William_T._Bianco,_David_T._Canon]_American_Polit

Foreign policy makers 631

The federal courts

The federal courts, including the Supreme Court, weigh in on foreign policy questions

through judicial review, determining whether laws, regulations, and presidential

actions are consistent with the Constitution. For example, during the War on Terror,

a series of lower-court and Supreme Court decisions forced the Bush administration

to revise its policy of holding terror suspects indefinitely without charges; the rulings

required that the suspects be charged with crimes and tried on those charges. Although

this example shows how the courts can reverse presidential actions, two points are key.

First, the decisions were not a complete defeat for President Bush. While his policy was

overturned, the courts acknowledged that similar policies would be constitutional.

Second, court proceedings require time: adjudicating the terror suspect cases required

several years, during which the administration’s policy remained in place and the

defendants were imprisoned without trial or any way to contest their imprisonment.^40

Groups outside the federal government

A variety of individuals, groups, and forces outside government influence foreign

policy. These include interest groups, the media, and public opinion, as well as

intergovernmental, nongovernmental, and international organizations.

Interest Groups Interest groups are organizations that work to convince elected

officials and bureaucrats to implement policy changes in line with the group’s goals.

Diverse groups and organizations lobby government over foreign policy.^41 For

example, during the congressional debate in the summer of 2015 over the agreement

with Iran regarding its nuclear weapons program and President Trump’s subsequent

decision to withdraw from the deal, the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee

(AIPAC), one of the most powerful interest groups in Washington, was a key member

of the opposition. A coalition of smaller groups (including J Street, another pro-Israel

lobbying organization that often opposes AIPAC, as well as groups of scientists and the

left-leaning organization Move On) lobbied in favor of approval.

U.S. politicians and government

officials regularly speak at AIPAC

events. Vice President Mike Pence is

shown here addressing AIPAC’s annual

convention. However, it would be a

mistake to conclude that the attention

paid to this or other interest groups

automatically translates into U.S.

government support for the groups’

policy proposals.

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