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Iraq
& the U.S.
enter important new era facing big questions and challenges.
What a difference a year makes.
Last May, President Bush stood on the deck of an aircraft
carrier and declared that “major combat” was over in the Iraq
war.
Last week, the President went on national television to
warn that “there are difficult days ahead” and “given the recent increase
in violence” the United States will need to “maintain our troop level at
the current 138,000 as long as necessary.”
What has happened between those events has been truly
historic for the United
States and the world.
Iraq
President Saddam Hussein was driven from power by U.S.-led forces, and later
captured.
The U.S.
has attempted to set up a new government that can take over Iraq on June 30, but has faced unexpected
difficulties getting Iraq’s
ethnic groups to cooperate with each other in forming the government.
Violence has increased against U.S. forces, so that now more
American soldiers have died since the end of major combat than died
during that combat.
Services have been restored in Iraq,
but the way the United
States uses its power in the world has
caused heated debate.
And Iraq
has become a key issue for President Bush’s re-election fight against
U.S. Senator John Kerry.
“Our work in Iraq has been hard,” the
President told the nation in his TV address. “Our coalition has faced
changing conditions of war. That has required perseverance, sacrifice and
an ability to adapt.”
How the U.S.
adapts in the months ahead may be the hardest work of all.
Five steps
In his speech to the nation, the president laid out five
goals for creating a democratic government in Iraq.
First, he said, the United States will turn over
authority to a “caretaker” government on June 30, which will serve until
leaders can be elected.
In addition, he said, the U.S. must improve security,
continue rebuilding from war damage, seek more international support and
schedule “free national elections” before next January.
Critics of the President’s policy noted that these have
always been the goals in Iraq.
What have been lacking, they say, are clear steps for achieving them.
Tasks:
Your tasks are
as follows:
Imagine that you are a member of a
special United Nations task force that has been commissioned to research
the problem of providing Iraq
with a basis for creating a stable government in hope of finding
solutions. Specifically, you and
the members of your group have been asked to write a 4-5-page report
whether a democratic government can exist and met the needs of the people
of Iraq.
Use the following questions as guidelines:
1.
Evaluate the history of
democracy in Iraq.
2.
Evaluate the efforts by U.S.
leaders and Iraqis to form a government.
3.
What is the most important
thing that still needs to be done?
4.
How can the U.S. work to achieve this
goal?
5.
Who are some of the potential
leaders in Iraq
who want to be part of the government?
6.
Based on your research, make a
prediction about what will happen after control is turned over to the new
government.
Process:
Step 1: You will be
divided into groups of four.
Step 2: Each group will
select a leader.
Step 3: Each group will
Define the Problem and
write a brief summary in your notebook.
Step 4: The leader will assign members to work on a specific
aspect of the project. For
example, one or two persons could research and evaluate the efforts by U.S.
and Iraqi leaders to form a government. Another person can evaluate the
history of democracy in Iraq.
Step5: Group members will begin their internet research
by using the search engines and websites listed in “Resources” below.
Step 6: Once the research has been completed, fill out the
five-step public policy worksheets.
Worksheet 1: Identify the Problem (MSWORD version)
Worksheet 2: Gather the Evidence (MSWORD Version)
Worksheet 3: "Determine the Causes"(MSWORD
Version)
Worksheet 4: "Evaluate the Policy"(MSWORD
Version)
Worksheet 5: "Comparative Analysis"(MSWORD
Version)
Step 7: Write your report.
This should be typed and double-spaced and written in your own
words.
Step 8: Group
presentations
Resources:
You should use the following
websites to gather information for your paper. You may also use your own websites.
You may also use the following search
engines:
https://www.google.com/
https://www.google.com/
http://www.altavista.com/
Evaluation: 
The
following rubric will be used to judge your project.
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Exceeds Expectations
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Meets Expectations
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Does Not Meet Expectations
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Score
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Points Earned
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3
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2
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1 or 0
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Factual Information
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All information correct
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Most information correct
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Little or no information
correct
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Variety of Sources
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Excellent variety of sources;
excellent use of relevant materials
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Adequate number of sources;
adequate use of relevant materials
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Inadequate number of sources;
inadequate use of relevant materials
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Discussion/Detail
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Excellent discussion/detail
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Adequate discussion/detail
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Vague/shallow
discussion/detail
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Depth of Insight/Analysis
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Impressive depth of
insight/analysis
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Adequate depth of
insight/analysis
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Unexceptional
insight/analysis
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Form and Style
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Effective introduction
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Adequate introduction
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Weak or missing introduction
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Conclusion
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Effective conclusion
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Adequate conclusion
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Weak or missing conclusion
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Organization
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Clear organization
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Adequate organization
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Confusing or weak
organization
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Transitions
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Smooth transitions
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Adequate transitions
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Awkward or missing
transitions
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Spelling and Grammar
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Correct grammar; no spelling
mistakes
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Incorrect grammar; many
spelling mistakes
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References in Footnotes and
Bibliography
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Correctly credits references
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Incorrectly credits
references or credits missing
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TOTAL SCORE
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Conclusion: From this web quest, you have learned
that events change quickly in our modern world. In Iraq, the government changed
from a dictatorship to one is one who is experiencing the growing pains
of a young democracy. Along with these political changes, come changes in
social problems, and, more importantly, changes in public policy. You should now have n understanding of
these changes in Iraq. You should also realize he importance
of a public policy analyst in our modern society. We thank you for your
participation! Maybe one day, you
can be an instrument of change.
STANDARDS ADDRESSED
SOCIAL STUDIES
STANDARD # 5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government
Use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their
understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the
governmental system of the U.S. and other nations; the
U.S. Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional
democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship,
including avenues of participation.
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Standard 2
Key Ideas
1
2
3
4
Alternate Assessment for Students
with Severe Disabilities
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World History
use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate
their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and
turning points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history
from a variety of perspectives.
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Standard 3
Key Ideas
1
2
Alternate Assessment for Students
with Severe Disabilities
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Geography
use a variety of intellectual skills to
demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent
world in which we live—local, national, and global—including the
distribution of people, places, and environments over the Earth’s
surface.
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ENLISH LANGIAGE ARTS
STANDARDS
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