CHAPTER NINETEEN
Foreign Policy

Explore

The Federation of American Scientists is a nonprofit organization founded in 1945 by the scientists who helped create the atomic bomb and who were concerned about the implications of this new technology for the world. The web site gives access to a wealth of information on topics ranging from technology to terrorism to the arms trade to intelligence. The web site includes a link to Congressional Research Service Reports, which can sometimes be hard to find.

The Center for Defense Information is a nonprofit organization founded by retired military officers to promote awareness of defense and military and security issues and to promote peace and strength through international cooperation, reduced weapons stockpiles, and congressional and public oversight. The center has many ongoing research projects and posts information on these projects on the web site, including in the areas of missile defense, Iraq, terrorism, and U.S.-Cuba policy.

The CIA's World Factbook presents overview information for other countries, including geography, population, size of economy and military, and a wide range of reference maps.

The official web site of the U.S. Department of State includes information about other countries and about the department's efforts and the structure of the department. It also provides information for U.S. citizens traveling abroad, including how to get a passport if you don't already have one or if you need to renew yours. Visitors can also find information about jobs, internships, and the foreign service exam.

The Hiroshima Peace Site is the web site of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum—which was built just steps away from the epicenter of the atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima in 1945. The web site promotes awareness about the danger of nuclear weapons—both past and present—in an effort to promote peace and nuclear disarmament.

The National Security Archive is a private, nonprofit, research organization that tries to defend and expand public access to governmental information. The organization researches and posts declassified documents of a variety of types, especially in the area of foreign policy. Most of what they declassify and write about is available through the Internet.

The PBS series Frontline airs programs on a variety of subjects, including foreign and defense policy. The web site hosts companion sites for each of these programs, many of which you can watch on-line, including those about al Qaeda, September 11, and the war in Iraq (now and the Persian Gulf War in 1990).