Today in Russia, the "State Department" is a common symbol of the betrayal of our homeland. Any negative commentary on our government, any manifestation of discontent - and a citizen automatically becomes in the eyes of some "patriots" and members of the so-called "liberation movements", "agent of the State Department", "organizer of the Maidan", "traitor of the Motherland", etc. ., which "lacks Stalin." 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 this out later in the article.
US Department of State: Concept
Let's start with the concept. The Department of State is the United States Department of State . In our country, its counterpart is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (RF Ministry of Foreign Affairs). The official name in English is the 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 blame the US Department of State for all the deadly sins of humanity. All wars in the world, revolutions, uprisings, unrest, even mass layoffs, take place according to the scenarios of this department.
Functions
The US government and the State Department are not the same thing. The State Department performs the following functions:
- Manages US diplomatic agencies abroad.
- Carries out the foreign policy of the country.
- It is the depository of international treaties in which the United States is a party. In other words, it has the authority to sign international acts on behalf of the whole country.
- It provides protection and assistance to US citizens and American companies located abroad.
- 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 him.
- It provides interaction with all diplomatic missions of other countries in the United States, etc.
Guide
The State Department is led by the state secret. He is appointed by the president, but he must be approved by the US Congress. At the moment (2017), the leader is Rex Tillerson, who was appointed by Donald Trump. Prior to him, this post was held by John Kerry, appointed by Barack Obama.
There is no prime minister in the United States. Also, there is no single executive body, which we call the Government of the Russian Federation, headed by the Prime Minister. In the United States, the president is the chief executive. All heads of departments are in the Presidential Cabinet.
The US government is a system divided into three independent branches of government: legislative (Congress), executive (president and departments), and judicial. The State Department is one of the departments of the executive branch, and not the entire American government, as many people think in our country.
Other departments
In addition to the State Department (an analogue of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs), in the United States there are other departments in the executive branch:
- Department of Agriculture.
- Trade.
- Defense.
- Education.
- Energetics.
- Health and welfare.
- National security.
- Housing and urban construction.
- Justice.
- Labor
- Internal affairs.
- Financially.
- Of transport.
- For veterans.
In addition to them, the United States has developed a 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 erroneous to blame the American "Foreign Office" for all the problems and disasters on our planet.
Department of State
The department is headed by a secretary of state who reports to the president. He organizes and supervises the work of the department.
He is subordinate to the Under Secretary of State of the United States, Director of Human Resources, Executive Secretary, and Deputies:
- Deputy political affairs - in the absence of the head of the department and the deputy secretary of state, he acts as secretary of state. He coordinates all US diplomacy.
- Deputy Management is responsible for the budget, property and staff of the State Department.
- Deputy for economic growth, energy and the environment - is responsible for international economic policy, international treaties related to agriculture, the environment, aviation, etc.
- Deputy on public diplomacy and public relations (State Department spokesman) is responsible for the image of the United States worldwide, collaborates with various international media and public communications departments.
- Deputy Arms Control and International Security Affairs is responsible for US military assistance to third countries.
- Deputy on civil security.
Budget
The Department of State manages the colossal budget that comes from the US state budget. Approximately 1% of all taxes of the Americans go to support the activities of their "Foreign Office." Every American pays $ 166 a year — about 45 cents a day.
The State Department’s budget in 2017 is approximately $ 38 billion. This money is used for the following purposes:
- Salaries of employees (about 69 thousand people) and diplomats (about 13 thousand diplomats), their expenses for business trips.
- The content of diplomatic embassies and consulates.
- Financing foreign programs and assistance to other countries.
- Financing of international organizations, etc.
The new US president, D. Trump, said that in the near future the State Department’s budget will be reduced by about 30%. The savings will be due to a reduction in financial assistance to Ukraine, as well as through a reduction in contributions to some international organizations. It is assumed that the proceeds will go to those goals that truly "meet the national interests of the Americans." Previously, the Pentagon has always opposed the State Department’s budget reduction projects. However, this time he is unlikely to say his weighty word: the money saved will go to rearm the army, therefore, the War Ministry is itself interested in reducing the funding of the State Department.