GINT 491 –SPECIAL TOPICS

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POLI 491 – SPECIAL TOPICS:
THE EVOLUTION OF THE U.S. AT HOME & ABROAD SINCE

WWII, VIETNAM, THE COLD WAR AND SEPT 11

Spring 2004

MWF 1:25PM- 2:15PM

ADDITIONAL REQUIRED READINGS:

ARTICLES that I have found to be particularly interesting and informative (notice that most are from relatively mainstream sources).

ON IRAQ:

"Bush Sought Ways to Invade Iraq," CBS News (January 11, 2004). Based on former Secretary of the Treasurer Paul O'Neil, shows how Bush has been oriented toward overthrowing Saddam Hussein and, more importantly, shows how Bush ran the White House and national security meetings, very consistent with Bob Woodward's Bush at War and other accounts. REQUIRED.

"U.S. Had Key Role in Iraq Buildup: Trade in Chemical Arms Allowed Despite Their Use on Iranians, Kurds," Washington Post (December 30, 2002), by Michael Dobbs. A brief history of America's role in supporting Saddam Hussein and Iraq before the first gulf war. REQUIRED.

“Death on the road to Basra,” BBC News (June 28, 2003). The second article is a powerful piece by a BBC journalist on why the United States is having such a difficult time and inhospitable reception in Iraq, and why nation-building in general is not a strength of the U.S. government and, in particular, the military. Tristana Moore makes a tragic discovery on the Basra to Baghdad motorway that destroys Iraqi trust in US troops. RECOMMENDED.

ON PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS:.

"Campaign Journal: Dean's List," by Ryan Lizza
"Howard Dean and the Tempting of the Democrats: Bitter Bill," by Jonathan Chait
"Why the Critics Still Don't Get Howard Dean: Good Doctor," by Jonathan Cohn
The New Republic (July 25, 2003) (the three articles are sequential). Since Howard Dean has been making headlines again, i thought i would email you 3 interesting articles about dean. they each taking a different stand as to whether Dean would be a good nominee for the democratic party. i think that they are all interesting and make good points. What may be even more interesting is that they all come from the same magazine but with different perspectives.

RECOMMENDED.

“Nixon on Bush” New York Times (July 7, 2003), by WILLIAM SAFIRE . This is by conservative columnist William Safire and provides an ingenious way for understanding the politics and popularity within the U.S. of the Bush Administration by having Bush W interviewed by former President Nixon (in which Safire was a speechwriter). Reached by cellphone in Purgatory, Richard Nixon agreed to give an analysis of the political strategy of the present occupant of the Oval Office.

RECOMMENDED.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED SOURCES:

The New Republic www.tnr.com
liberal-lefties call TNR conservative. conservative-righties call it liberal. they must be doing something right. TNR is one of my favorite weeklies and i have been subscribing to them for over 30 years. they have definitely evolved over the years in terms of their ideological center--sometimes moving left, and more recently moving right. but i would categorize them as relatively centrist and diverse. the main articles traverse the liberal-to-conservative spectrum (with the exception of martin peretz, the owner, who if he ever writes an article or editorial on Israel is always fervently pro-Israeli and neo-con, otherwise he's usually relatively centrist-liberal). the book review section, in my opinion, is only second to THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS--the quality is as good, but there are fewer and they are usually shorter. TNR is a great place to get diverse perspectives from a single source.

The Asheville Global Report www.agr.org
I also would like to recommend a weekly alternative news site called the Asheville Global Report. Our own litle Asheville--our gem and baby San Francisco in the Blue Ridge--puts out a really interesting and informative alternative weekly. they put out about 2000 hardcopies in the asheville area a week. and they have a really good website. all free. and they have a staff of about 10 people. they take donations, naturally, and you can subscribe to the hardcopy which they will mail you (which i am in the process of doing). but it's a neat little alternative liberal-left (naturally) newspaper on world affairs and the U.S. even have a section in espanol. very impressive. they will email you a weekly update--and being a weekly it probably won't overwhelm you.
check out the site. I highly recommend it:

SEE ALSO:

Mainstream Sources.

Alternative Sources.