Global Agenda 2004 - Final Assignment 5-Honors

Preamble:

It’s October, 2004, one month before the U.S. Presidential election. You are the national security adviser to Margaret Miracle, a come-from-behind candidate for President who has captured the imagination of the American people and appears poised to sweep the election in a few weeks.

This semester, you have observed a variety of “practitioners” of foreign affairs, all involved in some way with the question of “Who are America’s enemies?” Each is involved in somewhat different aspects, each with a unique perspective. You have had a chance to hear them talk and to interact with them about their professions and their lives, as well as about the substance of their work.

At the same time, you’ve lived through a period of changing assessments of the international scene after both the September 11, 2001 and the Iraq War 2003 episodes.

Write:

In a strategy meeting the other day, Ms. Miracle said she wants to make national security a hallmark of her administration, and asked you to prepare a concise memo outlining the kinds of enemies she will confront after taking the oath of office on January 20, 2005, when you, presumably, will occupy the large office in the West Wing reserved for the National Security Adviser.

Amid the hurly-burly of the final weeks of the election campaign, you decide to try stepping back and spend a long weekend at the Delaware shore, where you can spend some time walking in the sand, observing the wildlife, and avoiding public statements to the news media. On your way to the beach, your mind pauses as you pass Dover Air Force Base, where more than 700 American servicemen and women have returned from the Iraq War having made the ultimate sacrifice. When you reach Rehoboth, you also see those old oceanfront watchtowers, symbolic for decades of the nation’s need to keep an eye on its enemies.

You draft your memo to the next President of the United States. For months, you’ve read about the subject and had advice from many experts, including (but not limited to):

a former U.S. Defense Secretary
an internationally respected weapons inspector for the U.S. and the UN
an intelligence expert on northeast Asia
a former negotiator on arms control issues
a top media professional from the Arab world
an American diplomat involved with “public diplomacy”
a top UN expert on the Arab and Muslim worlds
a prominent ambassador to the U.S. from one of America’s closest, and most prickly, European friends
an analyst of global threats whose work is sought by intelligence agencies in Washington and elsewhere
and a professor/journalist who has covered foreign affairs for many years and has observed on news media and public interaction with these international issues

Write your memo to candidate Miracle, not so much recounting events as synthesizing what you have discovered about the problems of confronting America’s “enemies.” How have these practitioners affected your thinking, your understanding of the issues? How have they influenced your understanding of how the U.S. must relate to a world which sometimes seems so hostile? Remember: this is a private memo to Ms. Miracle; you’re encouraged to reveal candidly any “surprises” you’ve encountered along the way and to indicate how these practitioners confirmed or refuted your own preconceptions. Is there anything you wish the candidate, and the American people, understood better? How might she facilitate that knowledge when she becomes President? Draw on common or contrasting themes you discovered in your readings and as you met the visiting speakers in the “Enemies List” series.

Use specific examples from our speakers, your readings and our classes and your informal conversations with our speakers. Remember that webcasts of most of our speakers are available via the course web site, should you wish to review their remarks or obtain direct quotes.

You need not use formal source citations. But if you wish to do so, you may.

Aim for about 5-7 pages. This is a “think piece,” an essay. There are no “right answers.”