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Writing Assignment #3-Honors
“Who's the 'Enemy?'”
Due: Wednesday, April 14
Preamble: .
You are Ambassador Kenton Keith, Director of the Near East and South Asian Bureau of the U.S. Information Agency. You happen to be on travel assignment in Egypt, your old stomping grounds, the most populous Arab country, and a good “listening post” for Arab sentiment. The United States has just invaded and occupied Iraq, after an intense bombing campaign being referred to by Pentagon officials and U.S. news media as “shock and awe,” intended to overturn a brutal Iraqi dictatorship believed to possess weapons of mass destruction.
You get an urgent call from the White House. The President woke up after the attack suddenly realizing that the safety of Americans abroad, including businesses and diplomats, and perhaps even of Americans living in the U.S. might be affected by reaction in the Arab and Muslim worlds. You’re the expert on public opinion in that part of the world. The President wants to know both actual reactions and your prediction about what might happen in the months to come.
Research: You undertake a search of media coverage of the “shock & awe” campaign at the start of the Iraq War. You consider news coverage abroad during the time period roughly March - May 2003. You include aspects of coverage such as headlines, photos, and choice of words.
(You may use international news web sites at the bottom of this page, the sites linked on the Readings page of our course web site, as well as Lexis-Nexis and other news sources, to read about the war through the eyes of journalists and news consumers in other countries. You may, of course, also use print publications available in the library or online.)
Write:
Memo to the President, assessing immediate reaction, describing interpretations of the U.S. actions and looking into the future to estimate how the Arab and Muslim world reactions might affect Americans.
Submission of this assignment:
Submission of this assignment as an email attachment is preferred. Cite some examples of coverage you observed.
Include a Bibliography page listing the sources you consulted.
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