A Study of U.S. Foreign Policy at the Age of Counterterrorism

• Main Authors: Yu-Yen Chen, 陳育晏
• Other Authors: KING-YUH CHANG
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2006
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/kbfwup

碩士 === 淡江大學 === 國際事務與戰略研究所碩士班 === 94 === The formulation of U.S. foreign policy usually takes its national interests as the main consideration. The national interests divides into two aspects: First, to prevent the U.S. territory and the people from any attack, which is the most important and commonly agreed unanimous. Second, to maintain the security of national infrastructure and the operation of governmental mechanism. For the sake of assuring the vital national interests, the U.S. concentrates its effort to prevent, defeat and contain the inrush of terrorism, and to seek national interests by taking the tougher and more assertive attitude after the 911 event. President Bush deeply believes that by means of military superiority, no country in the world will dare to oppose the U.S.. Simultaneously, the U.S. also provides a safe environment for the international society. The U.S. usually uses the “stick and carrot”method to execute its foreign policy. On the one hand the U.S. adopts a hard way to protect national interests, and on the other the U.S. uses the standard of idealism to promote the American values around the world. The U.S. does not encounter much difficulty in the European and Asian allies, but in the Middle East, the U.S. has faced with resistance in the Muslim world. For this reason, the Bush administration has drawn up the roadmap for the Middle East peace and supports the Palestinians to build up an independent in order to country to earn the Islamic collaboration in the counterterrorism actions, reduce the terrorists’ incentive to attack the U.S., so as to let all Americans live without fear. Bush''s diplomatic idea is using the realism as a foundation and using security and commerce as the core. It emphasizes the military alliance and free trade. About the international order maintenance, he prefers to consolidate allies and then to compete with adversaries. As the issues of international peacekeeping duties, humanitarian aids, and overseas military operations, Bush inclines to take “discreet interventionism” as his thought. He thinks that the U.S. should respond to terrorists attacks vigilantly, and in order to keep the U.S. from any threat sometimes unilateral actions are necessary. The U.S. will use unrivaled military power to further the global counterterrorism movement and democracy as the core goal of foreign policy. Furthermore, the U.S. hopes that all countries and societies can choose the most advantageous political and economic system to themselves independently, to help those countries which have been used as safe haven by terrorism organizations to get rid of the chaos caused by war and poverty, and to eliminate the hotbeds of terrorism thoroughly.