureaus that function as the frontline of the US diplomatic corps.
The bureau promotes US political and economic interests in the region on issues ranging from NATO enlargement to energy supplies to the war on terrorism. BWH staff implement US foreign policy by negotiating with representatives of foreign governments, meeting with foreign economic and political leaders in and out of government, coordinating various types of US foreign aid, and preparing groundwork for visits between higher US officials and foreign representatives.
The bureau seeks solutions in three key areas: the consolidation of democratic gains among African nations, expanding economic growth and stemming the spread of HIV and AIDS. Despite pledges by the administration of George W. Bush to help stem the spread of the disease, funding requests for AIDS programs in Africa went down in consecutive years.
Also, an attempt to reinvent foreign aid through the Millennium Challenge Corporation has not succeeded as planned by the administration. Security, counter-terrorism and free trade are some of the major policy issues that EAP addresses with public and private officials from this part of the world. The head of the bureau has been both praised and criticized for his work on the Korean nuclear accord and other aspects of his diplomatic work.
Regional policy issues that NEA handles include the war in Iraq, Middle East peace, terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and political and economic reform.
Two of the most critical policy areas that the bureau oversees are Afghanistan, which is still trying to recover from the rule of the Taliban in the s and the US-led coalition that invaded the country in , and Indian-Pakistan relations—a longstanding source of tension and conflict between two nuclear powers.
The leadership of the bureau has come under criticism during the George W. Bush administration for its lack of knowledge about Pakistani politics and its deference to the office of Vice President Dick Cheney, who reportedly calls the shots on US foreign policy towards Pakistan. Some experts have argued that the commission is long overdue for change, and recently the US side of the IBWC was engulfed in controversy stemming from the leadership of its top official, an appointee of President George W.
The East-West Center coordinates research, educational classes and cultural interactions. The AIT is a private, nonprofit corporation that received federal money and serves as a de facto embassy. The foundation is privately run, and its offices throughout the region are known to have a relatively high level of autonomy.
SIGIR continually assesses all projects and programs in Iraq in order to ensure that all money is accounted for and is used effectively and efficiently by officials of the US and Iraqi governments as well as American contractors.
However, SIGIR has noticeably failed to control corruption and cronyism in the awarding of contracts and the use of funds once they arrive in Iraq. Through three strategic program areas prevention, care and treatment , the initiative was intended to prevent 7 million new infections, treat 2 million people living with AID-related illnesses, and provide care and support for 10 million persons affected by AIDS. Generally, the US is accused of flagrantly ignoring scientific and statistical evidence and instead imposing an ideological agenda on countries, organizations and individuals in need.
The US has also been criticized for pushing expensive brand-name pharmaceuticals in the programs instead of affordable generics, thereby greatly decreasing the number of individuals who receive treatment. The bureau conducts much of its work using domestic contractors who handle the building of new embassies.
Since the bombings of American embassies in east Africa, the federal government has conducted the largest construction effort in US diplomatic history to upgrade diplomatic posts and secure them against terrorist attacks. Problems have arisen, however, in the course of several high-profile embassy projects, including the sprawling new complex in Baghdad, Iraq. DS employs almost special agents in more than countries, along with hundreds of private security guards through contracts with companies such as Blackwater USA.
The use of private contractors created a huge controversy for DS in the fall of when Blackwater guards killed numerous civilians in Baghdad, Iraq, as a result of an attack on a convoy carrying American diplomats. Office of the Chief of Protocol : The Office of the Chief of Protocol primarily advises and assists the president, vice president and secretary of state on matters of diplomatic protocol, or etiquette.
The office arranges detailed itineraries for foreign dignitaries visiting the United States and accompanies the president on official travels abroad. Office of Foreign Missions : OFM claims three basic missions: 1 to provide services for foreign diplomats living in the United States, 2 to monitor the activities of these foreign diplomats so that they do not abuse their immunity status, and 3 to treat foreign diplomats in such a way that their countries will treat US diplomats stationed overseas in the same manner.
OFM is authorized to impose restrictions of services on a foreign government and its diplomats if that government imposes them on the US.
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