Spotlight On: Making Foreign Policy Decisions
The West Atlantica Situation
There's a country called West Atlantica located in the Atlantic Ocean. It's not very big; it only
has a few million people. It used to be a part of a larger country called Greater Atlantica, but
It declared its independence a few decades ago. Since then, West Atlantica has built strong
trade agreements with the U.S., and its government is considered an ally (friend).
The new government of Greater Atlantica is causing problems, though. They never agreed
with West Atlantican independence, and they were elected on a pledge to make West
Atlantica part of Greater Atlantica again. In the last few months, the world has seen Greater
Atlantica build up its military forces on West Atlantica's borders. The Greater Atlantican
leader seems willing to invade to reunite the two countries. Some people are already
beginning to flee West Atlantica, while their leaders are asking the United States to help
guarantee their independence-with military force if necessary.
Pros
What should the President of the United States do?
The president has gathered their advisors together to review all the possible actions and their consequences.
List the possible foreign policy actions the U.S. government can take in this situation and their pros and cons.
