The foreign policy of the Bill Clinton administration was of secondary concern to a president fixed on domestic policy. Clinton relied chiefly on his two experienced Secretaries of State Warren Christopher (1993–1997) and Madeleine Albright (1997–2001), as well as Vice President Al Gore. The Cold War had ended and the Dissolution of the Soviet Union had taken place under his predecessor President George H. W. Bush, whom Clinton criticized for being too preoccupied with foreign affairs. The United States was the only remaining superpower, with a military strength far overshadowing the rest of the world. There were tensions with countries such as Iran and North Korea, but no visible threats. Clinton's main priority was always domestic affairs, especially economics. Foreign-policy was chiefly of interest to him in terms of promoting American trade. His administration signed more than 300 bilateral trade agreements. His emergencies had to do with humanitarian crises which raised the issue of American or NATO or United Nations interventions to protect civilians, or armed humanitarian intervention, as the result of civil war, state collapse, or oppressive governments.
President George H. W. Bush had sent American troops on a humanitarian mission to Somalia in December 1992. 18 of them were killed and 80 wounded in a botched raid, ordered by the commanding general, in October 1993. Public opinion, and most elite opinion, swung heavily against foreign interventions that risked the lives of American soldiers when American national interests were not directly involved. That meant humanitarian missions were problematic. Clinton agreed, and sent ground troops only once, to Haiti, where none were hurt. He sent the Air Force to intervene in the Yugoslav Wars, but no American crewmen were lost. The major trouble spots during his two terms were in Africa (Somalia and Rwanda) and Eastern Europe (Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Kosovo in the former Yugoslavia). Clinton also tried to resolve long-running conflicts in Northern Ireland, and the Middle East, particularly the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.
Key achievements during the second term included the 1995 peso recovery package in Mexico, NATO enlargement, the 1998 bombing of Iraq, the Dayton Accords that ended the killing in Bosnia, the NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslavia that stopped the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace in Northern Ireland, and the administration's policy of engagement with the People's Republic of China.Apple Jr., R. W., "A Domestic Sort With Global Worries", The New York Times, August 25, 1999.
Appointments
Clinton administration foreign policy personnelVice President Gore(1993–2001)Secretary of State Christopher(1993–1997) Albright(1997–2001)Secretary of Defense Aspin(1993–1994) Perry(1994–1997) Cohen(1997–2001)Ambassador to the United NationsAlbright(1993–1997) Richardson(1997–1998) Burleigh(1998–1999) Holbrooke(1999–2001)Director of Central Intelligence Studeman(1993) Woolsey(1993–1995) Studeman(1995) Deutch(1995–1996) Tenet(1996–2001) Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Lake(1993–1997) Berger(1997–2001) Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Berger(1993–1997) Steinberg(1997–2001) Trade Representative Kantor(1993–1996) Barshefsky(1996–2001)
Top advisors As a campaigner for election, Clinton promised to devote his main attention to domestic policy, in contrast to what he called the overemphasis on foreign policies by his opponent George H. W. Bush. On taking office he told his top advisers he could only spare one hour a week meeting with them.Charles-Philippe David, "'Foreign Policy is Not what I Came Here to Do': Dissecting Clinton's Foreign Policy-making" (Center for United States Studies, Université du Québec à Montréal, 2004) online . However, Clinton had attended graduate school in England, and increasingly took a personal interest in foreign affairs, especially in his second term. His main foreign policy advisors were Secretaries of State Warren M. Christopher and Madeleine Albright and National Security Advisors Anthony Lake and Sandy Berger. Other key advisors include Secretary of Defense Les Aspin, and Strobe Talbott who as Ambassador at large dealt with Russia and India.
Political scientist Stephen Schlesinger argues that Warren Christopher was: a cautious, discreet, and patient counselor who, reflecting his habits as a corporate lawyer, made few very bold moves without his client's [Clinton's] prior approval....Albright, is a more outspoken, even swashbuckling, character, who tends to grab hold of issues and run with them--even if this means stepping on the feet of others in the administration or foreign officials. The result has been a more activist regime in the second term.Stephen Schlesinger, "The end of idealism" World Policy Journal (Winter 1998/99) 15#2:36-40 quoting p. 39.
Main goals According to Sandy Berger, Clinton's top advisor for national security, the president had three main goals: to assert American hegemonic leadership; promote American prosperity and expand the market economy globally; and to advance human rights and democracy. Berger argues that Clinton achieved above-average successes in five areas:Samuel R. Berger. "A Foreign Policy for the Global Age." Foreign Affairs 79 (Nov 2000) pp 22-39 https://doi.org/10.2307/20049965 Working alliances in Europe and Asia, with emphasis on NATO, Japan and South Korea. Friendly relations with China and Russia, until recently our great enemies. He viewed local conflicts in continental and global perspective. New technology has altered military consideration and made nuclear nonproliferation a priority along with control of chemical and biological weapons. He integrated foreign-policy with economic goals of prosperity and extended trade.
Favorable world scene For the first time since the mid-1930s the international scene was highly favorable. Old enemies had collapsed with the fall of Communism and the Soviet Union. Other problems seemed far less pressing and Clinton, with little expertise in foreign affairs, was eager to concentrate almost entirely on domestic issues. as Walter B. Slocombe argues: Germany...had been reunified peacefully and its partners in the European Union were moving toward economic integration with political integration a long-term, but now less implausible, prospect. The former Warsaw Pact satellites were on the way to stable democracy and market prosperity. North and South Korea had agreed on a process of denuclearization. China seemed absorbed in its internal development, having cast off revolutionary zeal in exchange for growth (and continued regime control) under market principles....Iraq was humbled by recent defeat in the Gulf War and under pervasive international surveillance and supervision. Apartheid was ending in South Africa, and peacefully so. Most of Latin America was emerging from rule by juntas and coups to democratic order. Taiwan and South Korea had cast off authoritarian regimes while remaining strong friends of the United States. Even in the Middle East, the Madrid agreements appeared to open the path to resolution of the Israel-Palestine problem.Walter B. Slocombe, "A Crisis of Opportunity: The Clinton Administration and Russia " in Melvyn P. Leffler and Jeffrey W. Legro, eds. In uncertain times: American foreign policy after the Berlin Wall and 9/11 (Cornell UP, 2011) pp 78–79.
Less attention was being paid to the remaining minor trouble spots, as Slocombe lists them: Iran, Haiti, the wreckage of Yugoslavia, the seemingly endless tragedy of Africa exemplified by the chaos in Somalia, and even Northern Ireland, as well as nontraditional security challenges ranging from environmental degradation to terrorism.Slocombe, "A Crisis of Opportunity" p 79.
International trips
The number of visits per country where he traveled are:
One visit to Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Finland, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Macedonia, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Authority (West Bank and Gaza), Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Vatican City, Venezuela, and Vietnam Two visits to Belgium, Jordan, Mexico, Philippines, Poland, and Spain Three visits to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ireland, South Korea, and Ukraine Four visits to Egypt and Israel Five visits to Canada, France, Japan, Russia, and Switzerland Six visits to Germany Seven visits to United Kingdom Eight visits to Italy
International trade
Clinton made the completion and implementation of North American Free Trade Agreement his top trade priority. He also supported the establishment and expansion of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which replaced the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) as the primary global institution overseeing international trade.
Clinton sought to open foreign markets to American goods and services through trade negotiations and agreements. Efforts were made to reduce tariffs, eliminate non-tariff barriers, and ensure fair trade practices to create opportunities for U.S. exporters. On these points Secretary of Commerce Ronald H. Brown took the lead.Ian Destler, "Foreign Economic Policy Making under Bill Clinton." in After the End (Duke University Press, 1999) pp . 89-107.Steven A. Holmes, Ron Brown: An Uncommon Life (Wiley, 2001). He led delegations of entrepreneurs, businessmen and financiers to South Africa, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, Egypt, Russia, Brazil, Argentina and Chile, China and Hong Kong, Ireland India and Senegal. He was on a trade mission to war-torn Yugoslavia in 1996 when they all died in an accidental plane crash. A special prosecutor was appointed when it was alleged that contributions to the Democratic Party enabled one to join the trade party.Shirley Anne Warshaw, The Clinton Years (2009), pp. 49-50, 254. Over its eight years in office, the administration signed 300 trade agreements with other countries.Clinton on Foreign Policy at University of Nebraska US trade reached $2.6 trillion in 2000, up 42% from $1.83 trillion in 1996.See World Bank, "TRADE SUMMARY FOR UNITED STATES 1996"
China
The administration pursued a policy towards China that sought to engage and integrate China into the global community while simultaneously addressing concerns about human rights and trade imbalances.John W. Dietrich, "Interest groups and foreign policy: Clinton and the China MFN debates." Presidential Studies Quarterly 29.2 (1999): 280-296.Jean A. Garrison, Making China Policy: From Nixon to GW Bush (Lynne Rienner, 2005) The Chinese communist regime had crushed the pro-democracy movement at Tiananmen Square in 1989. President Bush voiced American outrage, but quietly reassured the Chinese that trade would continue. In the 1992 election campaign, Clinton criticized Bush for not punishing China more. As a presidential candidate Clinton adopted the position of congressional Democrats, who strongly attack Bush for prioritizing profitable trade over the promotion of human rights.Yuwu Song, ed., Encyclopedia of Chinese-American Relations (McFarland, 2009) pp 74–75.