Political Science 378

Fall 2010

Assignment 3. Due: Wednesday, December 15 at 2 PM

Introduction

In this assignment, you will consider a number of issues related to intervention. This will involve reading parts the book by Richard Haass, Intervention, and using it to develop a better understanding of issues relating to a possible US campaign against North Korea to eliminate its nuclear weapons capability. I am giving you this assignment because it is a topic that is currently being discussed and debate. Do not infer my position on this issue from the fact that I am giving you this assignment.

Specific Tasks

Although I will let you go off on your own at the end of the assignment, there are a series of questions related to the book that you must answer.

1. Conditions that should be present for the use of force. [10 points] As noted in chapter 1, in recent years a number of individuals have proposed criteria and/or conditions that should be present for the US to use military force. Go through the conditions advocated by Caspar Weinberger (Appendix C). Go through each condition and indicate whether the condition applies to the situation that is present today (assume "today" is Wednesday, November 21). That is, do not take into account anything that happens after that date. If you feel that a condition is inappropriate, indicate why.
2. Parallels to other situations. [10 points] Look over chapter 2, "Recent cases of U.S. Intervention." Pick the two cases that have the most similarities to the situation with North Korea, and the two cases that have the fewest similarities. To explaining your justification, discuss each case in one or two paragraphs.
3. Haass' guidelines for whether to intervene. [10 points] Now go to chapter 4, "Whether to Intervene." Look over each guideline proposed by Haass (these are the section headings such as "Interests are only a guide," and "The Adversary's response must be anticipated"). For each guideline, in a paragraph, explain whether it applies today. If you feel that a guideline is inappropriate, indicate why.
4. Haass' guidelines for how to intervene. [20 points] In chapter 5, "How to Intervene," Haass provides another set of guidelines (i.e., the section headings). For each guideline, consider the following options for intervention (if you feel a guideline is not appropriate, indicate why):
   • Air campaign only.
   • Air campaign plus US invasion.

   Note: the only forces you can use are forces that are attached to the US Pacific Command (PACOM); you should be able to determine these forces by using the websites listed below. To be clear, assume that these operations would be conducted by the US alone, without forces from any other country.

5. Length The assignment can be no more than 10 double spaced pages in length. This does not include a title page, reference page(s), and any maps that you might care to include.

The Goal of the Assignment

The goal of this assignment is for you to apply the arguments and insights of Haass to a real life situation. I hope that you will learn some things in the course of doing this assignment. But please remember to answer the questions. You may have some very strong feelings about North Korea. Perhaps you feel that the US should not even think about intervening. Perhaps you feel that the US should have intervened before now. That's fine; nothing about this assignment or this course is designed to influence your feelings on this subject. But remember this is an analytic exercise. Answer the questions in the most straightforward fashion. I will not infer from your answers or conclusions what your feelings are about this situation (that's actually none of my business).

Some Websites

Below are some websites that may help you do the assignment. I have no desire to limit you, but since anyone can put up anything on the web, there is a lot of -- how shall I say this -- unreasonable information out there. You are free to browse the web to get additional information, but I would suggest that you might find it worthwhile to run other sites by me so you can at least get my opinion (you are not bound by my opinion, however). You are not required to use any sources beyond the websites listed below.

It is critical that you understand this: failure to include complete citations to all your references will force me to turn your group over to the Honor Council. And failure to include complete citations to all your references will result in a verdict of guilty by the Honor Council. You really, really, really don't want this to happen to you.

• North Korea WMDs. From Wikipedia.
• Latest story on North Korean nuclear facilities. From Yahoo! news.
• North Korean military forces. From Wikipedia.
• South Korean military forces. From Wikipedia.
• North Korean Country Study. Use the updated profile. From the Library of Congress.
• South Korean Country Study. Use the updated profile. From the Library of Congress.
• Pacific Command. From Wikipedia.

The Pledge

The assignment is pledged. You may not consult anyone outside of your group unless I give you my explicit permission. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.