320

U.S. secretary of State

John Kerry addresses

a Friends of Syria

meeting in the Arab

nation of Qatar in 2013

after President Obama

announced that the

United States would

supply Syrian rebels

with U.S. arms. What

problems could we

face as a result of that

decision? (Jacquelyn

Martin/AFP/Getty

Images) Foreign Policy

On September 11, 2001, Americans were forced to change

their view of national security and of their relations with the rest of the world—literally

overnight. No longer could citizens of the United States believe that national security issues

involved only threats overseas or that the American homeland could not be attacked.

Within a few days, it became known that the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center

and on the Pentagon had been planned and carried out by a terrorist network named

al Qaeda, which was directed by the radical Islamist leader Osama bin Laden. The network

was closely linked to the Taliban government of Afghanistan, which had ruled that nation

since 1996.

14

Learning OutcOmes

The five Learning Outcomes (LOs) below are designed to help improve your

understanding of this chapter. After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

◾   LO1 Define foreign policy, and discuss moral idealism

versus political realism in foreign policy.

◾   LO2 Describe recent foreign policy challenges that

involve the use of force, including terrorism and the wars in

Afghanistan and Iraq.

◾   LO3 Discuss the use of diplomacy in addressing

such issues as nuclear proliferation, the rise of China, the

confrontation between Israel and the Palestinians, and the

economic crisis in Europe.

◾   LO4 Explain the roles of the president, executive

agencies, and Congress in making U.S. foreign policy.

◾   LO5 Cite the main themes in the history of U.S. foreign

policy.

Check your understanding of the material with the Test Yourself section at

the end of the chapter.

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