Foreign Policy Report: Students are to write a four (minimum) to six(maximum) pagereport describing the conflict in Syria and Iraq whileanalyzing the U.S. government's position. There will be serious grade reductions for not meeting all of the requirements below!
• The Report must be done in MLA format* (in-text parenthetical citations) and must have an accurate and proper MLA work cited page.* The report must use a minimum of 10most relevant articles (not blogs) from periodicals (newspaper or magazine). There must be a minimum of 10 (in-text citations in the report)
• Please keep in mind that credit must be given to any source used in the report (whether direct quote or paraphrasing or risk serious point reduction)
• The report must include detailed discussion of each of followingin the order that they appear below using the headings provided:
1. Assad and Syria: Briefly describewhy and how the current conflict in Syria initially got started. Describe and analyze the latest developments towards a resolving the conflict.
2. Islamic State:Briefly describe the goalsand activities of the Islamic State (formerly ISIS) and the impact it has on the policies of the United States
3. Shiite-Sunni Conflict:Provide a brief history of the Shiite versus Sunnis conflict and describe how their current conflict has impacted the region
4. Saudi Arabia/Iran:Briefly describe the significance and impact of(A) The Sunni led Saudi Arabian government and Shiite led Iranian government fight against the Islamic State and (B) Their competing policies onAssad staying in powerwhile(C) Discussing their battle for power in the region and (D) How the above impacts the policies for the U.S.
5. Russia:Involvement and impact of Russia's participation (military and political) and impact on United States' policies
6. Kurds/Turkey:Briefly describe the impact and significance of the Syrian Kurd's fight against the Islamic State along with Turkey's role in the fight against the Islamic State and how their conflict with the Kurds impacts policies for the United States
7. Options:Analyze the foreign policy options for the United States and their consequences while also providing your personal opinion on each
Please see grading rubric for a grade breakdown
MLA requires that students place the source of the citation immediately after the sentence in the text of the report. The source (author's last name) must be in a parenthesis followed by the punctuation. For example, a quote from the San Diego UT by authors Bernard and Sengupta.
"That shift comes along with other American actions that Assad's supporters and opponents take as proof Washington now believes that if Assad is ousted, there will be nothing to check the spreading chaos and extremism. U.S. warplanes now bomb the Islamic State group's militants inside Syria, sharing skies with Syrian jets. U.S. officials assure Assad, through Iraqi intermediaries, that Syria's military is not their target. The United States still trains and equips Syrian insurgents, but now mainly to fight the Islamic State, not the government" (Bernard and Sengupta).
*Helpful Research and MLA sites: https://swccd.libguides.com/PS102b-Saenz&https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
Here is a brief synopsis of some issues related to your topic that hopefully is of some use in understanding the complexity of the U.S. foreign policy in the region. (This is not intended to be an exhaustive discussion, just an overview to help you get started).
Initially the U.S. was supporting the overthrow of Assad and his government in Syria. However, since one of the rebel groups, Islamic State (also called ISIS or ISIL) has expanded its goal of conquering Syria and Iraq and has brutally attacked innocent civilians (beheadings), the U.S. has waged war on this group and others with ties to terrorism. Interestingly, this has helped Assad stay in power and has angered some Arab allies and other western backed rebels groups. Ironically, Syria and Russia are asking that the U.S. work with them to defeat Islamic State. Needless to say, the U.S. foreign policy and decisions to use force directly against Assad has been impacted by the more pressing goal of degrading and defeating the Islamic State.
Unfortunately, the historic division between the Shiite and Sunni Muslims has become a current source of conflict between the two groups in the region. The Islamic State is overwhelmingly Sunni and they have waged war against the governments of Iraq (Shiites) and Syria (Alawite / Shiite). The U.S. does not support Assad from Syria, but does support Prime Minister Haider al Abadi's government in Iraq. The U.S. and others are backing some Sunni rebelsin Syria who, like the Islamic State, are trying to overthrow Assad from power. President Obama was successful in winning support from the leaders of neighboring countries to fight against the Islamic State despite their common goal of defeating Assad and sharing the same Sunni religious ties with the Islamic State. What adds to the layers of complexity in this region is the fact that Saudi Arabia (Sunni) and Iran (Shiite) are vying for regional control while at the same time both are trying to defeat the Islamic State. A similar political quagmire exists with Turkey and the Syrian Kurds. Both are our allies against the Islamic State, however, the Kurds and Turkey are also fighting against one another. With the existing conflicts between these groups, it is difficult to formulate a comprehensive and effective effort against the Islamic State.
So, Iran has been actively involved in defending the Shiite governments in Syria and Iraq, while the U.S.wants to defend the government of Iraq. To create more issues, Israel feels threatened by Syria, Hezbollah (Shiite militant group from Lebanon defending Assad), and Iran so they have also bombed these groups which have threatened to escalate the conflict and further muddy the policies of the U.S. Furthermore, Russia has provided military and political support for Assad and is currently working with the U.S. and the U.N. to find a peaceful resolution of the conflict. While the U.S., Russia, and Iran do not agree with Assad staying in power, they all agree that the Islamic State is the more pressing concern. If the U.S. was not in conflict with Iran and not experiencing the signs of "Cold War II" with Russia the two countries would be useful in the fight against terrorism. Now with China getting involved the situation becomes even more complex.
Needless to say it has been difficult to implement a successful strategy in the region due to the complexities mentioned above and the desire to keep American troops from direct involvement in the conflict. Training and arming groups also has been controversial due to the fact that the U.S. is legitimately concerned with the weapons ending up in the wrong hands and they have not been successful. Special Forces and drones have had some limited success, but have not significantly slowed the Islamic State. After recent terrorist events, the United States is likely going to be more aggressive in their fight against the IS and hopefully will coordinate with other countries to maximize effectiveness and minimize risks of further conflicts.
Now, it is your job to get started and put all the puzzle pieces together! Please be sure to carefully read and follow all the report requirements, including addressing all 7 topics (use headings in report), meeting MLA requirements, and 4-6 pages. (Please carefully read grading rubric)
Please see blackboard menu on how to access the UT for Free. During the course, I will be forwarding articles when possible.