CNN Presents Classroom Edition - Educator Guide

Showdown Iraq: Five Questions

Activity Suggestions

1. Five Questions

Tell students to picture a scenario in which President George W. Bush has called an emergency session of his senior staff to investigate and analyze several issues raised in discussions over a potential war against Iraq. Before he can commit to war, he wants to explore the potential impact that the following issues might have both on the course of a war with Iraq, and in the immediate and extended aftermath of a war:

• A military strategy that includes assassination,

• The use of chemical and biological weapons on the U.S. military,

• An Israeli retaliation on Iraq,

• The use of smart bombs, and

• The U.S. economy.

The president wants to know how each issue might affect the U.S. in the short- and long-term. He is looking to his advisers for advice. Inform students that they are going to role-play his advisers. Organize students into five groups and assign to each group one of the issues above as addressed in the CNN Presents Classroom Edition: Showdown Iraq: Five Questions. Instruct groups to use the information from the program and the Web sites provided in the Resources section of this guide to develop a Briefing Paper for the president that includes the following:

• A summary of the issue;

• Challenges related to this issue;

• Potential short-term consequences;

• Potential long-term consequences;

• Strategic recommendations for approaching this issue with respect to a war with Iraq.

Have each group present its paper to the president (played by the teacher). After all presentations are complete, challenge students to look for updates to their issues as they play out in the ongoing debate over a war with Iraq.

2. Public Opinion: Should the United States go to war with Iraq?

A. Poll students to find out how many of them think the United States should go to war against Iraq. Then ask students to explain the reasons why they support or reject military action. Do they feel that they have enough information to make a decision?

B. Next, pose the following potential consequences of war to students. Poll and record student answers after each "if." Ask: "Do you think we should go to war against Iraq if...

• Saddam Hussein would still be in power at the end of the war?

• Saddam Hussein would be removed from power?

• U.S. soldiers would be subjected to biological and chemical weapons, with resulting massive casualties?

• There would be a tremendous loss of life among the Iraqi people?

• Saddam Hussein would attack Israel, and Israel would retaliate?

• The attack on Iraq led to an increase in terrorist attacks worldwide?

• Gasoline prices would increase by at least $1 per gallon?

• The U.S. economy would enter a recession?

• Taxes were increased by $500 per person?"

Did student opinion change according to the potential consequences of the invasion? Were there some issues that persuaded or dissuaded students more than others? Discuss what other circumstances might alter their opinions. What additional information do students need in order to make an informed decision on going to war with Iraq? How do students think government officials weigh the potential consequences when considering going to war?

C. Direct students to explore the public opinion polls on a war with Iraq that have been compiled on thePolling Report site (http://www.pollingreport.com/iraq.htm). Organize students into small groups and have them analyze the data in the polls to determine how the U.S. public feels about going to war with Iraq. Students should identify poll questions that reveal specific issues of concern to the public. Have students poll themselves to see whether or not they align with the figures in these polls. After groups report on their analysis of how the American public feels about war with Iraq, wrap up with a class discussion on the role that public opinion might play in a war scenario.

3. Examine the Immediate and Underlying Causes of the Conflict with Iraq

A. As a class, define the terms "immediate" and "underlying" with respect to the causes of conflict or war. Have students provide examples from real life conflict scenarios. One example might be: You yell at your best friend because she has not paid you back the money that she owes you (immediate cause). However, underlying your anger is the fact that you are hurt that she has been spending more time with a different group of friends lately (underlying cause).

B. After viewing Showdown Iraq: Five Questions, have students discuss the evidence of both immediate and underlying causes for President George W. Bush's requests for the authority to declare war on Iraq. Working in groups of three or four, students should investigate key documents and resources to find additional evidence to add to this list. Students should record their findings in a T-chart, one side labeled Immediate Causes; the other side labeled Underlying Causes.

C. Challenge students to consider the possible effects for both the immediate and the underlying causes. Ask: "Is war an inevitable outcome for each of these causes or are there other paths this conflict could take?" Do students think that the various decision-makers in the Iraq conflict are taking into account both immediate and underlying causes? Why might it be important to take both into consideration?

D. Based on their conclusions, students should create cause and effect graphic organizers to illustrate possible outcomes for the current conflict with Iraq.

4. National Security Strategy: Where would a war on Iraq fit into the larger United States post-September 11 national security policy?

A. Organize students into groups of two or three. Download and print the newly released National Security Strategy of the United States of America. (See Resources) Divide the document into sections, and distribute one section to each group.

B. Direct student groups to present the main points of the their section of the document. Then, after students have presented, have them summarize the main points of the new national security policy. Pose the following questions: How does Iraq fall into this strategy? How does the War on Terrorism fit into this strategy? How does this strategy compare with foreign policy strategies during the Cold War and even in the recent post-Cold War world?

C. Have each student prepare a speech for the president to give to the American people to explain what our new national security policy is and how a war on Iraq fits into this larger picture. Or, have each student prepare a speech given by a political opponent that refutes the notion that a war on Iraq fits with the goals outlined in the national security policy, or a speech that refutes the policy itself.

Resources

• CIA Fact Book: Iraq (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/iz.html)

• The Work of the United Nations Special Commission in Iraq (http://193.114.50.5/reference/briefs/unscom.html)

• United States Department of State-Update on Iraq (http://usinfo.state.gov/regional/nea/iraq/)

• World Maps from HOLT, RINEHART and WINSTON (http://go.hrw.com/atlas/norm_htm/world.htm)

• The National Security Strategy of the United States of America (http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss.html)

• CNN Special Report: Unfinished War (http://fyi.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/gulf.war/)

• Text of U.N. resolution on Iraq (http://fyi.cnn.com/2002/US/11/08/resolution.text/)

• UN Arms Inspections in Iraq: Disarming Iraq of Weapons of Mass Destruction (http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?)infocusID=50&Body=Iraq&Body1=inspect

• A Decade of Deception and Defiance: Saddam Hussein's Defiance of the United Nations (A background paper for President George W. Bush's September 12th speech to the United Nations General Assembly -- http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/iraq/decade/book.html)

• President's Remarks at the United Nations General Assembly (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/09/20020912-1.html)

• United Nations Resolutions on Iraq (http://fyi.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/09/12/iraq.resolutions/index.html)

• Text of Iraq Letter to United Nations (http://fyi.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/09/17/iraq.letter/index.html)

• British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Statement on Iraq to the House of Commons (http://fyi.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/09/24/uk.blair.statement/)

• Dossier: Iraq Leads Criticism (http://europe.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/09/24/uk.iraq.reax/index.html)

• Time Magazine Special Report: Target Saddam (http://www.time.com/time/2002/iraq/?cnn=yes)

Keywords

• Executive Order

• Church Commission

• Coup d'etat

• Hellfire missile

• Presidential finding

• Anthrax

• Hemorrhagic fevers

• Sarin

• Mustard gas

• Botulism

• JS-list suit

• Scud

• Hezbollah

• Katyusha rockets

• Arab street

• Smart bomb

• J-DAM

• Operation Desert Fox

• Gross Domestic Product

• Embargo

• Crude oil

• Recession

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