Suggested Topics for the Final Assignment. Below is a short list of suggest topics for your final assignment. Some suggested topics, as you will see, are not necessarily on "current" issues, problems, or processes in US foreign policy, but I have included them because they are particularly appropriate for the purposes of this assignment.

The list of topics below is in no particular order. In some cases, I have included a number of suggested links as well. THIS PAGE MAY BE UPDATED OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. CHECK BACK FOR ADDITIONAL TOPICS AND LINKS.

Last update: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 at 7:58 PM

The Kurds, Turkey and the United States • For years, the US has adopted a very different set of policies toward the Kurdish population in the Middle East. On the one hand, Kurds who fight against the Iraqi regime and Saddam Hussein are considered freedom fighters and potential allies, while, on the other hand, Kurds in Turkey are treated as terrorists. Why the difference? What, if any, is the moral basis of these two different American policies • For more information, see the web site maintained by the American Kurdish Information Network

Iraq and the US war on terrorism • Should the US extend its "war on terrorism" to an attack against Iraq? This is a critical question facing Americans today and one of particular salience with regard to moral theory • For one analysis on this subject, see this online article by P. Gordon and M. O'Hanlon, Should the War on Terrorism Target Iraq? Implementing a Bush Doctrine on Deterrence

Rwanda: Genocide and U.S. Policy • "In the course of a hundred days in 1994", according to Samanta Powers in her investigative article in the Atlantic Monthly, "the Hutu government of Rwanda and its extremist allies very nearly succeeded in exterminating the country's Tutsi minority. Using firearms, machetes, and a variety of garden implements, Hutu militiamen, soldiers, and ordinary citizens murdered some 800,000 Tutsi and politically moderate Hutu. It was the fastest, most efficient killing spree of the twentieth century." • For links to primary source documents, see The US and the Genocide in Rwanda 1994 (National Security Archive)

US Policy Toward "Rogue" States • What should the US policy be toward so-called Rogue states? This question is addressed is some detail by Meghan O'Sullivan in her online article, "The Dilemmas of U.S. Policy Toward 'Rogue' States"

US Policy Toward Kosovo • Were the United States and NATO morally obliged to act in Kosovo? This is a question posed by Mother Jones online magazine.

US Policy Toward the Anti-Ballastic Missle (ABM) Treaty • According to a statement by the White House Press Secretary, "The circumstances affecting U.S. national security have changed fundamentally since the signing of the ABM Treaty in 1972.  The attacks against the U.S. homeland on September 11 vividly demonstrate that the threats we face today are far different from those of the Cold War." • For more links regarding this issue, see the Ballistic Missle Defense page prepared by the Council for a Livable World.

US Arms Sales to the Developing World • Based on a report by the Council for a Livable World, "Developing nations continue to be the primary focus of foreign arms sales activity by weapons suppliers. During the years 1993-2000, the value of arms transfer agreements with developing nations comprised 67.7% of all such agreements worldwide. More recently, arms transfer agreements with developing nations constituted 67.6% of al such agreemtns globally from 1997-2000, and 69% of these agreements in 2000.

American Nuclear Weapons Policy • Based on recently published reports, "The Bush administration, in a secret policy review completed early this year, has ordered the Pentagon to draft contingency plans for the use of nuclear weapons against at least seven countries, naming not only Russia and the "axis of evil"--Iraq, Iran, and North Korea--but also China, Libya and Syria."

US Policy Toward Palestine and Israel • Joseph Yackley writes, "The violence of the past eight months between Israelis and Palestinians has left 500 people dead, torpedoed the peace process, and turned the streets of the West Bank and Gaza Strip into battlefields. As the U.S. reconsiders its role in promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace, the prospects for a final settlement—described last year as better than ever—seem worse than ever. In reference to the ambitious approach taken by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, the Bush administration has emphasized “assistance” over “insistence.” Unfortunately, rather than focusing on addressing the issues that have derailed the peace process, American assistance is emerging as a disjointed policy that urges a peaceful resolution to the conflict while boosting military aid to Israel.

East Timor, Indonesia and US Foreign Policy • US policy with regard to East Timor has had a long and not commendable history. Recent developments have made given new opportunities for a change in policy, but the direction the US will take is not clear • Click here for a primer on US policy in East Timor

US Foreign Policy and Global Health • "In the wake of recent anxiety about anthrax and other forms of bioterrorism, domestic and global public health have reemerged as issues both for U.S. national security planning and for its foreign policy formulation. At a meeting cosponsored by the Population Resource Center, the Environmental Change and Security Project, and the Conflict Prevention Project, three public health experts made the case for the United States to take global leadership on general health issues as well as the specific problems of HIV/AIDS and children's health." For more see the full article on the website of the Environmental Change and Security Project (part of the Woodrow Wilson International Center For Scholars)

US Policy on Foreign Assistance (foreign aid) • A big topic, but one of continuing importance in any discussion of US foreign policy. For a list of recent articles related to foreign aid, see the Washington Post's special section of Foreign Aid: The Politics of Compassion

US Policy for Market Reform and Trade Liberalization • Should the United States push for greater trade liberalization around the world? What are the moral implications of this policy? For a short list of articles related to this topic, see the Global Policy Forum's Economic Liberalization and Integration page.