Examine parallels between the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Iraq crisis

Overview: In his address to the American people, President Bush outlined his case against the regime of Saddam Hussein and called on the Iraqi leader to disarm. Have students learn about the Cuban Missile Crisis and draw parallels between the Cuban Missile Crisis and the current crisis involving Iraq.

Have students read the story "Bush Conveys Urgency on Issue of Iraq" and answer the following questions:

1. What was the focus of President George W. Bush's speech last night? Why did Mr. Bush address the American people at this point in time? What does Bush hope the speech will accomplish? Why is it important that Bush have the support of Congress before taking military action against Iraq? How did Sen. Edward Kennedy respond to Bush's speech?

2. Refer students to "Bush: Don't wait for mushroom cloud" to read a transcript of Bush's speech. Ask students: What correlation did Bush make between Iraq developing weapons of terror and the wider war on terrorism? According to Bush, after 11 years of living with the Iraq problem, why does the U.S. need to confront it now? Do you think Bush's presented compelling arguments for his case against Iraq? State your rationale.

RELATED • Bush cites Saddam's 'arsenal of terror'  • CNN.com Special: Showdown: Iraq  • Backgrounder: Iraq remains defiant  • The Cuban missile crisis is long gone but hardly forgotten  • CNN.com: The Cold War: Cuba 1959-1968  • Radio and Television Report to the American People on the Soviet Arms Buildup in Cuba

3. Inform students that during his speech, President Bush quoted the following statement made by President John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October of 1962: "Neither the United States of America nor the world community of nations can tolerate deliberate deception and offensive threats on the part of any nation, large or small. We no longer live in a world where only the actual firing of weapons represents a sufficient challengeto a nation's security to constitute maximum peril." Have students, working in groups, conduct research to learn about the Cuban Missile Crisis. After groups share their findings, help students draw parallels between the Cuban Missile Crisis and the current crisis involving Iraq. Ask students: What were/are the global implications associated with each crisis? What actions did President Kennedy and the Soviets take to defuse the Cuban Missile Crisis? What lessons might the U.S. and Iraq learn from the Cuban Missile Crisis? Why do you think Bush chose to quote President Kennedy in his address?