Chapter 20 Foreign and Military Policy

1. Chapter 20Foreign and Military Policy Created by: Batty Stergos!

2. Cold war Refers to the nonmilitary struggle between the United States (and its allies) and the former Soviet Union (and its allies) following World War II. (A cold war is distinguished from a hot or shooting war.)

3. Cost overruns Actual costs that are several times greater than estimated costs. These occur frequently among private contractors producing new weapons for the Pentagon.

4. Disengagement A view that U.S. involvement in Vietnam had led to a military defeat and political disaster and that further similar involvements should be avoided. Also known as “new isolationism.” See also Isolationism; Containment

5. Containment (or antiappeasment) The view that the United States should contain aggressive nations (such as the former Soviet Union). See also Isolationism

6. Domino theory An influential theory first articulated by President Eisenhower holding that if an important nation were to fall into communist hands, other neighboring countries would follow suit. Eisenhower used the metaphor of a row of dominoes falling in sequence to illustrate his point.

7. Gold plating The tendency of Pentagon officials to ask weapons contractors to meet excessively high requirements.

8. Iron curtain A metaphor first used by Winston Churchill to describe a military and political barrier maintained by the former Soviet Union to prevent free travel and communication between Eastern and Western Europe.

9. Human rights In foreign policy, the view that our government should act to enhance the rights of people living in other countries.

10. Isolationism The view that the United States should withdraw from world affairs, limit foreign aid, and avoid involvement in foreign wars. See also Containment

11. Military-industrial complex An alleged alliance among key military, governmental, and corporate decision-makers involved in weapons procurement and military support systems. The phrase was coined by Dwight D. Eisenhower, who warned Americans about its dangers.

12. Third World Originally a French term (tiers monde) referring to nations neutral in the cold war between the United States and the former Soviet Union. The term now refers to the group of developing nations in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. See also Cold war

13. Worldviews More or less comprehensive mental pictures of the critical problems facing the United States in the world and of the appropriate and inappropriate ways of responding to these problems. FIN. <3