Timing seems to be fortutious; please watch the following before class:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc&feature=youtube_gdata_player
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCv1GybEUxc&feature=youtube_gdata_player
The “Kony 2012” issue illustrates a number of the difficulties we discussed last week in the Africom AOR, especially when dealing with groups like the LRA. We’ll spend a little time at the beginning of class reviewing this in light of the new social media focus on the group.
Tonight’s session will be split into two parts. First, we’ll examine our final Cocom: Centcom. It’s appropriate we saved the Middle East for last, as it is by far the most challenging region in which we are engaged. The issues faced in Centcom are enormous: long standing ethnic and political rivalries, tribal influences, the role of democracy and the recent uprest known as “arab spring,” the emergence of Pakistan as an unofficial sponsor of terrorism, the spread of ALQ, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the ever present issues of oil and the Arab/Israeli conflict. This is a long list–an entire course could be dedicated (and has been in the electives) to any one of these elements. We’ll be taking a long view strategically, examining the region historically and projecting what future U.S. engagement will look like in the long term.
The remainder of the class will be your first introduction to the end of course exercise that we’ll be conducting in the final part of the course.
theater security decision making 