Introduction

In March 2004, the 1 st Marine Division under the command of Major General James Mattis arrived in Iraq's al Anbar province to relieve the 82 nd Airborne and outgoing Major General Charles Swannack. Mattis's Marines planned to take a new “culturally sensitive” tactic in Iraq. They would take off their sunglasses when meeting with locals; they would learn a bit of Arabic; and, they would even grow mustaches to look more like Iraqis. “To the degree possible,” journalist Thomas Ricks wrote, “Marine operations would be comprehensible to Iraqis.”

Despite these well intentioned plans, however, the Marines in al Anbar province soon found themselves involved in some of the most harrowing fighting of the entire Iraq war. The principal catalyst for this new round of conflict occurred on March 31, 2004, when Iraqi insurgents in Fallujah ambushed and killed four American contractors working for Blackwater. The contractors' corpses were set on fire and dragged through the streets before being hung over a bridge that crossed the Euphrates River.

In response, American officials ordered the 1 st Marine division to launch a major assault on the insurgents beginning on April 4. This assault soon became known as the First Battle of Fallujah. The Marines surrounded the city, took over the local radio station, and battled with a hardened core of insurgents. Although the Marines fought vigorously and were “within a few days of finishing [the insurgents] off,” an order came down from Washington D.C. to stop the fighting on April 9. Maj. Gen. Mattis was outraged. His sensitive approach to al Anbar province had been tabled after the insurgent attack on the contractors; much of his advice on the Battle of Fallujah had been ignored by the Defense Department; and, now he was being told to halt an operation because of political and diplomatic concerns. Thirty-nine Marines and soldiers had been killed in the conflict! “If you're going to take Vienna, take fucking Vienna!” Mattis yelled at General John Abizaid, his commanding officer, echoing a famous comment made by Napoleon Bonaparte.

The confusing set of circumstances that occurred during the First Battle of Fallujah continued for years to come. Put simply, the Administration of George W. Bush had a difficult time establishing a coherent, comprehensive military strategy that would enable American forces to defeat the insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, while simultaneously winning the hearts and minds of the local people in those two war-torn nations. When President Barack Obama entered the White House in 2009, he inherited the problems faced by the Bush Administration and struggled to deal with them in his own way.

Assignment

Your assignment is to design, narrate, and post a PowerPoint presentation that traces the American military strategies pursued in Iraq and Afghanistan from March 2004 to the current day. In particular, you should explain what various strategies were developed, when they were deployed, what complications they encountered, and how successful they ultimately were.

In your answer, please be sure to mention the following topics.
2004 - General George Casey replaces Ricardo Sanchez in Iraq and signs “light footprint” order
2005 - Col. H.R. McMaster's 3 rd Armored Cavalry Division: “clear, hold, build” strategy
2006 - Donald Rumsfeld resigns and Bush Administration looks for new strategy
2007 - Bush announces and implements “surge” for Iraq
2008 - War in Afghanistan plagued by low troop numbers, governmental corruption, and Taliban
2011 - The Kill/Capture strategy in Afghanistan and its critics

Source Material: Reading and Documentary Films

Thomas Ricks, Fiasco, chapters 14 to Afterword

Frontline: Bush's War | Watch Part II

Frontline: Obama's War | Watch Full Video

Frontline: Kill/Capture | Watch Full Video

Design Directions for PowerPoint Presentations

A. Each PowerPoint presentation should contain 10 to 20 slides, including:
- a title slide with an appropriate image for your topic;
- a second slide listing the “topics of consideration” you will cover;
- a series of slides highlighting the principal events, personalities, and turning points involved;
- a concluding slide that clearly enunciates the historical significance of the topic.

B. Each PowerPoint presentation should have a clean background and format. No wild colors and no wild fonts. Please do not use the pre-designed backgrounds and layouts that are loaded with PowerPoint. For instance, do not use the backgrounds that show scales, curtains, fireworks, mountains, clouds, clocks, or other items.

C. Please do not use clip art, moving gif files, or other “cute” images. These distract attention from the presentation and do not look professional.

D. Please be sure to include images that are related to the content you are presenting. Your images should be clear, crisp, and properly sized. Remember, distorted images look unprofessional.

E. When you finish your presentation, please edit it to ensure that your materials are spell-checked, thoroughly revised, and factually correct.

F. Once completed, you will upload and narrate your presentation using the free account services provided at: http://www.brainshark.com/mybrainshark

G. Your narration should explain the content in your presentation and make it clear to the average reader.

H. I've uploaded a PowerPoint and created a sample brainshark presentation for you to view. It is at:
http://my.brainshark.com/The-1850s-and-the-End-of-Compromise-206427980

Due Date

Each student must email Dr. Littlejohn the link to his or her brainshark presentation by midnight on December 11.