GVPT 309A Fall 2008Dr. Lois Testa Vietri THE POLITICS OF WAR FROM VIETNAM TO IRAQEmail: lvietri.umd.edu office: 3140 Tydings; office telephone: 301-405-4152; mobile: 609-675-5998office hours: Monday, 3-5pm; Tuesday 5-6pm and also by appointment OVERVIEW OF THE SEMINAR This new course offering explores ‘Americas wars since 1945’ with prime emphasis on its twomost controversial wars, The Vietnam Wars (1945-1975) and the Iraq War (2003- ). We examine these two wars and others in terms of the following ‘politics’: the international and regional political contexts, presidents and their advisory systems, national security politics, presidential-congressional politics,homefront, the politics of humanitarian intervention, and military-media politics.The approach is comparative in nature, examining the similarities and differences between the two defining wars of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and the characteristics of ‘post-cold-warWars’. The course design is multidisciplinary in nature, features multimedia and guest speakers, and requires extensive critical reading and writing of each learning community member. Specialattention will be paid to the role of war in electoral politics.GRADING AND ASSIGNMENT EXPECTATIONS The course will be challenging and demanding but will be rewarding if you are committed. There will be substantial reading, writing, and in class and outside classroom viewing assignment. It is imperative that you attend each weekly seminar in its entirety since the nature of the course is cumulative and the class meets only once per week. If you plan to miss class, it is expected that you give advance notice. Grading will be based on a 1100 point system with choice and extra credit built into the grading system;Course grades are calculated on the basis of 1000 points.200 points = midterm300 points = final (study guide will be provided) 300 points = 6 reaction papers; length varies from 2-5 pages200 points = attendance and participationCourse grades are calculated, as follows: 900-1000 = A, 800-899=B, 700-799=C, 600-699 =D, andBelow 500 = F.REQUIRED READING AND VIEWINGLloyd C. Gardner and Marilyn B. Young (eds), Iraq and the Lessons of Vietnam. New York: TheNew Press, 2007.Chris Hedges, War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning. New York: Anchor Books, 2002 (free copies distributed in class).Jeffrey Record and W. Andrew Terrill, Iraq and Vietnam: Differences, Similarities, and Insights.Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, 2004, http://www.carlisle,army.mil/ssi. www.elms.umd.edu for additional weekly seminar meetings.Stay current with the Iraq war using politically and internationally diverse set of print and electronic sourcesGVPT 3099A page 2 GROUNDRULES AND SPECIAL ACCOMODATIONSPlease familiarize yourself with the University of Maryland’s Code of Academic Integrity(http: www.inform.umd.edu/jpo). It is expected that you will prepare your research projectand take home midterm following “the letter and the spirit of the code”. Thank you. Kindly turn off your cell phones and pagers during class. Any student needing special accommodations for disabilities or religious observance, please speak with me so that appropriate arrangements can be made.WEEKLY SEMINAR TOPICS, READING, AND ASSIGNMENTS September 2 Course Overview and Case Study: ‘The Politics of War’ in Early America Reading: skim texts and course website: www.elms.umd.edu In class viewing: Unnecessary War, John Adams, HBO films September 9 Nationalism and War Reading: Hedges: chapters 1-4 Gardner and Young: introduction www.elms.umd.edu (Faludi, Sheveland) In class viewing: The Fog of War September 16 Geopolitics of Containment to Pre-emption Reading: Gardner and Young: Danchev, Mausbach, LaFeberPorter and Kolko articles www.elms.umd.edu Viewing; Cold War Series (HBK 183.8.S65 C643) Reaction paper 1 due September 23 Presidential Politics and VietnamReading: Gardner and Young: Prados, pp. 116-122 www.elms.umd.edu In class viewing: Lessons from a Lost War View on your own: Vietnam (Cold War series)(HBK 183.8.S65 C643) Détente (Cold War series)(HBK 183.8.S65 C643)September 30 Presidential Politics: Vietnam Syndrome to the Gulf War Reading: www.elms.umd.edu ( Afghanistan: Lessons from a Lost War, :www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB57/essay2.html In class viewing: The Secret Government: The Constitution in Crisis” HBK AANP#755 View on your own: Gulf War (www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/ Soldiers of God (Cold War Series HBK E183.8.S65 C643) Operation Urgent Fury (HBK F2056.8) Reaction paper 2 dueOctober 7 Presidential Politics: Iraq War and the Lessons of Vietnam Reading: Gardner and Young: Prados, pp. 106-116; Elliott, Bacevich, and Prado articles www.elms.umd.edu View on your own: Bush’s War (www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/bushswar/)GVPT 309A page 3October 14 Politico-Military Politics Reading: Gardner and Young: Gardner, Young, and McCoy articles www.elms.umd.edu Boot, “The New American Way of War”, Foreign Affairs, July/August, 2003, 41-59. McCaffrey, Armed Forces Journal, February 2005 Guest Speaker TBA View on you own:Rumsfeld’s War (www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/shows/pentagon/view Midterm study guide October 21 Midterm October 28 Congressional Politics and War Reading: www.elms.umd.edu Hendrickson, “Clinton, Bush, Congress and War Powers” Kibe, “The Rise of the Shadow Warriors”, Foreign Affairs, March/April 2004, 102-115 Reaction paper 3 dueOctober 29 Special Lecture: Chris Hedges, War is a Force that Gives Us MeaningNovember 4 Electoral Politics and War Reading: www.elms.umd.edu November 11 War and the Politics of Intelligence Reading: www.elms.umd.edu Betts, “The New Politics of Intelligence: Will Reforms Work this Time”, Foreign Affairs Bergen, “The Long Hunt for Osama”, The Atlantic Monthly, October 2004, pp. 88-100. In class viewing: Frontline:Ppre-emption v the Fourth