Treaties and Executive Agreements• Formal agreements between

governments two or more countries are called treaties. Many of these are based on defense, like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) • Senate must approve treaty by two-

thirds vote• President can bypass Senate through

an executive agreement, or an agreement on routine matters between country leaders

1. What is a treaty?2. How do treaties demonstrate checks and

balances?3. The above cartoon is talking about a treaty

between the US and Russia to reduce nuclear weapons. What do you think this cartoon means?

Appointing Ambassadors• An official representative of a

country’s government is an ambassador• President appoints ambassadors, but

they must be approved by Senate• If a government of another country

is thought to hold power illegally, the president can refuse to recognize that government, and there is no ambassador to that country.

1. What is an ambassador?2. How are checks and balances present in this

tool?3. Does the US send an ambassador to every

country? Explain.4. In 2012, US Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens

died in an attack on the Embassy in Tripoli. Who does this cartoon say benefited from that event?

Foreign Aid• Foreign aid is money, food,

military assistance, or other supplies given to help other countries.• Big example is the Marshall Plan,

which helped restore Western Europe after WWII. • In 2013, US spent $32 billion on

foreign aid (about 1 percent of budget)

1. What is foreign aid?2. Do you think the US spends too much money on

foreign aid? Explain.3. Based on the above cartoon, would you say foreign

aid is charity? Explain.

International Trade• President can make agreements

with other nations about what products may be traded• Trade sanctions occur when a

country punishes another country by making it harder to trade. Must be approved by Congress.• More severe is an embargo, which

prohibits a country from trading with a target nation

1. What is a trade sanction? What is an embargo?2. What does the above cartoon say about

President Obama’s foreign policy? Hint: Iran, Russia, and Venezuela are all countries that have conflicted with the U.S. during the Obama administration.

Military Force• Presidents have frequently sent

troops around the globe, even if Congress has not declared war. • Does not always mean “boots on

the ground,” or sending troops in to invade another country• Can mean something like a “no fly

zone,” in which U.S. aircraft threaten to shoot down any unauthorized aircraft in a particular area

1. Do you think the president should be able to use the military without Congressional approval? Explain.

2. Why is a no fly zone preferable to boots on the ground? 3. Based on the above cartoon, why should presidents be

careful about using military force?