Week 3 of the course continues exploration of the linkages between the politics and policies with the focus on Washington’s military establishment. Articles from Foreign Policy complement a chapter from Hedrick Smith’s book in description and analysis of the Pentagon power games. Extensive literature on lessons from the Iraq War provides an opportunity to review how the ideology, geopolitics, Washington politics, and vested organizational and personal interests conflate to produce a military policy or action.
Similar to the previous week, Week 3 offers flexibility in choosing a position and defending it in a memorandum. It also gives a chance to address one’s messages and recommendations to a party (or parties) of one’s choice. Furthermore, it builds on the analysis conducted during Week 2 and encourages broader foreign-policy perspectives since military policy is an inherent part of foreign policy.
Item
READINGS
Attached Files:
File Analysis_ Britain’s Iraq War Inquiry – The New York Times.pdf (596.316 KB)
File History’s second draft – The decision to invade Iraq.pdf (488.708 KB)
File How to Start a War in 5 Easy Steps – Foreign Policy.pdf (122.252 KB)
File John Bolton Is a National Security Threat – Foreign Policy.pdf (125.014 KB)
File Lessons from the Iraq War After 15 Years by Javier Solana – Project Syndicate.pdf (115.213 KB)
File Rumsfeld Memo of Options for Iraq War_The New York Times.pdf (123.771 KB)
File The American Conservative » The Untold Story of John Bolton’s Campaign for War With Iran.pdf (130.021 KB)
File The Bush Doctrine and the Iraq War_ Neoconservatives Versus Realists.pdf (170.072 KB)
File The Iraq Invasion_ the Neoconservative Perspective.pdf (448.976 KB)
File The Right and Wrong Questions about the Iraq War_ – The Atlantic.pdf (267.92 KB)
File Top 10 Lessons of the Iraq War – Foreign Policy.pdf (124.637 KB)
Smith, Hedrick. “Pentagon Games: The Politics of Pork and Turf.” The Power Game: How Washington Works. Random House, New York, 1988, chapter 8, pp. 160-215.
Walt, Stephen M. “How to Start a War in 5 Easy Steps.” Foreign Policy, April 2, 2018.
Porter, Gareth. “The Untold Story of John Bolton’s Campaign for War with Iran.” The American Conservative, March 22, 2018.
Kahl, Colin and Jon Wolfsthal. “John Bolton Is a National Security Threat.” Foreign Policy, March 23, 2018.
Analysis of the decision on Iraq War and its implementation:
Walt, Stephen M. “Top 10 Lessons of the Iraq War.” Foreign Policy, 20 March 2012.
Solana, Javier. “Lessons from the Iraq War after 15 Years.” Project Syndicate, 22 March 2018.
Fallows, James. “The Right and Wrong Questions About the Iraq War.” The Atlantic, 19 May 2015.
“The Decision to Invade Iraq: History’s Second Draft.” The Economist, 1 October 2010.
“Analysis: Britain’s Iraq War Inquiry.” The New York Times, 6 July 2016.
Stott, Lewis. “The Iraq Invasion: The Neoconservative Perspective.” E-International Relations Students, 17 September 2015.
Schmidt, Brian C. and Michael C. Williams. “The Bush Doctrine and the Iraq War: Neoconservatives Versus Realists.” Security Studies, 14 June 2008.
In addition to specific readings, the GRP participants are recommended to build on the following sources for independent research and analysis:
Foreign Policy
Foreign Affairs
The Economist
The Brookings
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The Center for Strategic and International Studies
The Council on Foreign Relations
The Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars
The World Bank
The International Monetary Fund
The above-indicated publications are available to GWU students and staff free of charge: please make sure that you are logged into a GWU account or use databases of the Gelman Library. There is also open access to the indicated Web sites.
Assignment
ASSIGNMENT: Memo on lessons from the Iraq War and the way forward
Attached Files:
File GUIDANCE-FROM-SECRETARY-JIM-MATTIS_Oct 2017.pdf (819.925 KB)
Based on the indicated readings and sources for independent research, prepare a memo on your understanding of the lessons from the Iraq War as well as respective implications for Washington institutions (several institutions or one in particular, for example, the US Department of Defense) and recommendations for the way forward in terms of the defense and foreign policies. You may assume neoconservative, realist, antiwar, or any other position with respect to the War, indicating the literature sources on which you build. You may also choose an addressee (or addresses) of your memo. At the same time, you must provide clear recommendations.
Recommended Structure and Content
MEMORANDUM
To: [choose our addressee(s)]
From: [name of the student]
Date: [please indicate]
Re: Lessons from the Iraq War and the Way Forward
Executive summary: Objectives of the memo, its major argument(s) and suggestion(s) (one paragraph).
Lessons of the Iraq War: Your understanding of these lessons.
Implications: Your views on the implications of these lessons for the US and the world.
Recommendations to Washington institutions and power holders: Your recommendations could refer to the US President and the White House staff, Congress, US Department of Defense, US State Department, CIA and other intelligence agencies, National Security Council, or any other national defense and foreign policy institutions.
Conclusion: Your assessment of feasibility of implementing your recommendations, including possible obstacles and risks if the recommendations are not followed (one paragraph).
Word count: [please indicate]
700-1000 words maximum (1000 words maximum, not including citations in the endnotes, using the MLA Citation rules.)
Sample memos are available online and on Blackboard as attachments:
Memorandum for All Department of Defense Personnel, Secretary of Defense, 5 October 2017.
See sample foreign policy memos included in the materials for Week 2.