Today in Russia, the “state department” is a common symbol of the betrayal of our homeland. Any negative comment on our government, any manifestation of dissatisfaction - and the citizen automatically becomes in the eyes of some "patriots" and members of the so-called "liberation movements", "State Department agent", "Maidan organizer", "traitor to the motherland", etc.., for which "Stalin is not enough." Many of the "sellers" of our state do not even have a clue about the meaning of the term. What is the US Department of State? We will try to figure it out later in the article.
US State Department Concept
Let's start with the concept. The State Department is the State Department of the United States of America. In our country, its analogue is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MFA RF). Official name forEnglish – United States Department of State.
For many of our citizens, the State Department is a negative, abusive word. The reason for the formation of such a negative image was played by Russian propaganda. Our media and many politicians accuse the US State Department of all the mortal sins of mankind. All the wars in the world, revolutions, uprisings, unrest, even mass layoffs, occur according to the scenarios of this department.
Functions
The US government and the State Department are not the same thing. The Department of State has the following functions:
- Operates US diplomatic missions abroad.
- Performs the country's foreign policy.
- Is the depositary of international treaties to which the US is party. In other words, it has the authority to sign international acts on behalf of the entire country.
- Provides protection and assistance to US citizens and US companies based overseas.
- Coordinates the actions of all US agencies and departments operating abroad. That is why the State Department is considered the culprit of all the troubles emanating from all American public organizations, although they themselves do not obey it.
- Provides interaction with all diplomatic missions of other countries in the US and others.
Manual
The State Department is led by the State Secretary. He is appointed by the president, but he mustapproved by the US Congress. At the moment (2017) the head is Rex Tillerson, who was appointed by Donald Trump. Before him, this post was held by John Kerry, appointed by Barack Obama.
There is no prime minister in the US. There is also no single executive body, which we call the government of the Russian Federation, headed by the prime minister. In the United States, the head of the executive branch is the president. All heads of departments are members of the President's Cabinet.
The US government is a system divided into three independent branches of government: legislative (Congress), executive (president and departments), and judiciary. The State Department is one of the departments of the executive branch, and not the entire US government, as many people in our country think.
Other departments
Besides the Department of State (analogous to our Department of Foreign Affairs), there are other departments in the US in the executive branch:
- Department of Agriculture.
- Trade.
- Defense.
- Education.
- Energy.
- He alth and Welfare.
- National Security.
- Housing and urban construction.
- Justice.
- Labour.
- Interior.
- Financial.
- Transport.
- Veterans Affairs.
Besides them, the United States has a developed system of various governmental and non-governmental organizations: foundations,non-profit organizations, etc. Some of them are active abroad, but they are not subordinate to the State Department. that is why it is wrong to blame the American "Foreign Department" for all the problems and catastrophes on our planet.
Structure of the State Department
The Department is headed by the Secretary of State, who reports to the President. He organizes and controls the work of the department.
He reports to the United States Under Secretary of State, Chief of Staff, Executive Secretary, and Deputies:
- Deputy Political Affairs - Acting Secretary of State in the absence of the head of department and the Deputy Secretary of State. He coordinates all US diplomacy.
- Deputy Department of Management is responsible for the budget, property, and staff of the State Department.
- Deputy Economic Growth, Energy and Environment - responsible for international economic policy, international treaties related to agriculture, environment, aviation, etc.
- Deputy Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (State Department Spokesman) is responsible for the image of the United States around the world, cooperates with various international media and public communications departments.
- Deputy The Office of Arms Control and International Security is responsible for US military assistance to third countries.
- Deputy Civil Security.
Budget
The State Department manages a colossal budget that comes from the US government budget. About1% of all American taxes go to support the activities of their "Foreign Department". Every American pays $166 a year, which is about 45 cents a day.
The State Department budget in 2017 is approximately $38 billion. This money goes to the following purposes:
- Salaries of employees (about 69 thousand people) and diplomats (about 13 thousand diplomats), their travel expenses.
- Maintenance of diplomatic embassies and consulates.
- Funding foreign programs and assistance to other countries.
- Funding international organizations, etc.
The new US President, D. Trump, said that in the near future the State Department budget will be cut by about 30%. Savings will be due to the reduction of financial assistance to Ukraine, as well as due to the reduction of deductions to some international organizations. It is assumed that the proceeds will go to those purposes that really "meet the national interests of the Americans." Previously, the Pentagon has always opposed projects to cut the budget of the State Department. However, this time he is unlikely to say his weighty word: the money saved will go to rearmament of the army, therefore, the War Department is itself interested in reducing the funding of the State Department.
