CS 39K, Spring 2013, Assignment 1

The Iraq/Afghanistan Project

Due in Class: 12 March

U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have now become the longest "war" in America's history, having lasted longer than half of your lives. The purpose of this group assignment is to examine the history of conflicts in these countries between the 1980s and today, the political/religious/societal issues involved, the use (or non-use) of technology by the combatants, and the effectiveness (or non-effectiveness) of that technology. Over the next several weeks, you and a randomly selected group of your colleagues from the class will prepare a 15-20 minute multimedia briefing (e.g., powerpoint, images, photos, maps, clips from films, etc.) on one of the four periods of recent Iraqi and Afghani history listed below:

• Group 1: The Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait (1990), the first U.S.-led invasion of Iraq (Operation Desert Storm, 1990-1991), the role of smart weapons and conventional weapons in the Western victory, and its immediate aftermath, particularly in Iraqi Kurdistan;
  


• Group 2: The U.S.-led investigation into Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction, the Second U.S. invasion of Iraq (2003), the subsequent Sunni and Shia insurgencies (e.g., see Anbar and Sadr City), their aftermath, the establishment of the elected government of Al-Maliki, and the withdrawal of U.S. forces;
  


• Group 3: The Soviet Incursion into Afghanistan, the U.S. supported insurgency against the communist government and the Soviet Army that supported it (also known as "Charlie Wilson's War"), 1978-1992; The Fall of President Najibullah, the Rise of the Taliban, and the creation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, 1992-2001; Afghanistan as a haven for Al-Qaeda terrorists;
  


• Group 4: U.S. support for the anti-Taliban mujahideen insurgency, the U.S. Invasion after 9/11, the role of special forces and smart weapons in the U.S. victory, the democratically elected Karzi government, and the on-going Taliban Insurgency, 2001-Present, particularly recent efforts by commanders of U.S. forces in Afghanistan to counter this insurgency (e.g., McChrystal, Petraeus);
  

The wikipedia entries on Iraq and Afghanistan provides a good start for your research. However, read any entries with a critical eye. The information on wikipedia (or the Web in general) cannot uncritically be assumed to be true!

Within your group, you should discuss the topic, and the group should structure your joint presentation along the following lines:

• The religious (e.g., Islamic vs. Secular), political (e.g., monarchy vs. democratic vs. communist), and social (e.g., urban elites vs. rural poor) context that led to the conflicts, from within and from without Iraq or Afghanistan, that occurred during the period you are studying. What is the rationale for one group rising against another, and for the latter for choosing to suppress the former?


• For the two (or sometimes more than two) sides to the conflicts in question, how did they operate militarily and what was their criterion for success? For example, did they operate as if in a civil war with conventional armies fighting within the country's borders, an insurgency hiding among the people, a warlord-led band of brigands, or some other kind of military organization? Was their goal to throw out an invader, overthrow the existing government, and/or install their own political system? Was their strategy to hold the cities, control the countryside, or win the conflict by some other means?


• When a less powerful force was in conflict with a more powerful force, how did they operate to redress the differences in their military capabilities versus their opponent? Pitched battles, terrorist campaign, threatening the national economy, or some other mode of operation?


• When a more powerful force was in conflict with a less powerful force, how did they exploit their superior capabilities against the less power force, and was it successful? If so, why, and if not, why not?


• What was the role (if any) of high technology weaponry and systems (subject to the particular time frame), in making it possible for the winning side to succeed against the losing side? If they were effective in achieving victory, why was this so, and if they were not, why not?

You can organize your presentation in any way the group desires, as long as the above issues are addressed at a minimum. You should structure your presentation so that every group member has an opportunity to participate in presenting the report to the rest of the class.

Last edited: 27 January 2013. randy@cs.Berkeley.edu