Planning our foreign policy : problems of the Middle East

Defines foreign policy, identifies the major Government agencies which are concerned with it, and explains why foreign policy must be constantly re-examined. Animation and on-the-scene shots are used to show how a committee concerned with the United States' foreign policy in the Middle East analyzes the problems which it faces, breaks the problems down into their economic, military, political, and psychological components, and considers various alternatives before making recommendations for action., Shows who is responsible for American foreign policy, who composes the policy making committee, and how it proposes American foreign policy. Presents a committee meeting of representatives of various departments of government--an economist, a military specialist, a public opinion and information specialist, and a political and area specialist--where the steps of analysis are portrayed in formulating policy suggestions in relation to the Middle East. Points out that policy making is interpreted as an endless process in which committees pass recommendations on to higher echelons where a given area is considered along with other areas of the world.