As

commander-in-chief, the president retains the ability to commit troops

to action and maintain them in theater for up to 90 days without need

for Congressional authorization. After the terrorist attacks of

September 11, 2001, President Bush sent troops into Afghanistan and Iraq

in support of the “war” on terror. This assignment will provide

students an opportunity to investigate the arguments in support and in

opposition to military involvement, evaluate Americans’ levels of

support for the conflicts, and describe the global impact of this

military intervention.

In this writing assignment, students will need to:

• Outline thepresident’s justification for military intervention in Iraq andAfghanistan. Additionally, students should identify another governmentofficial who supported military intervention and their reasons for doingso.
• Identify two government officials who disagreed with military intervention and their reasons for opposition.
• Explain theimpact of U.S. military intervention domestically. Questions that shouldbe answered in addressing this section include: Did the American publicsupport intervention? Did the level of support change over time? Didthese opinions result in any electoral shifts?
• Describe theimpact of U.S. military intervention on other countries. Did the U.S.receive international support for our military intervention? Why or whynot? Did our military intervention lead to regime changes? Describethem. What has been the impact of those regime changes?

Paper requirements:

• Paper must be at least 3 pages and no more than 4 pages, double-spaced with 1 inch margins
• Font must be Times New Roman and 12 point
• Students must use MLA or APA format
• Students must haveat least two peer-reviewed or scholarly journal articles, one for eachargument they present with in-text citations and a works cited orreferences page at the end of the paper (the citation page is notincluded in the page minimum or maximum).

To complete this assessment satisfactorily, you will need to gatherand assess information relevant to the Assessment Scenario and thequestions listed within the scenario. Next, analyze, evaluate, andsynthesize. Synthesize means combining two or more pieces ofinformation to form something greater more complex. For example, theU.S. invaded Iraq (information piece one) and the government of SaddamHussein was overthrown (information piece two) which allowed ademocratic government to be installed (synthesis.) The decision toinvade Iraq (and Afghanistan) involved decisions by the President andhis immediate advisors. Other decisions dealt with how to prosecute thewar in each country, how to deal with enemy forces such as the Taliban,our response to fighting among factions (Sunni and Shia) in Iraq, etc.You will be required to evaluate U.S. choices and actions, and relatethe consequences of these actions to Presidential decision-making (i.e.,was there an alternative to invading Iraq? Why or why not? Should wehave pulled out of Iraq when we did? Why or why not?) Finally, afterreading the Assessment Scenario, was invasion the right thing to do?What was the impact of these wars on the international reputation of theU.S.? Did the wars in any way affect you, your family, or yourcommunity? If so, how? Once you have completed your research, you willdevelop, interpret, and express your research and ideas in an essay thatshould run about three-to-four, typed, double-spaced pages long. Youwill need to consult sources other than your textbook on this assignmentbecause your textbook is not sufficient for you to gather enoughinformation. When you have finished it, save it as a doc or docx file(not a pdf, wps, or pages file) and upload it in Canvas.

THESIS: Do you have a well thought out and clear thesis?
20 points
•

EVIDENCE: You must have solid evidence for each point you make in your

essay. Evidence is not simply a statement, there must be an explanation

of how that evidence supports the thesis statement/argument.
40 points
•

ACCURACY, CLARITY, AND LOGIC: Is your argument clear and does it make

sense? Is it historically accurate? Does your evidence prove your point?
30 points
• PROPER CITATION: Have you properly cited?
10 points
• GRAMMAR AND SPELLING: Is the journal entry up to college standards for grammar and spelling?
10 points
Total: 100 points