Tuesday, May 5, 2009

IDENTITIES

FINAL IDENTIFICATIONS TEST STUDY SHEET

1. Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. She is a member of the Democratic Party

2. Elliott Abrams
an American lawyer who has served in foreign policy positions for two Republican U.S. Presidents, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. -- During Bush's first term in office, he was appointed to the post of Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director on the National Security Council for Near East and North African Affairs. His appointment by Bush was controversial due to his conviction in 1991 on two misdemeanor counts of unlawfully withholding information from Congress during the Iran-Contra Affair investigation.

3. Sabra and Shatila
Sabra and Shatila Massacre (September 16 – 18, 1982)
[mentioned in April 7 notes]
Sabra and Shatila were 2 refugee camps in West Beirut, Lebanon under the control of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). Two days after the assassination of Bachir Gemayel, Lebanese Phalangist militiamen under the control of Elie Hobeika were allowed to enter the two camps by the IDF. The plan was for the militia to clean out terrorist nests and then hand them over to Israeli forces. Instead, the massacre ensued. Estimates of those killed range from 328 – 3500.
On December 16, 1982, the UN General Assembly condemned the massacre and declared it to be an act of genocide. It was adopted by 98 votes to 19, with 23 abstentions (all western democracies abstained). The label remains a point of contention.
International outcry led to an investigation by the Kahan Commission established by Israeli government that found Israel to be indirectly responsible for the event. Ariel Sharon was found to have personal responsibility and was forced to resign from his post as defense minister, but remained a cabinet member. (It is interesting to note that Sharon was Prime Minister from March 2001 – April 2006).

4. Middle East Partnership Initiative
[mentioned in April 21 class notes]
MEPI is located within the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the US Dept of State. It was originally created by Secretary of State Colin Powell and directed by Elizabeth Cheney. Its headquarters is in Washington and has regional offices in Abu Dhabi and Tunis. Established in 2002, it is a vehicle through which the United States assists Middle Eastern and North African countries to reform through programs focused on the areas of women’s empowerment, educational advancement, economic development and political participation. MEPI works with governments, NGOs, the private sector and academic institutions. The main facets of their mission are: 1. Giving people a voice in their future, 2. Supporting quality education, 3. Developing economic opportunity, 3. Empowering women, 4. Increasing opportunities for youth. Since 2002, it has contributed over $530 million to more than 600 projects in 17 countries and territories.

5. Natanz
-It is located in between the Isfahan and Kashan provinces in Iran, surrounded roughly by a population of 40,000. The Natanz nuclear factory is an underground Fuel Enrichment Plant that covers around 100,000 square meters. The site was exposed by Alireza Jafarzadeh, a journalist and dissident figure to the Iranian government, in 2002, and the Iranian President Ahmadinejad invited the IAEA to visit the site in 2003, who reported the construction of centrifuges but no uranium on the site.

-The site includes an administration building, a centrifuge assembly plant, and one building is suspected to be a cascade hall, a center for the production of enriched uranium. In a report in February 2009, the International Atomic Energy Agency stated that 3,964 centrifuges were actively enriched with uranium at the site.

6. Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri
Main:

-He is currently second in command in the terrorist organization, Al-Qaeda, and was called the "real brains" behind the organization, by Osama Bin Laden's biographer. He also led the Egyptian "Islamic" jihad organization, which he merged into al-Qaedain 1998.

He is wanted in the United States, for his role in the US embassy bombing in Tanzania and Kenya, with a reward of $25 million for information on his location. He was also sentenced to death in Egypt for his actions against the Egyptian government.

Background:

-He was born in June 1951 to an affluent family in Cairo, and he became a part of the fundamentalist movement rolling through Egypt as a teenager. He was arrested by Egyptian authorities and charged with being part of the Muslim brotherhood plot to overthrow President Nasser. He was later arrested n weapon charges and was sentenced to three years of jail in 1981, where he was tortured severely.

He later established ties with Bin Laden and helped plan attacks against Egyptian politicians and the embassy in Pakistan.

7. Boland Amendment
The Boland Amendment was the name given to three U.S. legislative amendments between 1982 and 1984, all aimed at limiting U.S. government assistance to the rebel Contras in Nicaragua. The amendment outlawed U.S. assistance to the Contras for the purpose of overthrowing the Nicaraguan goverment, while allowing assitance for other purposes. The most significant effect of the Boland Amendment was the Iran-Contra Affair in which the proceeds from an eventual arms-for-hostages negotiation with Iran were partially diverted to directly fund the Contras.

8. Soft Power
Soft power is the ability to obtain what you want through co-option and attraction rather than through coercion and payment. In international politics, the soft power of a country rests primarily on three resources: its culture (in places where it is attractive to others), its political values (when it lives up to them at home and abroad), and its foreign policies (when they are seen as legitimate and having moral authority). Essentially, soft power is the ability to persuade someone else to want what you want so that they work toward your goal instead of having to pay them or force them to do the same.

9. USS Liberty
Occurred in the middle of the 6 Day War, in June 1967, when Israel was fighting Jordan, Syria, and Egypt over control of strategic areas in the region. The USS Liberty was a US military intelligence ship stationed in the Siani, which was attacked by Israel's navy and air force. Many Americans were wounded and killed, and the ship was severely damaged. There had been numerous miscommunications between the US and Israel regarding the USS Liberty's status and location. Israel claims that their air force identified the ship as an enemy destroyer and that its navy identified it as an Egyptian cargo ship, which resulted in the friendly fire incident. Although Israel immediately contacted the US regarding the incident after recognizing their error, some argue that Israel was aware of the ship's status before they attacked. C. Henry links us to this web site for more information:
http://www.gtr5.com/
The official conclusion from the US and Israel was that the event was simply a tragic mistake, but there are still doubts; for instance, Israeli planes reportedly repeatedly flew over the ship before attacking, and were well within sight distance of the American flag on the ship. As a result of the incident, Israel eventually paid the US close to $13 million in compensation.

10. October War
The October war was fought between October 6 and October 20 in 1973, after a surprise attack on Israel by Egypt and Syria. The attack was started on Yom Kippur, and Israel was completely unprepared for it; Egypt, Syria, and other supporting minor nations quickly took over areas in the Golan Heights and the Sinai which had been taken over by Israel in the 6 Day War in 1967. Israel began to counterattack, and took back the Golan Heights and the Suez Canal, at which point a ceasefire was agreed to. Just before the ceasefire, Israel was encircling the Egyptian Third Army in the Sinai, which caused the USSR (Egypt's then-ally) to threaten military intervention. This would have had huge implications on the future of the region, and in response, the US raised their Defense Readiness Condition to 3, in anticipation of a possible long, huge war in the Middle East. Luckily, after the ceasefire was agreed to, Egypt and Israel agreed to the Camp David Accords, a major step in the Middle East peace process.

11. Yom Kippur War
• October 1973
• Aso known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War
• Fought by a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria against Israel.
• The war began with a surprise joint attack by Egypt and Syria on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement.
• Due to 1967 events when Israel defeats many states and takes much land
• The peace discussion at the end of the war was the first time that Arab and Israeli officials met for direct public discussions since the aftermath of the 1948 war.

12. Saddam Hussein
• Played a key role in the 1968 coup that brought the revolutionary Ba’ath party to long-term power.
• President of Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988) and the first Persian Gulf War (1991).
• Holds an aggressive stance against foreign intervention
• Support for the Palestinian position
• deposed by the U.S. and its allies during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

13. Osama Bin Laden
Osama Bin Laden:
Is the prominent founder of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization. He, and his organization, are the main targets of America’s “War on Terror,” now known as the “Overseas Contingency Operation.” He is believed to be hiding somewhere along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, but nobody really knows for sure. The Clinton Administration was offered a deal by the Sudanese government to arrest and extradite Bin Laden, but they declined the offer. A list of terrorist attacks that al-Qaeda claims credit for includes:
• September 11th attacks
• Bombing of the USS Cole
• Bombing of American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania
• 1993 World Trade Center bombing
• 1992 hotel bombings in Yemen


14. Brent Scowcroft
Was the National Security Advisor under President’s Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush. He founded The Forum for International Policy. More recently, he has been giving President Barack Obama advice about Middle East policy. Also, he recently paired with Zbigniew Brzezinski to write an op-ed for The Washington Post titled “Middle East Policies.” In this column, they urged Obama to make the Middle East peace process a priority. They also blamed America’s problems in the region on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and more specifically, on America’s support for Israel. This piece also included four parameters that the U.S. should set for the peace process. These parameters are:
1. 1967 borders with minor modifications
2. A nonmilitarized Palestinian state
3. Jerusalem as a real home to two capitals
4. Compensation in lieu of the right of return for Palestinian refugees
Scowcroft is tied to the Republican Party, and most of the Republicans that are connected with the Obama administration have professional and ideological ties to Scowcroft. The most common link is that they all share the idea that America needs to weaken its alliance with Israel.

15. Zbigniew Brzezinski
Jimmy Carter’s National Security Advisor; wrote America and the World.

16. Geneva Accord of 2003
17. Ayatollah Khomeini
He was Iran’s first supreme leader. He was based in Iraq during the time that the Shah was ruling Iran and he was the voice of the opposition. He was the leader of the 1979 coup that toppled the Shah in Iran and installed an Islamic government. His ideas were what made Iran’s new constitution. He was also Iran’s supreme spiritual leader during the hostage crisis.

18. Anwar Sadat
He was vice President under Gamal Abdel Nasser who became president after Nasser’s death. He made peace with the Israelis at Camp David. He was shot and killed in 1981 during a military parade in Egypt. He was good friends with Jimmy Carter. He was Egypt’s president during the surprise attack in the October War in 1973 that was intended to regain the Sinai which was seized by Israel in the 1967 war. He was hated by many in Egypt, especially the Islamists, who opposed his visit to Jerusalem prior to making peace.

19. Yassir Arafat
a Palestinian leader. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, President of the Palestinian National Authority, and leader of the Fatah political party, which he founded in 1959. Arafat spent much of his life fighting against Israel in the name of Palestinian self-determination. Originally opposed to Israel's existence, he modified his position in 1988 when he accepted UN Security Council Resolution 242.Later in his career, Arafat engaged in a series of negotiations with the government of Israel to end the decades-long conflict between that country and the PLO. These included the Madrid Conference of 1991, the 1993 Oslo Accords and the 2000 Camp David Summit.

20. John Foster Dulles
served as U.S. Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959. He was a significant figure in the early Cold War era, advocating an aggressive stance against communism around the world.

21. Osirak
nuclear reactor in Iraq constructed in 1977; damaged in 1980 by Iran and ruined by Israel in 1981

a. Context: Iran-Iraq war in 1980 caused the reactor to be damaged by the Iranians; then completely ruined by Israelis 1 year later in a surprise attack

i. Surprise attack by Israel 1981: Code name Operation Opera; done in order to prevent Iraq dictator Hussein from using the reactor to make weapons. This attack was not supported by the international community and Resolution 487 from UN Security Council condemning it (the U.S. later retracted their participation in this resolution during the Gulf War in 1991)

22. Nixon Doctrine
Nixon Doctrine: 1969, Pres. Richard Nixon’s doctrine (aka ‘Guam Doctrine’) that says the U.S. expects the allies to take care of their own defense

a. Context: War in Persian Gulf occurring with military aid going to Iran and Saudi Arabia so that they could ensure peace within the region

23. Irangate
24. Carter Doctrine
25. Oliver North
is a former Marine Lieutenant Colonel best known for his involvement in the Iran-Contra affair.
• North was a National Security Council member involved in the clandestine sale of weapons to Iran, which served to encourage the release of U.S. hostages from Lebanon.
• North formulated the second part of the plan: diverting proceeds from the arms sales to support the Contra rebel group in Nicaragua.
• He was charged with several felonies, but the charges were later dismissed in 1991.

26. Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)
is a doctrine of military strategy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two opposing sides would effectively result in the destruction of both the attacker and the defender.
The doctrine assumes that each side has enough nuclear weaponry to destroy the other side and that either side, if attacked for any reason by the other, would retaliate with equal or greater force. The expected result is an immediate escalation resulting in both combatants' total and assured destruction. The payoff of this doctrine is expected to be a tense but stable peace
• The primary application of this doctrine started during the Cold War (1950s to 1990s) in which MAD was seen as helping to prevent any direct full-scale conflicts between the United States and the Soviet Union while they engaged in smaller proxy wars around the world.
• Responsible for the arms race, as both nations struggled to keep nuclear parity, or at least retain second-strike capability.
• The doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction continues to be in force after the Cold War
• Non-democratic nations cannot use nuclear weapons against the U.S., or her critical allies (United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Germany, Israel, Australia, and South Korea) without threat of (as U.S. President John F. Kennedy said) a "full retaliatory" response by the United States.
• First strike vs. Second strike-
o A nation with first strike capability would be able to destroy the entire nuclear arsenal of another nation and thus prevent any nuclear retaliation.
o Second strike capability indicated that a nation could uphold a promise to respond to a nuclear attack with enough force to make such a first attack highly undesirable. According to McNamara (SoD in 1959), the arms race was in part an attempt to make sure that no nation gained first strike capability.
• Also known as the policy of nuclear deterrence

27. Mark Twain
Mark Twain (1835 – 1910) was an American author and humorist who is renowned for having written Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. He has been extensively quoted throughout modern history and has even been called “the father of modern literature” by William Faulkner.
From 1901 – 1910, Twain was vice-president of the American Anti-Imperialist League, an organization which opposed the annexation of the Philippines by the United States. He was critical of imperialistic practices in other countries as well, and he inspired many of the arguments in Douglas Little’s book American Orientalism, a commentary on U.S. relations with the Middle East.

28. elite theory
The elite theory is a theory of state that emphasizes the influence of “power relationships” on modern society. It suggests that members of the economic elite and policy-planning networks can significantly affect policies despite the will of elected officials. Essentially, members of this exclusive group wield bargaining power due to generous financial contributions and specific agendas which align with particular campaigns. Such bargaining power is attained by gaining membership on corporate boards and within “think tanks.”

The elite theory stands in opposition to the theory of pluralism in that it dismisses democracy as a “utopian ideal.” This theory also contradicts the state autonomy theory.

29. American Orientalism
a self-serving view of Asians, Africans, and Arabs as decadent, alien, and most crucially, inferior. This prejudice, rooted in the 1800s but evident since the founding of the United States, was influenced largely by literature of the times. Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad gave readers a singular description of the people of the MENA region as crude and barbaric, portraying them as lesser beings who could and should be looked down upon. Other publications continued this trend, such as the National Geographic's pieces on these foreigners depicting very odd cultural practices and casting these people in a negative light through intentionally one-dimensional articles and pictures.

The general sentiment of the American people was a harshly judgemental outlook on these people and a superiority complex derived from the false notion that through this literature they were somehow well-versed in the goings-on of MENA civilizations. This resulted in a brazen foreign policy for the region where the US assumed it an obligation to enlighten the people of these "uncultured" nations. Events such as President McKinley's declaration of the Open Door Policy, where the US must be allotted equal access to MENA largely for petrolium purposes, or the Lend Lease Act headed by Sec of Interior Ickes and Pres FDR to grant aid to a destabilized Saudi Arabia as a bribe for influence in the country for oil, exemplify a haughty entitlement and attempt by the US to control the "oriental" region as a superior and more capable entity.

Because of globalization and a more well-rounded coverage of MENA, most Americans have discarded this discriminatory view of these cultures and countries. However, with the recent focus on Middle East-based terrorism and a continued obsession with oil reserves in the region, this discriminatory mindset is still evident among some Americans, and even a mild bias against people and cultures of the Middle East which nearly all Americans possess displays a continued misunderstanding of these different ideologies and customs beginning with the formation of the United States and catalyzed by American literature.

30. groupthink
Occurs when a decision-making group (i.e. Presidential cabinet and similar advisors) make poor or faulty decisions because pressure within the group to reach a consensus lead to the deterioration in moral responsibility and rationality. In trying to reach an agreement among a group, people often feel pressured into silence and do not air their grievances or express doubts in order to maintain unanimity and avoid conflict. This is derived from and subsequently leads to closed-mindedness among group members and prevents effective and representative policy formation. Several features characterize groupthink, among them perception of invulnerability, collective rationalization, and a belief in inherent morality.

Examples of political mistakes stemming from groupthink:
-failure to aniticpate the attack on Pearl Harbor under Pres Roosevelt, JFK's Bay of Pigs invasion, the escalation fo the Vietnam War under LBJ, and Bush's ulterior motives in the invasion of Iraq.
-the American news media has also been blamed for misleading coverage via groupthink ideas. Biased perspectives within each network and selective editing of stories inhibits a free flow of information and intentionally constructs a particular public opinion
-Eisenhower is now well-known for having relied on smaller groups of trusted associates and made less of an effort to acquaint himself personally with the issue at hand, leading to a decreased likelihood of effective information gathering and forcing this group to come to a consensus which often came after compromising crucial tenets of policy-making.

31. rational actor model
The model adopts the state as the primary unit of analysis, and inter-state relations (or international relations) as the context for analysis. The state is seen as a monolithic unitary actor, capable of making rational decisions based on preference ranking and value maximization. According to the rational actor model, a rational decision making process is used by a state. This process includes:
• Goal setting and ranking.* Consideration of options.* Assessment of consequences. *Value-maximization.
Problem w/ this model: Assumes a unitary actor when in fact there are a lot of different actors at play. You can always in retrospect develop a rational response to an event.

32. bureaucratic/governmental politics model
• power in bureaucracies is spread evenly
• each official has a separate job to do and each official views a problem from his or her own perspective
• differences among officials in a bureaucracy can, therefore, be only resolved through bargaining
• Issues confronting individuals are numerous in number increasing as you go higher up the hierarchy
• Issues can overflow from one bureaucracy to another thereby complicating the game even further.
Ex- Hillary Clinton in the Middle East – stressed different aspects when she was Senator of New York (Pro-Israeli) versus now when her position has changed, her views on Israel are more moderated.
Criticisms
• By accepting the BPM as an accurate model of the way foreign policy is made we may end up exaggerating its importance and neglecting other central factors – i.e. by concentrating on this part of the government we may begin to ignore some of the broader issues of society that also play a role in the foreign policy-making process.
• It places importance on the position of strategically placed individuals within a bureaucracy. Administrative feasibility becomes the central issue and we may end up ignoring the games played at the inter-state level.

bureaucratic/governmental politics models vs rational actor model (unless any outcome is "rational" - as a Hegelian might argue): crisis strategic vs intermestic (international AND domestic) issues… need to relate the decision-making model to the kind of policy issue under discussion.

33. Gamal Abdel Nasser
Egypt's president from 1956-19970. Also founded the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) in 1964. Was a nationalist, also known as Nasserist, dedicated to Arab Unity. For this reason he was aggressive in foreign affairs. Started building the Aswan High Dam with money from the US, and then nationalized it, starting the Suez Crisis.

34. preventative vs preemptive war
Preventive War is defensive action in light of inevitable future conflict. In other words, an attack is going to be made, so you move to strike before you're hurt. Preemptive War is an offensive action taken in light of possible threat. George W. Bush's policy was officially preventive, but actually preemptive.

35. Intifada
Translates in Arabic to “shaking off”, in English it is usually translated to “rebellion”. Most often referred to as a popular resistance to oppression. There were two Palestinian intifadas, the first lasted from 1987-1993 and the second from 2000-2006 (some fighting continued to 2008).
The First Intifada (1987-1993): Occurred as a response to Israel’s capture of the West Bank and the Gaza strip after the Six Day War. There was a growing negative response from the Palestinians living in the occupied territories and the frustration accumulated and resulted in the First Intifada. The first uprising occurred in the Jabalia refuge camp and spread to Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. Actions by the Palestinians ranged from civil disobedience and boycotts to graffiti, barricading, and throwing stones at Israeli forces. The most beneficial outcome to the Palestinians after the First Intifada was international attention to their cause.
The Second Intifada (2000-2006): Also known as the al-Aqsa intifada. Al-Aqsa is a prominent Muslim mosque at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This is said to be one of the holiest sites in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam. The direct cause of the Intifada is unknown, though most believe it to be due to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Actions by Palestinians during the Second Intifada included boycotts and civil disobedience (much like the First Intifada) however there were more frequent armed attacks and suicide bombings with this uprising. The international community also grew more involved during this period of conflict.

36. Baghdad Pact
AKA the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), or the Middle East Treaty Organization (METO). It was adopted by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. It was dissolved in 1979. Some saw this as a British attempt to retain influence in the Middle East. The main goal was to unite this group of countries to prevent the Soviet influence from spreading to the Middle East. This pact, however, failed to accomplish this task because the Soviets simply “leap-frogged” over the countries in the Baghdad pact and formed agreements with Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, and Iraq (after Iraqi monarchy was overthrown in 1958 and the new government started a political relationship with the USSR). The Pact officially ended with the Iranian Revolution in 1979.

37. John Negroponte
-He is currently a research fellow and lecturer in international affairs at Yale University. Prior to this appointment, he served as the United States Deputy Secretary of State and as the first ever Director of National Intelligence. Served as United States ambassador in Honduras, Mexico, and the Philippines. Also served in the Bush Administration as U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations from 2001 to 2004, and was ambassador to Iraq from June 2004 to April 2005.

38. Condoleezza Rice
the 66th United States Secretary of State, and the second in the administration of President George W. Bush to hold the office.-- Rice was President Bush's National Security Advisor during his first term -- Rice pioneered a policy of Transformational Diplomacy, with a focus on democracy in the greater Middle East.

39. Desert Shield
1990; troops were deployed to Saudi Arabia in response to Sadam’s invasion of Kuwait

40. Desert Storm
1991; the U.S. launched air and land attacks to push Iraq out of Kuwait; led a giant coalition.

41. Quartet on the Middle East
This term has to do with the 4 groups that are involved in being mediators in the Israeli-Palestine Conflict. This group includes US, Russia, European Union, and the United Nations. This group has also been known as the Diplomatic or Madrid Quartet. It was established in 2002 in Madrid by Spanish Prime Minister. Part of their mission is discussed as, “The Quartet reaffirms its commitment to a just, comprehensive, and lasting settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict based upon resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973); and reminds all parties of the need to take into account long-term consequences of their actions and of the obligation for all parties to make rapid progress towards resumption of a political dialogue.” Currently his special envoy is lead by Tony Blair. It was established in response to rapidly escalating tension and violence between Israel & Palestine.

42. dual containment
Discussed in terms of the US foreign policy regarding “containment” of Iraq & Iran. (These 2 considered 2 of Israel’s most strategic adversaries. Within this though; since Iraq effectively was contained by United Nations sanctions and daily aerial patrols of two no-fly zones in the north and south of the country, the real focus of dual containment was Iran. The stated objective was to apply sufficient international diplomatic and economic pressure on Iran to induce its government to modify its behavior in five areas alleged by the United States: its acquisition of weapons of mass destruction; its repression of domestic political dissent; its support for international terrorism; its efforts to destabilize governments in the Middle East; and its opposition to the Middle East peace process. It was outlined by a former US ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, at WINEP (Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a DC based think tank) in 1993. Some say it was a reflection of George Kennan’s idea of containment of the USSR during the Cold War.

43. Iraq Study Group Report
Iraq Study Group Report - The Iraq Study Group was appointed in March 2006 by Congress and assigned with assessing the situation in Iraq and making policy recommendations. The group consisted of 10 members, half Republican and half Democrat. The co-chairs were James Baker (former Secretary of State) and Lee Hamilton (former U.S. Representative). The report was released in print and online in December 2006. President Bush discussed the report amongst his first admissions that a "new approach" was needed for the "bad" situation in Iraq. The report has 79 recommendations in 160 pages. Increasing troop levels was not considered, and a focus was put on momentarily sustaining troop levels so that the Iraqi military could be supported and trained by U.S. troops. This would happen through 2007, and the report suggested removing all troops around March 2008, leaving responsibility to the Iraqi military. The report also suggested increased dialogue with Syria, Iran, and the rest of the Middle East. The report noted that violence in Iraq was being understated, and called the situation "deteriorating". Finally, oil in Iraq was discussed heavily. It's spelled out in Recommendation No. 63, which calls on the U.S. to "assist Iraqi leaders to reorganize the national oil industry as a commercial enterprise" and to "encourage investment in Iraq's oil sector by the international community and by international energy companies." This recommendation would=2 0turn Iraq's nationalized oil industry into a commercial entity that could be partly or fully privatized by foreign firms. Recommendation No. 63 also calls on the U.S. government to "provide technical assistance to the Iraqi government to prepare a draft oil law." Below are the points for Iraq Study Group Report which Professor Henry included on his lecture notes:
* regional and external track: diplomacy! - Right upfront: cannot launch a successful diplo unless also US "deals directly with the Arab-Israeli conflict and regional instability."
* internal: benchmarks and orderly US troop withdrawal

44. Reagan Doctrine
Reagan Doctrine - "We must not break faith with those who are risking their lives on every continent from Afghanistan to Nicaragua to defy Soviet-supported aggression and secure rights which have been ours from birth . . . Support for freedom fighters is self-defense." In the Reagan Doctrine, the U.S. provided overt and covert aid to anti-communist resistance movements in an effort to "rollback" Soviet-backed communist governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The first example of the Reagan Doctrine actually came during the Carter Presidency, when the U.S. began providing covert military assistance to Afghanistan's mujahideen in their war against Soviet occupation. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank which played a large role during the Reagan years, targeted nine nations for rollback: Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Iran, Laos, L ibya, Nicaragua, and Vietnam. The U.S. provided military support to the UNITA movement in Angola and the Contras in Nicaragua. There was some controversy regarding resistance movements supported by the Reagan Doctrine participating in drug trafficing and human rights violations.

45. Dimona
a town in the northern area of Israel. In the negev desert. Home to the Negev nuclear research center. The center was illegally built and produced nuclear weapons as early as 1967. The parts to build the nuclear reactor were from the French. It was inspected by the International Atomic Energy Agency during the 1960’s but Israel had advanced notice of the inspections and so they were able to hide the incriminating things. Israel denies the existence of such weapons but it is generally accepted as so.
Paul Bremer- Director of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance/Executive of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. He is an expert on terrorism. He was in charge of the interim government from 2003-2004 in Iraq. The controversy around him is that there were nearly 9 billion dollars in unaccounted for money allocated to reconstruction of the Iraqi. When the transition from US control to Iraqi control happened in 2004, it was done before initially planned because some say they were trying to avoid an impending audit at the end of the Coalition’s power, but Bremer says that it was to avoid any terrorist plans for the turnover of power at the planned date.

46. Paul ("Jerry") Bremer
Director of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance/Executive of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. He is an expert on terrorism. He was in charge of the interim government from 2003-2004 in Iraq. The controversy around him is that there were nearly 9 billion dollars in unaccounted for money allocated to reconstruction of the Iraqi. When the transition from US control to Iraqi control happened in 2004, it was done before initially planned because some say they were trying to avoid an impending audit at the end of the Coalition’s power, but Bremer says that it was to avoid any terrorist plans for the turnover of power at the planned date.

47. Hamas
an Islamic resistance movement that has governed Gaza since 2007.Hamas successfully took hold of a majority of seats in Palestinian Parliament in 2006. Hamas elements have used both political and violent means, including terrorism, to pursue the goal of establishing an Islamic Palestinian state in place of Israel It is considered a terrorist organization by many countries including the United States.

48. Darfur
a region in Sudan undergoing genocide since 2003.

49. Oslo Accords
It was the first direct, face-to-face agreement between Israel and political representatives of Palestinians. It was intended to be a framework for the future relations between Israel and the anticipated Palestinian state, when all outstanding final status issues between the two states would be addressed and resolved in one agreement.
The Accords were wrapped-up in Oslo, Norway on 20 August 1993, and subsequently officially signed at a public ceremony in Washington D.C. on 13 September 1993 in the presence of PLO chairman Yasser Arafat, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and US President Bill Clinton, with Mahmud Abbas signing for the Palestine Liberation Organization, foreign Minister Shimon Peres for the State of Israel, Secretary of State Warren Christopher for the United States and foreign minister Andrei Kozyrev for Russia.
The Oslo Accords were a framework for the future relations between the two parties. The Accords provided for the creation of a Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority would have responsibility for the administration of the territory under its control. The Accords also called for the withdrawal of the Israel Defence Forces from parts of the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
• (1993) Palestinian/Israeli agreement b/w Arafat, Rabin, Clinton. Formed framework for future relations; called for withdrawal of Israeli forces and establishment of Palestinian authority.

50. Douglas Feith
-Undersecretary of Defense for Policy under Bush. Feith has long advocated a policy of "peace through strength". He was an outspoken skeptic of U.S.-Soviet détente and of the Oslo, Hebron and Wye Processes on Palestinian-Israeli peace. In particular, he criticized the Oslo Accords and the Camp David peace agreement mediated by former President Carter between Egypt and Israel. In 1997, he published a lengthy article in
Commentary, titled "A Strategy for Israel". In it, Feith argued that the Oslo Accords were being undermined by Yasser Arafat's failure to fulfill peace
51. Yitzhak Rabin-
-Rabin was the 5th prime minister of Israel and represented the Labor Party. He was played a key role in the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 and won a Nobel Peace prize along with Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat. He had mixed support as the Oslo Accords advanced the peace process, but also gave up Israeli land.
-Rabin was assassinated in 1995 by Yigal Amir who opposed the Oslo Accords and was succeeded by Shimon Peres.

52. Jonathan Jay Pollard
- Pollard is a former United States Naval civilian intelligence analyst who was convicted of spying for Israel.
Pollard was a member of the US navy and shortly after joining the Naval Investigative Service, he started passing along US classified information to an Israeli Air Force veteran for money. He was also cited as having passed on information to South Africa and Pakistan. According to one source Pollard passed over 1 million classified documents.
He was reported by a co-worker who saw him taking classified info and not returning it. Pollard was sentenced to life in prison and a number of appeals have been denied.
Pollard applied for Israeli citizenship Israel has advocated for his release and have denied that he was an Israeli spy for 13 years. In 1998 Netanyahu declared that Pollard was in fact a spy. He has not been released from prison.

53. Ahmed Chalabi
Baghdad born exile, who the Pentagon was grooming as Saddam’s successor in 2002; once said, that “American companies will have a big shot at Iraqi oil.” Part of a three-man executive council for Iraqi opposition group, the Iraqi National Congress (INC), created for the purpose of overthrowing Iraqi president Saddam Hussein

54. Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Washington, DC-based think tank which concerns itself with U.S.-Middle East policy; forms an integral part of the so-called Israel Lobby in the United States. Founded to "advance a balanced and realistic understanding of American interests in the Middle East"

55. the "iron triangle"
- An iron triangle links (1) special interests, (2) members of Congress, and (3) federal agencies. Why "iron"? Because in these power triangles the partners want an unbreakable lock on policy decisions, keeping out the public. The military-industrial complex is one example where the public is kept at bay.
56. War Powers Act
-The *War Powers Resolution of 1973* states that the President can send U.S. armed forces into action abroad only by authorization of Congress or if the United States is already under attack or serious threat. It requires that the president notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days without an authorization of the use of military force by Congress or an official declaration of war.
57. Hans Blix
-A Swedish diplomat who served as head of the head of United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission from March 2000 to June 2003. He is commonly referred to as a "weapons inspector." During his tenure, he was in charge of searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He found none.
58. Straits of Tiran
Access to Jordan's only seaport of Aqaba and to Israel's only Indian Ocean seaport of Eilat is contingent upon passage through the Gulf of Aqaba, giving the Straits of Tiran strategic importance. Egypt's blockade of the Straits to Israeli ships and ships bound for Israel in 1956 and again in 1967 was a catalyst to the Suez Crisis in 1956 and the Six-Day War in 1967.

59. International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA)
The world?s center of cooperation in the nuclear field. It is an independent agency with a special relationship with the UN, providing the General Assembly and Security Council with regular reports. The IAEA works with its Member States and multiple partners to promote safe, secure, and peaceful nuclear technologies. It is also responsible for inspecting nuclear installations in countries suspected of developing nuclear weapons, such as Iran and North Korea. It is headed by Director General Mohamed El Baradei and six Deputy Directors.
In relation to US foreign policy, Iran is understandably upset at the Obama administration?s commitment to ?seek an end to Iran’s ambition to acquire an illicit nuclear capacity.? However, El Baradei has confirmed earlier in 2009 that ?The Agency has been able to continue to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran,? meaning that Iran has proven itself not to be making nuclear weapons but instead exercising its right along with every nation in the world to use nuclear power for peaceful uses (i.e. energy).

60. Blackwater USA
A U.S. training facility for military, security, and law enforcement officials taught by law enforcement and/or military veterans. It is known for the highest caliber military contractor and security firm, as well as for its training of law enforcement, military, and government agencies. Blackwater is the largest of the state department?s 3 private security contractors. Originally known as Blackwater USA and then Blackwater Worldwide, it is now officially renamed to Xe.
Author Jeremy Scahill, regular contributor to the Nation, argues that Blackwater owes its existence to the post-Cold War drawdown of U.S. armed forces, its prosperity to the 9/11 overextension of these forces, and its notoriety to a growing reputation as a mercenary outfit willing to break the constraints on military systems responsible to a state authority. In recent times, Blackwater has been involved everywhere from Iraq to post-Katrina New Orleans to chambers of power in D.C.; it has been called ?the new face of the U.S. war machine.? They no longer have license to operate in Iraq, although some personnel will remain until September ?09; the actions of Blackwater personnel have often been at odds with those of the U.S. Army, as it has been known to open fire without provocation (often on civilians) and use excessive force.
Blackwater also was employed by the Dept. of Homeland Security to assist and secure in post-Katrina New Orleans; overall, the government?s use of contractors in New Orleans cost taxpayers $240,000 a day.

61. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
President of Iran; called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" and was said to have stated that the Holocaust was a "myth" (though this interpretation of his statement is also disputed). He is also a major defender of Iran having a nuclear program; wants them to continue to refine uranium. He claims that they don't want to actually use the weapons and that they just want it for peace keeping purposes. He knows they can't really use them but wants to be "able" to make the weapons and have the knowledge. The real reason Iran wants the capabilities, though, is so that Iran can have respect and power in the international world.

62. UN General Assembly Resolution 194
Created at the end of the 1948 Arab Israeli war, it calls for the protection and free access to the Holy Places, demilitarization and UN control over Jerusalem, free access to Jerusalem, and most importantly the return of refugees. Article 11 "resolves that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible."

63. United States Information Agency (USIA)
- Founded in 1953, the USIA was dedicated to "public diplomacy." Its mission was "to understand, inform, and influence foreign publics in promotion of the national interest, and to broaden the dialogue between Americans and U.S. institutions, and their counterparts abroad." It served as an instrument of "soft power," but was also accused of being a propaganda machine. Its function was absorbed by the Under Secretary of State for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy in 1999.

64. "youth bulge"
65. Tal Afar
An Arabic speaking city in northwestern Iran with a population of mostly Sunni Muslim. During the Iraq war in 2003 Tal Afar was used as a staging point for attacks. In 2006 President Bush overstated Tal Afar as a success story where one could "see the outlines of the Iraq we've been fighting for."

66. George Tenet
was the Director of Central Intelligence serving under Clinton and George W. Bush. He explained his function of CIA director as "the truth to power". He has become best known for telling President Bush that intelligence about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was "a slam dunk case!" Dick Cheney quotes this saying that the choice to go to war was based on a "slam dunk case." The intelligence provided by the CIA later turned out to be wrong. Tenet had already betrayed his "truth for power" once before.

67. Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
is a treaty to limit the spread of nuclear opened for signature on July 1, 1968. Iran is a signatory state of the NPT and has recently (as of 2006 ) resumed development of a uranium enrichment program. The Iranian government states its enrichment program is part of its civilian nuclear energy program In November 2003 IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei reported that Iran had repeatedly and over an extended period failed to meet its safeguards obligations, including by failing to declare its uranium enrichment program. After about two years of EU3-led diplomatic efforts and Iran temporarily suspending its enrichment program Iran resumed its enrichment program after being referred to the Security Council. The United States concluded on this basis that Iran violated its Article III NPT safeguards obligations, and further argued based on circumstantial evidence that Iran's enrichment program was for weapons purposes and therefore violated Iran's Article II nonproliferation obligations Since Iran's uranium enrichment program at Natanz -- and its continuing wo rk on a heavy water reactor at Arak that would be ideal for plutonium production -- began secretly years b efore in conjunction with the very weaponization work the NIE discussed and for the purpose of developing nuclear weapons, many observers find Iran's continued development of fissile material production capabilities distinctly worrying
a. Ask ourselves—what is Iran interested in doing with it’s nuclear program; it has been a member of the nonproliferation Treaty which bans use of military power; it has allowed inspections called for by NPT (inspection by IAEA—International Atomic Energy Agency) which regularly looks at its programs; it claims it is not interest in nuclear weapons it is interested in nuclear power for peaceful purposes; However, in the past it turns out they had a secret of the beginnings of nuclear program that they hid from inspectors—is this happening again?

68. Tony Blair
is a British politician, who served as Prime Minister from May 2,1997 to June 27, 2007. On the day he stood down as Prime Minister and MP, he was appointed official Envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East on behalf of the United Nations, the European Union , the United States and Russia. Immediately following the September 11 attacks, Blair vowed to stand "shoulder to shoulder" with America. He aligned Britain as the most important US ally in th e war on terror and the Iraq war , both politically and militarily, despite significant public opposition. Blair 'had a deep feeling for Israel, born in part from his faith. Blair, on coming to office, had been 'cool towards the right-wing Netanyahu government. But with the election in 1999 of an Israeli Labour prime minister Ehud Barak, with whom Blair 'forged a close relationship', he became 'much more sympathetic to Israel. Blair also 'worked hard at building a relationship, Barak's successor, Ariel Sharon and to Arafat. 'By April 2002, Blair believed he was making progress with a peace process. Bush's statement of 4 April, in which he urged Sharon to withdraw from Palestinian cities recently occupied and halt further incursions into Palestinian-controlled areas, proved the highpoint of Bush's toughness with the Israeli Prime Minister.' 'By the beginning of 2003, Blair redoubled his efforts to shift Bush on the Middle East policy process', which 'finally paid off when, on 14 March, Bush announced that the road map would be published as soon as Abu Mazen, the new Palestinian Prime Minister, was installed. Palestinian independence by 2005, to which Bush secured Sharon's agreement, was the goal.' According to Anthony Seldon: 'None of these proposals=2 0would have been finalized, least of all so quickly, without Blair's pressing. In 2006 Blair was criticized again, this time for his failure to call for a ceasefire in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

69. Arms Export Control Act
a. 1967—gave the president control over weapons deals
b. In 2009 Israel was accused of violating the act because they invaded Gaza
c. Congress may exercise a leg veto over sales of arms over 25 million to a foreign country

70. Seymour M Hersh
a. Journalist who uncovered the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War
b. more recently reported on the military’s mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.
c. Also reported on US covert actions in Iran regarding nuclear weapons

71. POGAR (UNDP)
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Regional Bureau for Arab States (RBAS) launched the Programme on Governance in the Arab Region (POGAR) in early 2000 at the request of Arab governments. POGAR is dedicated to the promotion and development of good governance practices and related reforms in the Arab states, and works with legislatures, judiciaries, and civil society organizations. Activities include providing policy advice, engaging in institutional capacity building, and testing policy options through pilot projects.



72. National Security Council
Executive branch governmental body used to advise and assist the president on issues of national security and foreign policy. Barack Obama is the chairman of the council.

73. Golan Heights
74. J William Fulbright
75. Mordechai Vananu
Ex-Israeli nuclear technician who exposed the truth about Israel's nuclear capability to Britain after Israel's blatant denials of any such capability. He was dragged back to Israel and sentenced to 18 years of prison for "treason". Eleven served in total isolation. Released in 2004. Refused to participate in the Lebanon War. He saw the people of Israel and surrounding Arab countries as "victims of their governments" and it was partly his concern for them that prompted his decision to expose Israel's "official deceit".

76. World Trade Organization (WTO) –
-Promotes liberalizing international trade (globalization); US wants to help Iran get into WTO to improve relations. It was formed in 1995.
77. Intelligence Oversight Act-
- 1980. It requires US government agencies to report covert actions to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Previously, government agencies had to notify six to eight other committees. (websites for these two committees on the webpage for Feb. 12).
78. Ehud Olmert
- Former PM of Israel from 2006-2009. He is a member of the Kadima party. He continued many of Sharon’s policies- road map for peace and two-state solution. His government had healthy relations with the Fatah led Palestinian Authority, but had military conflicts with Hamas. Livni became leader of Kadima after Olmert. Netanyahu became PM in 2009.
79. Mahmoud Abbas
member of left-wing Fatah party.became President of Palestinian Authority following Arafat's death in 2004. He pledged to rein in Hamas and the Islamic extremists. Chairman of PLO since Nov 11 2004.was first Prime Minister of Palestinian Authority from Mar-Oct 2003. Elected to serve as President til 1/9/09, but extended his term for another year. before he was PM, he led PLO's Negotiations Affairs Dept. Initially pledged not to use force against militants so as not to start a civil war, and both Islamic Jihad movement and Hamas agreed to honor a cease-fire, but violence continued, so Abbas was forced to crackdown on militant groups to uphold "road map for peace."

80. Shimon Peres
current president of Israel. successor of Rabin after assassination in November 1995. was defeated in election 6 months later. was previously Israeli foreign minister. vowed to preserve and even expand Israel's partnership with PLO, but extremists on both sides thought otherwise. they created a climate of fear and insecurity that prompted many voters to abandon Peres and embrace Ben Netanyahu, leader of the Lukud party. previously elected to Knesset from Nov 1959 through 2007.

81. John Poindexter
John Marlan Poindexter (born August 12, 1936 in Odon, Indiana) is a
retired American naval officer and Department of Defense official. He
was Deputy National Security Advisor and National Security Advisor for the Reagan administration. He was convicted in April 1990 of multiple felonies as a result of his actions in the Iran-Contra scandal. His convictions were eventually reversed on appeal in 1991. More recently, he served a brief stint as the Director of the DARPA Information Awareness Office for the administration of George W. Bush.

Dr. John Poindexter is the director of the Information Awareness
Office at the Department of Defense. His job is to oversee the
development of several technology projects, the most prominent being
the Total Information Awareness system. Total Information Awareness
will be the largest compilation of personal information in existence
and the tools to make sense of the information. The database will be a
central source for information on people the US Government likes keep
tabs on.

The office was created in January of 2002 and Poindexter was appointed
as the office's first director by the Bush administration on February
13. He is a retired Navy Admiral and was Reagan's National Security
Advisor. He and his wife Linda live in Rockville, Maryland, a
45-minute drive from his office in Arlington, Virginia. They have four
adult sons and several grandchildren.

****Under Poindexter's supervision, the US intelligence community sold
weapons to the Muslim fundamentalist leader of Iran, the Ayatollah
Khomeini, to help in his war with Iraq. In exchange, American hostages
in Lebanon were freed. These actions were totally contrary to what
President Reagan was telling the American people, "The US gives
terrorists no rewards, no guarantees, we make no concessions. We make
no deals." The arms sales went on for over a year. The money that was
made helped fund rebels, or Contras, in Nicaragua who were trying to
overthrow the communist government. Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North, one
of Poindexter's subordinates, was in charge of arming and organizing
the Contras.

However, not all the money for funding the rebels came from selling
weapons. One of the Poindexter's key players of the Contra supply
network was Panamanian General Manuel Noriega, a well known cocaine
trafficker for various Columbian drug lords. While publicly asking
people to "Just say no" Congressional inquiries exposed the fact that
Reagan's National Security Council used millions of dollars of drug
money to fund operations in Nicaragua as well as other black ops.

82. Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell (born April 5, 1937) is an American statesman and a former four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State (2001-2005), serving under President George W. Bush. He was the first African American appointed to that position. During his military career, Powell also served as National Security Advisor (1987?1989), as Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Army Forces Command (1989) and as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989?1993), holding the latter position during the Gulf War. He was the first, and so far the only, African American to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. At the age of 49, Powell became Ronald Reagan's National Security Advisor, serving from 1987 to 1989 while retaining his Army commission as a lieutenant general. After his tenure with the National Security Council, Powell was promoted to a full general under President George H.W. Bush and briefly served as Commander-in-Chief (CINC) of the Army's Forces Command (FORSCOM), overseeing all Army, Army Reserve, and National Guard units in the Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. His last military assignment, from October 1, 1989 to September 30, 1993, was as the 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest military position in the Department of Defense. At age 52, he became the youngest officer, and first Afro-Caribbean American, to serve in this position. In 1989, he joined Dwight D. Eisenhower and Alexander Haig as the third general since World War II to reach four-star rank without ever being a divisional commander.[16] During this time, he oversaw 28 crises, including the invasion of Panama in 1989 to remove General Manuel Noriega from power and Operation Desert Storm in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

POWELL DOCTRINE:
After the end of Persian Gulf War in 1991, Colin Powell, then chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, outlined his vision for efficient and
decisive military action. His plan is now referred to as the Powell
Doctrine, although there is not an actual formal document named as
such. Powell,U.S. secretary of state, has recently invoked the
Doctrine in articulating the justifications for the Bush
administration's preparations for war in Iraq. Essentially, the
Doctrine expresses that military action should be used only as a last
resort and only if there is a clear risk to national security by the
intended target; the force, when used, should be overwhelming and
disproportionate to the force used by the enemy; there must be strong
support for the campaign by the general public; and there must be a
clear exit strategy from the conflict in which the military is engaged.

Powell based this strategy for warfare in part on the views held by
his former boss in the Reagan administration, Secretary of Defense
Caspar Weinberger, and also on his own experience as a major in
Vietnam. That protracted campaign, in Powell's view, was
representative of a war in which public support was flimsy, the
military objectives were not clear, overwhelming force

83. Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu, a former Israeli prime minister who leads the hawkish right-wing Likud party, was once again sworn in as prime minister on April 1, 2009, replacing Ehud Olmert. During his swearing in, Mr. Netanyahu struck a somewhat conciliatory tone toward the Palestinians in an address to Parliament, promising negotiations toward a permanent accord, but stopped short of endorsing a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a potential point of friction with the United States.

84. Truman Doctrine - With the Truman Doctrine, President Harry S. Truman established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces. The Truman Doctrine effectively reoriented U.S. foreign policy, away from its usual stance of withdrawal from regional conflicts not directly involving the United States, to one of possible intervention in far away conflicts.The Truman Doctrine arose from a speech delivered by President Truman before a joint session of Congress on March 12, 1947. The immediate cause for the speech was a recent announcement by the British Government that, as of March 31, it would no longer provide military and economic assistance to the Greek Government in its civil war against the Greek Communist Party. Truman asked Congress to support the Greek Government against the Communists. He also asked Congress to provide assistance for Turkey, since that nation, too, had previously been dependent on British aid.



85. Hamas

is the largest most influential Palestinian militant movement. In January 2006, the group won the Palestinian Authority's (PA) general legislative elections, defeating Fatah, the party of the PA's president, Mahmoud Abbas. Fatah was said to be an easier party to work with in regards to Israeli-Palestine peace. Hamas grew orignially from the muslim brotherhood, a religious political organization founded in Egypt. Hama refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist. Israel has tried to persuade the U.S to believe that Hamas are terrorists; they do participate in some terrorist like activities, but is not solely a terrorist group. They are the group responsible for the most recent Gaza-West bank uproars (rocket firings) back and forth with Israel. Hamas is pretty popular with the palestinian people, and some records have even shown an increase of support since Hamas has come into power. Professor Henry said that some see Hamas as a somewhat protector of the Palestinian people. The leader of Hamas in Palestine is Ismaiel Haniyeh.

86. Agency for International Development (AID)
This independent federal agency dates back to the marshall plan reconstruction period of Europe after World War two and the Truman administration’s point four program In 1961, John F Kennedy, made the foreign assistance act, which recognized U.S foreign assistance programs and separated military and non military aid and the USAID program was created by executive order. Is the prime agency that extends assistance to countries recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms. In regards to the Middle East, USAID provides aid to 7 country program and a regional program in the Middle East and North Africa. Their work in the Middle East focuses on :
Rebuilding Iraq and supporting the transition to stability and democracy;
Helping Palestinians realize a two-state solution with Israel—living side by side in peace.
Promoting democratic reforms;
Expanding education to give youth job skills and roles in society; and
Supporting free trade agreements, infrastructure and business development
USAID is very important for Iraq. It provided and still provides assistance to Iraq. Key to U.S’s plan for victory in Iraq. USAID/Iraq's new strategy calls for an expanded role in supporting focused stabilization, establishing the foundation for economic growth, and building national capacity. establishment of democratic institutions and sustainable economic development will form the foundations of a stable, democratic, and prosperous Iraq.


87. Madrid Conference
The Madrid Conference was hosted by the government of Spain and co-sponsored by the USA and the USSR. It convened on October 30, 1991 and lasted for three days. It was an early attempt by the international community to start a peace process through negotiations involving Israel and the Palestinians as well as Arab countries including Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. In the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, US President George H.W. Bush and his Secretary of State James Baker formulated the framework of objectives, and together with the Soviet Union extended a letter of invitation, dated October 30, 1991 to Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and the Palestinians.

The purpose of the conference was to serve as an opening forum for the participants and had no power to impose solutions or veto agreements. It inaugurated negotiations on both bilateral and multilateral tracks that also involved the international community. The first-ever public bilateral talks between Israel and its neighbors (except Egypt) were aimed at achieving peace treaties between the 3 Arab states and Israel. The multilateral negotiations, which opened in Moscow on January 28, 1992, were held in 5 separate forums each focused on a major issue - water, environment, arms control, refugees and economic development, and were later held, until November 1993 throughout the world including European capitals and the Middle East. Nevertheless, an example had been made and a future model had been laid down. Moreover, the Madrid conference represents the first time all these countries had been gathered “face-to-face”. Indeed, ‘from Rhodes in 1949 to Madrid in 1991’ attempts to bring about peace in the region had failed. At the end of the Madrid conference all participating countries appeared hopeful that the conference had resulted in a future road-map for reconciliation. American Secretary of State, James Baker seemed to have accomplished what he had initially wished for: peace negotiations which would lead to closer cooperation and reconciliation between the countries of the Middle East.

By 1993 when Clinton came to office ‘the initial momentum of Madrid had flagged, and the subsequent bilateral talks in Washington between Israel and its neighbors had got bogged down. Thus, the Madrid conference was not to be the conference, which would create peace in the Middle East, but it was the first step towards greater understanding and better communication among Middle Eastern countries.

88. Moktada Al-Sadr
Along with Ali al-Sistani and Abdul Aziz al-Hakim of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, Sadr is one of the most influential religious and political figures in the country not holding any official title in the Iraqi government.

After the fall of Saddam, Muqtada al-Sadr, a charismatic Iraqi cleric who comes from a powerful clerical dynasty, emerged as one of the country's most talked-about Shi'a leaders. Al-Sadr is one of the most vocal critics of the U.S. occupation of Iraq. The leader of the Sadriyun Movement [Sadriun Movement], he insists US troops should leave the country immediately and that Iraqis be given an opportunity to create an Islamic state if they choose.

Muqtada al-Sadr is a young, fiercely anti-American messianic cleric and the head of the Mahdi Army, an armed militia that has waged an intermittent insurgency against U.S. and Iraqi forces. Virtually unknown before the collapse of Saddam Hussein's government in 2003, Sadr has since emerged as one of the most important Shiite leaders in the country. Bolstered by a base of predominantly poor urban Shiites, Sadr has led a series of uprisings against U.S., Iraqi, and rival Shia forces. A series of violent clashes in Najaf, Basra, and Sadr City since 2004 depleted the cleric's forces, but experts say his influence as a military, political, and religious figure have climbed amid the U.S.-led occupation.

After U.S. troops shut down Sadr's weekly newspaper on March 28, 2004 for publishing inflammatory articles about the U.S. occupation, Sadr unleashed demonstrations and armed strikes against the U.S. occupation authority. In the ensuing fighting, dozens of U.S. soldiers and scores of Iraqis were killed. Sadr has in the past claimed to have a 10,000-strong militia and yesterday reports suggested there were some 5,000 black-shirted men marching near Najaf, which is 100 miles south of Baghdad. Sadr's headquarters are in Najaf and the armed wing of his organisation, the Mehdi Army, has been playing an increasingly high-profile role there and in Baghdad and Kerbala. ...

A June 2004 US-sponsored poll reported that 67 percent of respondents supported him (with 32 percent offering "strong support", and 36 percent saying they "somewhat support" him). He was the third most popular political figure. Despite al-Sadr's popularity, only two percent of respondents selected him as their first choice for President of Iraq. His strongest support comes from the class of dispossessed Shi‘a, like in the Sadr City area of Baghdad. Many Iraqi supporters see in him a symbol of resistance to foreign occupation. It is true that he does not have strong popularity in Najaf, where he is blamed along with U.S. forces for provoking the standoff and the resulting violence.

Donald Rumsfeld
-13th Secretary of Defense under President Gerald Ford from 1975 to 1977, and
-the 21st Secretary of Defense under President George
W. Bush from 2001 to 2006. Rumsfeld was a founder and active member of the Project for the New American Century, a neo-conservative think-tank dedicated to maintaining US Primacy.

Madeleine Albright
-Secretary of State under Clinton. First women to become Secretary of State.

1. Mohammed Khatami
Mohammed Khatami represents the most moderate, intellectually urbane wing of the Iranian theocracy. He was the Iranian president for two terms (1997-2005) and has declared his candidacy for the June 12, 2009 presidential election. He?ll be challenging conservative firebrand Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Khatami?s presidential tenure included several diplomatic and tactical overtures toward the United States, which President Bush rebuffed by branding Iran part of the ?axis of evil? and damaging Khatami?s standing as a moderate. Khatami rejects the “clash of civilization” thesis, and is devoted to cross-cultural dialogue.
Khatami has always been more interested in theology and philosophy than politics. He?s also always found himself at the junction of modern Iranian history?s most important currents. In 1977 he was among the founders of the Society of Combatant Clergy, or the Militant Clerics? Association, known by its Iranian acronym, JRM, which worked to overthrow the Shah of Iran and played a pivotal role in the Iranian
Revolution of 1979.
Khatami was elected to Iran?s first Parliament in 1980 and named Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance in 1982. The position that made him the country?s ultimate book, movie and news media censor. It also made clear that Khatami was not fond of censorship. Culture thrived in his 10 years as minister. He was forced to resign in 1992 by conservative clerics who found him too permissive. Khatami became President Rafsanjani?s cultural adviser from 1992 to 1997, when he won the presidency?in the first freely contested vote since the 1980 revolution?with 69 percent of the vote. Khatami?s two terms as president were riddled with crises, the result of an economy left unmanaged for more than a decade, a country still paying the debilitating costs of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), and a political establishment sclerotic with conservative clerics opposed to Khatami’s modernist reforms. He reportedly survived an assassination attempt in 2000. Iran?s Intelligence Ministry waged a backdoor war against him, imprisoning dissidents and repressing civil rights and liberties. Despite the problems, he was reelected in 2001 with 70 percent of the vote. Constitutionally, he could not run for a third consecutive term. In 2005, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took the presidency On February 8, 2009, Khatami announced that he will run in 2009 presidential election. On March 16th, he announced he was withdrawing from the race in favor of his long-time friend and adviser, former Prime Minister of Iran, Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

2. Tower Commission-
- Commissioned on November 26, 1986 by Ronald Reagan, The Tower
Commission was in response to the Iran Contra scandal. Reagan appointed former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft along with Senator John Tower, and former Secretary of State Edmund Muskie. The commission uncovered that Reagan didn’t have anythign to do with the scandal, but was nontheless criticized for not knowing about the actions of those under him. Result of the Tower Commission was the consensus that Reagan should have
listened to his National Security Advisor more. The report was expected to be a whitewash, but it was surprisingly critical of Reagan's "management style" and provided one of the first official confirmations of the NSC's arms-for-hostages policy. Internal memos and PROF notes (computer mail) between the major players were quoted in detail, and a major portion of North's private funding network was exposed. The best measure of the
Tower Commission's success can be seen in the fact that their report, a ten-week effort by three "safe" appointees, had more impact than the Congressional report released on
November 18, 1987.

3. James A Baker
o Secretary of Commerce under Gerald Ford (1975-1980)
o White House Chief of Staff under Reagan (1981-1985)
o Secretary of the Treasury under Reagan (1985-1988)
o White House Chief of Staff under George H. W. Bush (1992-1993)
o Served as the personal envoy of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to seek a political solution to the conflict over Western Sahara (1997-2004)
o Special presidential envoy for President George W. Bush on the issue of Iraqi debt (2003-2008)
o Senior partner at Baker Botts LLP (2004-present)
o Co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan blue-ribbon panel examining a forward-looking approach to Iraq (2006-present)

4. Paul D Wolfowitz
Wolfowitz was the Deputy Secretary of Defense during the George W. Bush Administration and reported to Donald Rumsfeld. From Lecture, Wolfowitz significance dealt with the War in Iraq. Wolfowitz said, “For bureaucratic reasons, we settled on one issue, weapons of mass destruction, because it was the one reason everyone could agree on." WMD’s were the common denominator for war.
Also, Wolfowitz along with I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, before his down fall, created the 1992 draft Defense Planning Guidance (DPG). This document was meant to provide an outline of US military strategies and spending. It would be the first DPG made since the Cold War. However, the draft was leaked to the New York Times and angered many Democrats because it called for massive increases in defense spending, the assertion of long superpower status, the use of preventive or preemptive force, and the idea of forsaking multilateralism if it did not suit US interests.
It called for intervening in disputes throughout the globe, even when the disputes were not directly related to U.S. interests, arguing that the United States should “retain the preeminent responsibility for addressing selectively those wrongs which threaten not only our interests, but those of our allies or friends, or which could seriously disrupt international relations.” The White House rejected the draft.

5. General Anthony Zinni
From 1997 to 2000, he was commander-in-chief of the United States Central Command, in charge of all American troops in the Middle East, who outspokenly opposed the Iraq war and then backed the surge. In 2002, he was selected to be a U.S. special envoy for the Middle East peace process, Israel/ Palestinian Authority. During Obama’s administration he was nominated ambassador of Iraq and lost to Chris Hill. Zinni says Iraq was the wrong war at the wrong time.

6. Al Aqsa Intifada
he 2nd intifata from September 2000 to November
2006. It started when Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount in
Jerusalem. Al Aqsa is the name of a holy Muslim Mosque that now stands
where the old temple mount was. His visit caused an uprising.

7. Axis of Evil
- George W. Bush used the term ‘axis of evil’ to describe governments that he accused of helping terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction. Iran, Iraq and North Korea.
From State of the Union speech:
“This is a regime that has something to hide from the civilized world. States like these,
and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world. By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave and growing danger. They could provide these arms to terrorists, giving them the means to match their hatred. They could attack our allies or attempt to blackmail the United States. In any of these cases, the price of indifference would be catastrophic.”

8. Ali Larijani
Ali Larijani is the current speaker of the Iranian Parliament. He was one of the two representatives of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei to the Supreme National Security Council of Iran as secretary which allowed him to function as the top negotiator of issues of national security, including Iran's nuclear programs. As the secretary, he took a pragmatic approach to negotiating the Iranian nuclear program with the west which differed greatly from Ahmadinejad. In May 2008, he became speaker of the parliament, which has put him in a strong position to challenge Ahmadinejad in the next election.

9. Camp David Summit (Carter)
Carter, Begin, Sadat 1978; led to Camp David Accords
- Land for Peace
- Led to 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace treaty, cleaned up after Yom Kippur War of 1973
- Carter’s personality and commitment to reaching an agreement is credited with the success of these talks, was able to work through impasse over the status of the West Bank and the Sinai peninsula
- Established “autonomous self-governing authority” in West Bank
- Did not discuss what would happen with Jerusalem
- Israel agreed to withdraw from Sinai, evacuate its civilians, and turn it over to Egypt in return for normalized relations with Egypt, freedom of passage through Suez Canal and Straits of Tiran
- Restricted military forces Egypt could have in Sinai
- Egypt guaranteed free passage between Egypt and Jordan
- US agreed to billions of dollars in annual subsidies to Egypt and Israel, which still continue
- After this Egypt was suspended from the Arab League for 10 years- other Arab countries were mad Egypt didn’t push harder for Palestinian rights
- Treaty also → disintegration of united Arab front against Israel
- Set precedent for 1993 Oslo Accords

10. Richard Perle
He is an American political advisor and lobbyist who worked for the Reagan administration as an assistant Secretary of Defense and worked on the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee from 1987 to 2004. He was Chairman of the Board from 2001 to 2003 under the Bush Administration and a member of several think tanks. He was given the nickname “The Prince of Darkness.” With the Carter administration, he was opposed to reduction of nuclear arms in regards to the Soviet Union and thought the US was giving up too much.
He is a neoconservative who wrote a book called An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror, and was for a regime change of Iraq, calling for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. He also linked Hussein to Bin Laden right after 9/11. He claimed AIPAC was not involved in the Iraq decision, but agrees they are influential in political elections, stating those in Congress opposed to AIPAC legislation has little re-election chances. He advocates pre-emptive strikes, such as in Iraq, as an extension of America's right to self defense. Perle has expressed support for a theoretical first strike on North Korean and Iranian nuclear facilities. He later regretted his support to invade Iraq and blamed the troubled occupation on the dysfunction of the Bush Administration. He also strongly criticized the Iraq Study Group proposals.
Perle chaired a study group that produced a strategy paper for the Benjamin Netanyahu: "A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm". The paper's main recommendations revolved around steering Israel away from Socialist principles, making efforts to become more self-reliant, "nurturing alternatives to Arafat's exclusive grip on Palestinian society", and working more closely with countries such as Jordan and Turkey. It also stated the removal of Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq should be a key objective for the Israeli state, advocated armed incursions into Lebanon, and suggested Arab states should be challenged as undemocratic. Perle has on occasion been accused of being an Israeli agent of influence. It has been reported that, while he was working for Jackson, "An FBI summary of a 1970 wiretap recorded Perle discussing classified information with someone at the Israeli embassy," writes Paul Findley (They Dare To Speak Out, Chicago, Ill, Lawrence Hill Books 1989)."He came under fire in 1983 when newspapers reported he received substantial payments to represent the interests of an Israeli weapons company. Perle denied conflict of interest, insisting that, although he received payment for these services after he had assumed his position in the Defense Department, he was between government jobs when he worked for the Israeli firm."
Perle is a core representative of neoconservatives. He had central role in the War on Terror on the ME after 9/11. He was called the Prince of Darkness because of his intense anti-Soviet policies in Reagan’s Dept. of Defense. He helped shape Bush administration on the Rumsfeld’s Defense Policy Board before the Iraq War. Associated with neocon PNAC (Project for the New American Century). Compared threat of ME to the Cold War, saying we had to eliminate chance of WMDs and get Hussein out of power.
In 2002 viewed war as “Total War,” claiming we didn’t need clever diplomacy but just let our vision of the world go forth against our variety of enemies. Was influenced by the Holocaust, calling it the defining moment in his generation’s history. Terrorism is this generation’s great evil and great cause. Was committed to a greater regime change in the ME that included Iran and Syria. Also thought that after Lebanon conflict in 2006 Israel needed precise military action against Hezbollah, delivering a blow to those who would destroy it.
In 2006 began expressing the Iraq War had been a mistake. He thought the threats could have been handled better than direct military intervention. Also disagreed with Bush’s 2007 surge of troops.




11. Camp David II
in 2000; unsuccessful attempt to negotiate Arab-Israeli conflict; happened between Clinton (USA), Yasser Arafat (PLO/Palestine), and Ehud Barak (Israel); First talks happened during the Carter years

12. the "dissident triangle" - the dissident triangle is comprised of agency whistle blowers, reformers in Congress, and the press/media. It attempts to counter act the actions of the iron triangle.

13. Hosni Mubarak

- 4th and current President of the Arab Republic of Egypt
o He was appointed Vice President in 1975
o Assumed the presidency on Oct. 14 1981, following the assassination of President Anwar el-Sadat by militants in 1981
o became the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt & the Chairman of the National Democratic Party (NDP)
o He is also the longest serving President of the Egyptian Republic (27 years in 2008).
Egypt's return to the Arab League
- Egypt was the only country in the history of the Arab League to be suspended from its membership, due to President Sadat's peace treaty with Israel

- re-gained admission to the league in 1989, under Mubarak
o 8 years after Sadat's assassination
o Its headquarters was relocated to its original setting in Cairo
Wars and the monetary gain from the First Persian Gulf War
- Egypt was a member of the allied coalition in the 1991 Persian Gulf War
o Luck was on Hosni Mubarak’s side -> when America was hunting for a military alliance to force Iraq out of Kuwait, Egypt’s president joined without hesitation
o After the Persian Gulf War, his reward was that USA, the Gulf States and Europe forgave Egypt around $20 billion-worth of debt.
Mubarak's stance on the second Iraq War
- President Mubarak spoke out against the 2003 war on Iraq, arguing that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be resolved 1st.
- He also claimed that the war would cause "100 Bin Ladens".
- President Mubarak does not support an immediate U.S. pull out from Iraq as he believes it will lead to probable chaos.
Changing economic scene

- He appointed Ahmed Nazif as the new Prime Minister.
- The new cabinet headed by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif was somewhat successful in overcoming the grim economic situation.
Democratization in 2005 elections

- After increased domestic & international pressure for democratic reform in Egypt, Mubarak asked parliament to amend the constitution to allow multi-candidate presidential elections by September ‘05.
o Previously, Mubarak secured his position by having himself nominated by parliament, then confirmed without opposition in a referendum.
o The September ‘05 ballot was therefore a multiple candidate election rather than a referendum, but the electoral institutions, and security apparatus remain under the control of the President.
o The official state media, including the three government newspapers and state television also express views identical to the official line taken by Mubarak.
• In recent years however, there has been a steady growth in independent news outlets, especially independent newspapers which occasionally criticize the President and his family severely.
o The election involved mass rigging activities, according to civil organizations that observed the elections.
o Dr. Ayman Nour, a dissident and candidate for the Al-Ghad party, contested the election results, and demanded a repeat of the election.
Mubarak and corruption

- While in office, political corruption in the Mubarak administration's Ministry of Interior has risen dramatically, due to the increased power over the institutional system that is necessary to secure the prolonged presidency.

Presidential succession
- Mubarak's second son Gamal started rising in the National Democratic Party and succeeded in getting a newer generation of neo-liberals into the party, and eventually the government.
o Many believe that his succession would mean a hereditary pseudo-monarchy (family dictatorship).

Mubarak and Palestine
- Mubarak has very strong views on the issue of Israel and Palestine.
o He is generally supportive of Palestinian groups such as Hamas.

- As he has been involved in intensely in the Arab League, he has supported Arab efforts to achieve a lasting peace in the region.
o At the summit the league adopted the Arab Peace Initiative, a Saudi-inspired peace plan for the Arab–Israeli conflict.
o The initiative offered full normalization of the relations with Israel.
• In exchange, Israel was demanded to withdraw from all occupied territories, including the Golan Heights, to recognize an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital, as well as a "just solution" for the Palestinian refugees.

- The Peace Initiative was again endorsed at 2007 in the Riyadh Summit.
- In July 2007, the Arab League sent a mission, consisting of the Jordanian and Egyptian foreign ministers, to Israel to promote the initiative.
o The mission was welcomed with reservations by Israel.

- On June 19, 2008, Egypt brokered “lull” or pause in hostilities between Israel and Hamas went into effect.
o The term “lull” is a translation of the Arabic term Tahdia.
o According to The New York Times, neither side fully respected the terms of the cease-fire.

- The agreement required Hamas to end rocket attacks on Israel and to enforce the lull throughout Gaza.
o In exchange, Hamas expected the blockade to end, commerce in Gaza to resume, and truck shipments to be restored to ‘05 levels
• Btw 500 and 600 trucks per day.
o Israel tied easing of the blockade to a reduction in rocket fire and gradually re-opened supply lines and permitted around 90 daily truck shipments to enter Gaza, up from around 70 per day.
o Hamas criticized Israel for its continued blockade while Israel accused Hamas of continued weapons smuggling via tunnels to Egypt and pointed to continued rocket attacks.
o Egypt's foreign minister, while condemning the Israeli offensive, stated that Hamas had brought it upon itself.







Political and military posts (Begins with most recent)
• Re-elected for a fifth term of office (2005)
• Chairman of the G-15 (1998 & 2002)
• Re-elected for a fourth term of office (1999)
• Chairman of the Arab Summit since June (1996)
• Chairman of the OAU (1993-1994)
• Re-elected for a third term of office (1993)
• Chairman of the OAU (1989-1990)
• Re-elected for a second term of office (1987)
• President of the National Democratic Party (1982)
• President of the Republic (1981) • Vice-President of the National Democratic Party (NDP) (1979)
• Vice-President of the Arab Republic of Egypt (1975)
• Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General / Air Marshal (1974)
• Commander of the Air Force and Deputy Minister of Defense (1972)
• Chief of Staff of the Air Force (1969)
• Director of the Air Force Academy (1968)
• Commander of Cairo West Air Base (1964)
• Joined Frunze Military Academy, USSR (1964)
• Lecturer in Air Force Academy (1952-1959)

14. Hezbollah
- Hezbollah was founded in 1982 in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and subsumed members of the 1980s coalition of groups known as Islamic Jihad. It has close links to Iran and Syria. Significant force in Lebanon politics. Its base is in Lebanon's Shiite-dominated areas, including parts of Beirut, southern Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. In addition, U.S. intelligence reports say that Hezbollah cells operate in
Europe, Africa, South America, and North America. Hezbollah and its affiliates have planned or been linked to a lengthy series of terrorist attacks against the United States, Israel, and other Western targets.
15. Muslim Brotherhood
a. Transnational Sunni movement and the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states (especially Egypt)
b. Islamic Political Group
c. Goal=to instill the Qu'ran and Sunnah as the "sole reference point for... ordering the life of the Muslim family, individual, community... and state."
d. Been described as both unjustly oppressed and very violent
i. Supporters of the Brotherhood have demonstrated violence on their part in many occasions and have often clashed with supporters of other parties, specifically the National Democratic Party (NDP) in Egypt. Outside of Egypt, the group's political activity has been described as evolving away from modernism and reformism towards a more traditional, "rightist conservative" stance. For example, the Muslim Brotherhood party in Kuwait opposes suffrage for women.
e. In the group's belief, the Quran and Sunna constitute a perfect way of life and social and political organization that God has set out for man. Islamic governments must be based on this system and eventually unified in a Caliphate
It preaches that Islam enjoins man to strive for social justice, the eradication of poverty and corruption, and political freedom to the extent allowed by the laws of Islam. The Brotherhood strongly opposes Westernization, and helped overthrow the pro-western monarchies in Egypt and other Muslim nations during the early 20th century.

16. Ayatollah Khamenei
a. Iranian Religious leader and leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution
b. Returned to Iran after Shah Pahlavi was kicked out, Khomeini was named the Supreme Leader of Iran
c. Abroad he was known for his support of the hostage takers during the Iranian Hostage Crisis
i. When radical members took American hostages in the American embassy for a year—would dog Carter for the rest of his administration
d. Was very opposed to the White Revolution (a six-point program of reform calling for land reform, nationalization of the forests, the sale of state-owned enterprises to private interests, electoral changes to enfranchise women and allow non-Muslims to hold office, profit-sharing in industry, and a literacy campaign in the nation's schools.
i. Khomeini denounced this program
ii. Was eventually exiled for speaking out against this, and would not return until 1979

Youth bulge- Samuel Huntington argues that males between 15-30 years old create a pool of instability and violence directed both internally and externally within the Muslim world. A society has a “youth bulge” when 20 percent or more of the population is between the age of 15 to 24. It is suggested that a youth bulge within a society helps the society to justify violence on religious and moral grounds.

“This “youth bulge” results in a large reservoir of potential recruits to radical organizations, as this new Backgrounder outlines. It helps explain the surge in Taliban recruitment in South Asia, the presence of militant groups like MEND in the Niger Delta, and the ongoing tensions in the Palestinian territories.”

“Another theory, advanced by the German social scientist Gunnar Heinsohn, is that youths in large numbers—particularly second or third sons—are prone to violence because they are driven by social advancement, ambition, and a yearning for respectability. “Young men start fighting for prestige and standing, positions their society simply can’t provide in sufficient numbers”

Golan Heights- after the 1948-49 Arab-Israeli war, the heights were partly demilitarized, yet both sides continued to dispute the region. During the Six-Day war of 1967, Israel captured the heights. Israel began to settle the region immedialty and did not let any of the Arab refugees who had fled during the war to return. It has been an item of negotiations between Syria and Israel ever since the six day war. Israel still remains control.

J William Fulbright- longest serving chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

His quote regarding his opposition to any American tendencies to intervene in the affairs of other nations

“Power tends to confuse itself with virtue and a great nation is particularly susceptible to the idea that its power is a sign of God's favor, conferring upon it a special responsibility for other nations – to make them richer and happier and wiser, to remake them, that is, in its own shining image. Power confuses itself with virtue and tends also to take itself for omnipotence. Once imbued with the idea of a mission, a great nation easily assumes that it has the means as well as the duty to do God's work.”

Opposed the Eisenhower doctrine in regards to Lebanon, he felt there was no real evidence of communist subversion in the area.

From American Orientals
“Americans were ‘emotionally and intellectually handicapped’ in dealing with revolutionaries like …Castro…Mao Zedong….Nasser”

“The concept of ‘peaceful revolution’ Fulbright insisted, was a political oxymoron”

Monday, May 4, 2009

Luke