Exploration

1. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (http://www.cia.gov)

What is the Directorate of Intelligence? What is its Analytic Toolkit, and what are the standards used to assess nations, regions, and policies as they relate to national security? Choose any nation from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and analyze the nation according to the Analytic Toolkit.

2. Yale University professor John Lewis Gaddis has written several books and articles on US foreign policy. One of his recent articles was published in the Atlantic Monthly and is included online at the magazine’s Web site. Go to http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/99apr/9904candlestick.htm Read through the article and answer the following questions:

1. Why did Gaddis title the article "Living in Candlestick Park"?
2. What do earthquakes have to with foreign policy, in Gaddis’s opinion?
3. Why does he Describe the Cold War as a "great game"?
4. How do the metaphors being used by scholars to describe international relations in the post-Cold War era differ from those used during the Cold War?
5. In Gaddis’s opinion, what does this difference suggest in terms of future relations among nations?

3. Goal: To analyze how rapidly the world is moving closer to "doomsday," i.e., the outbreak of nuclear war. The symbol of doomsday is the "clock" used by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists to illustrate how many minutes the world is away from "midnight" or a nuclear outbreak. The clock moves forward and backward, depending upon the tension levels existing within the international system. As you will see, terrorism and nuclear proliferation will affect the movement of the clock.

Go to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists web site (http://www.thebulletin.org/clock.html) in order to answer the questions below.

1. After reading the main page of the site, what does the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists "clock"represent in terms of international security"?
2. Briefly summarize the key points of "The Clock History" column. Be sure to discuss the contributions of Marty Langsdorf vis-à-vis the clock’s creation..
3. Look at the chronology covering the time frame of 1947-2002. Based upon the location of the clock’s hands to "midnight," which years appeared the most dangerous and least dangerous in regard to the prospect of nuclear apocalypse and why?
4. Do you believe that an outbreak of nuclear war will occur in your lifetime—why or why not?

4. A Question and Answer Guide to Terrorism/Terrorist Groups after September 11 Go to the Council of Foreign Relations terrorism web site (http://www.terrorismanswers.com) and look at the Table of Contents sidebar on the site’s home page. First click on the "What is Terrorism" section. Then, after reading those materials, go back to the "Weapons of Mass Destruction" section. After reading that section, go to the "Homeland Security" section. Based upon your reading, answer the following questions:

1. In your own words, how would you define terrorism? Also, from where does the term "terrorism" originate?
2. Was September 11 the deadliest terrorist attack in history? Explain fully.
3. What weapons of mass destruction might be used by terrorists? Also, what is meant by a "dirty bomb"?
4. How has airport security in America changed since the attacks of September 11?
5. How has security been strengthened at America’s borders since September 11?
6. Which specific civil liberties concerns have been raised by post-September 11 antiterrorism measures?

5. Goal: To explain the vulnerability of America to bioterrorist weapons and how to protect oneself from these dangerous bio-weapons, i.e., anthrax and smallpox .

In the aftermath of the horrific September 11, 2001 terrorist bombing attacks upon American soil, new bioterrorism threats actually involving anthrax (through the mail) and potentially employing the smallpox virus further alarmed both the leadership and the public of the United States. In order to understand the basic facts about anthrax and smallpox, go to the two URLs mentioned above.

The first URL (http://www.consumerreports.org/static/0110bio0.html) involves Consumer Reports online, and its special report on "protecting yourself against biothreats." The URL takes you to the main page, with the following questions covered:

• Can antibiotics protect us from biothreats?
• Should I keep antibiotic drugs at home?
• What are the risks of taking antibiotics?
• How safe are vaccines against anthrax and smallpox?

Summarize the main points made in the responses to each of the four questions. Be sure to do the following in your summaries: (a) differentiate between inhalation and cutaneous anthrax; (b) Why would consumers perform a "national service" by not adding to the rush to buy antibiotics? (c) How do both anthrax and smallpox vaccines work and what are some of the side-effects/safety issues associated with each vaccine?

Now go to the second URL, the CDC website (http://www.bt/cdc/gov). At the bottom, hit the bullet-links entitled "Facts about Anthrax . . . and Smallpox" and then "Frequently Asked Questions." First, summarize, in paragraph form, the basic facts about anthrax and smallpox. Be sure to explain why early antibiotic treatment of anthrax is imperative, how long the incubation period of smallpox is, and when routine vaccination against smallpox ended.

Now hit the FAQs bullet. This relates to basic queries about anthrax. Choose the following questions and outline the key points found in each response.

• What should I know about anthrax?
• Are nasal swabs sufficient for diagnosing exposure?
• Can anthrax spores be killed on letters in the mail by microwave, UV light, or ironing?
• What are the fatality rates for the various forms of anthrax?
• How is anthrax diagnosed?
• If a patient is suspected of being exposed to anthrax, should he or she be quarantined of should other family members be tested?
• What is ciprofloxacin? What are the side effects of ciprofloxacin?
• Is the anthrax vaccine available to the public?

After reading all of this material, do you believe the nation is prepared fully to deal with bioterrorism? Why or why not?

Activity 18-5, The Analysis of Global Democracy’s Growth

6. Goal: To explain the purpose of Freedom House, to understand how it measures/analyzes the dissemination of democracy throughout the international system, and to ascertain whether democracy is inexorably engulfing the global system.

Since the end of the Cold War in 1991, more nations have shifted to a democratic system of government. To understand this phenomenon, go to the Freedom House web site and answer the following:

• What is the purpose of Freedom House? Summarize its organizational goal in your own words.

Go to the "Map of Freedom, 2001" side margin link, hit it, and answer the following:

• Summarize the data involving "Global Trends in Freedom" from 1991 to 1996 to 2001.
• What does Freedom House mean by "Free, Partly-Free, and "Not Free" nations?
  

After going back to the web site main page, hit the link "Freedom in the World 2001-2002."

• What have been the "top five gains for freedom"? *What have been the "five major setbacks for freedom"? *Do any of Freedom House’s assertions surprise you? If so, why?
• After viewing the Freedom House material, do you believe democracy will spread throughout the international system until all dictatorships and/or autocracies are relics of the past? Explain your reasoning.

7. Go to this new web site created by former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn and Ted Turner, founder of Turner Broadcasting and CNN (http://nti.org/) . Look at the main web page and answer the following:

• What is the goal of the Nuclear Threat Initiative?
• What are the main points made by both Nunn and Turner?

Look at the variety of stories listed on the web page involving terrorism or nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons. Select any two stories that interest you, hit their links, read the story, and then answer the following:

• How do your stories relate to the issue of security--domestically, internationally, or both?
• List at three points from each story that you consider most significant and explain why you made those choices.

8. Go to http://speakout.com/activism/opinions/ and you find the Intellectual Capital.com website. This website is devoted to weekly discussions of public policy issues, and the information is presented in a magazine format. The issue of the week is frequently foreign policy oriented.

Enter "united Europe" in the search box and go to the article "Issue of the Week: A United Europe" and read Bob Kolasky’s article.

• What is the Euro?
• What does its adoption signify for a United Europe? List some of the reasons Kolasky gives for the adoption of the Euro.
• What are some of the immediate changes that will take place on the adoption of the Euro?
• As a necessary update, use any appropriate search engine and find the most recent article available on the current status of the Euro. Summarize its salient points.
• Use the back button on your browser to return to the main issue of the week page. Select the link to "The Paradox of the Fall of the Berlin Wall" and briefly summarize the main theme of this article.

Go to http://www.state.gov/ and you will be at the main website for the U.S. State Department. Select the link to the "Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Plan" that was submitted to Congress on December 30, 1998. Read the article and answer the following questions:

• Summarize the four benefits ascribed to the plan by the State Department.
• Select the link to the "Fact Sheet" at the bottom of the article, and briefly summarize the specifics of the reorganization.

Go to http://www.state.gov/www/global/terrorism/1998Report/
1998index.html, a derivative of the second (add the third line to the second URL), and you will find the Department of State Publication entitled "Patterns of Global Terrorism, 1998." Hit the link entitled "The Year in Review" and explain (a) which U.S. targets overseas were hit by terrorists, (b) how many U.S. citizens died or were wounded in terrorist attacks, and (c) whether any international terrorists were brought to justice by U.S. courts. You should also perform the same tasks when 1999 and/or 2000 data eventually become available at this site.

9. Your first URL is the home page of the Center for Strategic & International Studies (http://www.csis.org/). You will see several links dealing with Japan on this page. Hit the one entitled "Japan Watch." After reading the subsequent material on Japan, answer the following:

• What internal changes are occurring in Japan at this time? Why are they important?
• What significant "security events" for Japan have occurred this year?
• How would you characterize the current condition of the Japanese economy?
• What current "strains" exist within the U.S.-Japanese relationship?

Now go to http://www.cdi.org/russia/192.cfm, the "Russia Weekly" newsletter put out by the Washington-based Center for Defense Information. Look at the "Contents" and at least five of the stories listed. After reading them, what appear to be some of the major political, economic, social, military, or foreign policy issues concerning Russia and possibly the future of U.S.-Russian relations?