Homework 3, Due February 1, 2013

Here's hoping for a complete week of school! I apologize for the missed assignment last week - tough luck, I know.  I wanted to have our discussion about the death penalty before posting it and we didn't get there until later in the week than I'd anticipated.  Thanks for all the distressed messages at the last minute!  Although this is Spirit Week (go Cougars!) please be prepared for an energetic and rigorous work week!

In light of the amazing uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt over the past two years and the recent news from that region I feel that it is appropriate to step away from our focus period and take a look at world events. You might be surprised that the US is so involved in events that seem so far removed from our domestic issues.  However, the US has many important interests which must be carefully protected in the Middle East.

Of all the countries to experience significant upheaval in the last two years Egypt is by far the most important to US interests.  After extensive protests and riots the Egyptian people unseated a government that had been in control for decades.  The regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was a close supporter of America over the last 30 years and kept peace with Israel (Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace agreement with Israel during the 1980s). Unfortunately there is ample evidence to suggest that President Mubarak limited the rights of Egyptians (hundreds were arrested and tortured on a weekly basis, accused of minor crimes) and allowed an economy to develop that has made a very small minority extremely wealthy (think billionaires) while many live in terrible poverty (less than $2 a day).

The new government of Egypt was freely elected - a first in the nation's history.  Unfortunately, the Muslim Brotherhood, a political party that advocates radical Islamic policies, took power.  The US provides Egypt with about $2.5 billion a year, much of it in military aid (if you've been watching the events on the news, you've heard the debate about the US giving fighter jets to Egypt - all of which were produced in the US and paid for by US tax money...yours!). Why would the US government provide such support? Because Egypt is a loyal ally that a) has great influence in the area; b) controls the Suez Canal (through which comes much of the oil that Americans use); and c) is NOT a radical Muslim regime that threatens to attack Israel.

Of course we had hoped that what came out of the protests would be  a "peaceful transition" to democratic government with greater freedom and economic opportunity for its citizens. However, in 1979 we witnessed a very similar chain of events in Iran. It might surprise you to know that Iran was a very close ally of the US during the time it was ruled by the "Shah", but many people, especially young radical Muslims, were unhappy with his rule and forced the Shah to flee the country. It happened so quickly that many American embassy workers were unable to get out of the country. Most of those US citizens spent the next 15 months as hostages while President Jimmy Carter unsuccessfully tried to free them. The hostages were finally released on the very day the President Ronald Reagan took office, but I'll comment on that in a moment.

Your homework this week is to research the Iran Hostage Crisis on the link http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/04/middle_east_iran_hostage_crisis/html/1.stm . As you examine the photos and read the summary I want you to consider the possibility that a similar situation could occur in Egypt and answer the following questions: How should the US react to these events? If you were speaking for the President, what would you tell the Egyptian citizens? Considering Iran, what should the US have done to free the hostages? Should the US military have invaded, given the dangers of starting an all-out war and maybe causing the execution of the hostages?

I will make a couple of observations: first, there are those that suspect that Reagan and his team had a secret deal with the Iranians to keep the hostages in captivity until he became president. There is absolutely no evidence to prove this but after Carter worked for their release for more than a year it's embarrassing to some that Reagan gets the credit. Of course, during the election Reagan had hinted that he would do whatever it took to get the hostages out, and it's likely the Iranians feared an immediate attack.

Second, of special significance to us is that one of the hostages, Terry Waite, is now a professor at UK in the department of Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs. He is a recognized expert in world politics and is on major news networks nearly every week informing Americans about current events.

The requirements of this assignment are exactly the same as those that preceded it. Have a good week!