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  • "The Insurgency in Iraq: A Quandary for the United States"
  • Student Worksheet One
  • Student Worksheet Two
• Additional Lesson Ideas
  • A Comprehensive View of The Insurgent Groups
  • Different Perspectives
  • Public Forum
• Additional Resources
• Printable .pdf of entire guide
  (Adobe Acrobat required)

Additional Resources

A Note about Internet Resources
Students need to be aware that Web sites sometimes only present one view of an issue. Encourage them to think about Web sites even as they are reading. Guiding questions as they review Web sites are: What did you learn from this site? What didn't you learn from this site? Who sponsors this site? What bias might the sponsor have? How current is the site?

Web Sites

FRONTLINE: "The Insurgency"
www.pbs.org/frontline/insurgency
The companion site to the documentary offers extended interviews with U.S. military commanders, insurgent leaders and Time Magazine reporter Michael Ware; background on the insurgents, their motivations, and the U.S. counterinsurgency strategy; a web-exclusive interview with a counterinsurgency expert; plus more on the making of this film, links and readings, and the opportunity to watch the film online in streaming video.

Online NewsHour's "Iraq in Transition"
www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/iraq/index.html
This site traces the situation in Iraq from the earliest days of the coalition invasion to the present. Updated with news stories as they occur, the site features information on governing Iraq, the insurgency, key players, maps and lesson plans.

Educational Services and Staff Development Association "War in Iraq"
www3.essdack.org/socialstudies/iraq.htm
This site provides an extensive listing of general resources and lesson plans to assist in teaching about the war in Iraq. The site also provides links to news outlets and government sites.

U.S. Department of State Web site on Iraq
www.state.gov/p/nea/ci/c3212.htm
This government site tracks recent events in Iraq and provides documents, reports, and updates from the secretary of state's office. The site has information on the status in Iraq from the Bush administration's perspective, including fact sheets, press and video news releases, and a photo gallery.

Council on Foreign Relations: Iraq: Insurgency Goals
www.cfr.org/publication/8117/iraq.html
The Council on Foreign Relations is an independent, non-partisan research center dedicated to helping people better understand the world and foreign policy choices facing the United States and other governments. The site on the insurgency in Iraq provides background and analysis on its actions, motives, and goals.

Global Security: Iraqi Insurgency
www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq_insurgency.htm
This site is focused on innovative approaches to the emerging security challenges of the new millennium. Articles provide an update on the actions in Iraq and describe different insurgent groups and their impact on the Iraq war.

BBC News: Who are the Insurgents in Iraq?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4268904.stm
This site gives an overview of the insurgency in Iraq with information on each group's origins, actions and goals.

Articles

"What Went Wrong in Iraq?" by Larry Diamond
Foreign Affairs, September/October 2004
www.foreignaffairs.org/20040901faessay83505/larry-diamond/what-went-wrong-in-iraq.html
A comprehensive look at the early stages of the U.S. occupation in Iraq written by a former senior advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Baghdad, the essay documents events and actions by the CPA and U.S. military during the time of the escalating insurgency.

"Crush the Insurgents" by Lewis E. Lehrman and William Kristol
Washington Post, May 23, 2004
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46730-2004May21.html
Lehrman and Kristol present an historical analysis on the crucial importance of winning in Iraq. The writers examine the perceived state of despair over the insurgency in Iraq and recount other periods in history where similar feelings were faced by those who fought in World War II and the Civil War.

"Unmasking the Insurgents" by Rod Nordland, Tom Masland, and Christopher Dickey
Newsweek Magazine, Feb. 7, 2005
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6885867/site/newsweek
This article provides a close look at some of the insurgents in Iraq and how the groups formed. The authors examine a series of crucial mistakes by the Bush administration, the Coalition Provisional Authority, and the U.S. military that helped create and intensify the insurgency movement.

Democracy Now: "Should U.S. Troops Withdraw from Iraq?"
www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/04/20/1427259
Democracy Now is an independent national daily news program providing access to people directly affected by U.S. foreign policy; interviews with independent and international journalists; and a broad range of perspectives. This article is a discussion with The Nation's journalist Naomi Klein and Eric Gustafson of The Education for Peace in Iraq Center.