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Suggestions for Research

Research and Preparation
  • Draw on the case notes, additional case materials, and your own research to familiarize yourself with
    • the goals of the NSC in general and of this NSC meeting in particular;
    • the U.S. interests at stake in the case and their importance to national security;
    • your role and your department or agency, including its purpose and objectives in the government and on the NSC;
    • the aspects of the case most relevant to your role;
    • the elements that a comprehensive policy proposal on the case should contain; and
    • the major debates or conflicts likely to occur during the role-play. You need not resolve these yourself, of course, but you will want to anticipate them in order to articulate and defend your position in the NSC deliberation.
  • Set goals for your research. Know which questions you seek to answer and refer back to the case notes, additional readings, and research leads as needed.
  • Make a list of questions that you feel are not fully answered by the given materials. What do you need to research in greater depth? Can your peers help you understand these subjects?
  • Using the case materials, additional readings, and discussions with your peers, weigh the relative importance of the U.S. interests at stake in the case. Determine where trade-offs might be required and think through the potential consequences of several different policy options.
  • Conduct your research from the perspective of your assigned role, rather than the particular perspective of the person who currently inhabits that office. Make sure to consider the full range of U.S. interests at stake in the case, whether diplomatic, military, economic, environmental, moral, or otherwise. This will help you strengthen your policy position and anticipate and prepare for debates in the role-play.
  • Consider what questions or challenges the president or other NSC members might raise regarding the options you propose and have responses ready.


Sources
  • Consult a wide range of sources to gain a full perspective on the issues raised in the case and on policy options. Seek out sources that you may not normally use, such as publications from the region(s) under discussion, unclassified and declassified government documents, and specialized policy reports and journals.
  • Remember: Wikipedia is not a reliable source, but it can be a reasonable starting point. The citations at the bottom of each entry often contain useful resources. 
  • Just as policymakers tackle issues that are controversial and subject to multiple interpretations, so will you in your preparation for the writing assignments and role-play. For this reason, evaluate your sources carefully. Always ask yourself:
    • When was the information produced? Is it still relevant and accurate?
    • Who is writing or speaking and why? Does the author or speaker have a particular motivation or affiliation that you should take into account?
    • Where is the information published? Determine the political leanings of journals, magazines, and newspapers by reading several articles published by each one.
    • Who is the intended audience?
    • Does the author provide sufficient evidence for their analysis or opinion? Does the author cite reliable and impartial sources?
    • Does the information appear one-sided? Does it consider multiple points of view?
    • Is the language measured or inflammatory? Do any of the points appear exaggerated?
  • Take note of and cite your sources correctly. This is important not just for reasons of academic integrity, but so that you can revisit them as needed.

Further Research

The Issue
Jayshree Bajoria and Greg Bruno, “al-Qaeda (a.k.a. al-Qaida, al Qa’ida),” Council on Foreign Relations, June 6, 2012, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/al-qaeda-aka-al-qaida-al-qaida. 
Thomas O. Falk, “How drones have added a new dynamic to conflicts,” Al Jazeera, February 20, 2021, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/20/how-drones-have-added-a-new-dynamic-to-conflicts.
Jonathan Masters, “Targeted Killings,” Council on Foreign Relations, May 23, 2013, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/targeted-killings. 

Context
Peter Bergen, David Sterman, and Melissa Salyk-Virk, “America’s Counterterrorism Wars,” New America, Updated March 30, 2020, https://www.newamerica.org/international-security/reports/americas-counterterrorism-wars/. 
Steve Coll, “The Unblinking Stare,” New Yorker, November 24, 2014, http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/11/24/unblinking-stare. 
Scott Shane, “Targeted Killing Comes to Define War on Terror,” New York Times, April 7, 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/08/world/targeted-killing-comes-to-define-war-on-terror.html?pagewanted=all. 

Recent History
Mark Bowden, “The Hunt for ‘Geronimo,’” Vanity Fair, November 2012, http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2012/11/inside-osama-bin-laden-assassination-plot. 
Charlie Savage and Eric Schmitt, “Biden Secretly Limits Counterterrorism Drone Strikes Away From War Zones,” NYTimes, March 3, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/03/us/politics/biden-drones.html.    
Daniel J. Rosenthal and Loren Dejonge Schulman, “Trump’s Secret War on Terror,” Atlantic, August 10, 2018, “https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/08/trump-war-terror-drones/567218/.  

Root Causes
Ben Rhodes, “The 9/11 Era is Over,” The Atlantic, April 6, 2020, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/04/its-not-september-12-anymore/609502/. 
Amanda Erickson, “The Long History of Incredibly Fraught Relations Between the U.S. and Pakistan,” The Washington Post, January 5, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/01/05/the-long-history-of-incredibly-fraught-relations-between-the-u-s-and-pakistan/.
Ian A. Merritt, “Necessary Crooks and Thugs: U.S. Counterterrorism Cooperation With the Developing World,” Brookings, October 14, 2016, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/markaz/2016/10/14/necessary-crooks-and-thugs-u-s-counterterrorism-cooperation-with-the-developing-world/.  

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Role of the United States
Michele L. Malvesti and Frances Fragos Townsend, “Special Operations Forces and the Raid Against Bin Ladin: Policymaker Considerations in Combating Terrorism,” Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, May 2011, https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/special-operations-forces-and-the-raid-against-bin-ladin-policymaker-considerations-in-combating-terrorism. 
Jason Lyall, “Drones Are Destabilizing Global Politics,” Foreign Affairs, December 16, 2020, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/middle-east/2020-12-16/drones-are-destabilizing-global-politics.
Lawrence Wright, “The Double Game,” New Yorker, May 16, 2011, http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/05/16/the-double-game. 

​​​​​​​Other Interested Parties
“Deadly Assistance: The Role of European States in US Drone Strikes,” Amnesty International, April 19, 2018, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/ACT3081512018ENGLISH.PDF. 
Nilza Amaral and Jessica Dorsey, “Military drones in Europe: ensuring transparency and accountability,” Chatham House, April 30, 2021, https://www.chathamhouse.org/2021/04/military-drones-europe.  
Ben Emmerson, United Nations Human Rights Council, “Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms While Countering Terrorism,” A/HRC/34/61, February 21, 2017http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Terrorism/A-HRC-34-61.pdf.

Further Reading
BBC.com, “Drones: What Are They and How Do They Work?” January 31, 2012, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-10713898. 
Christopher M. Blanchard, “Al Qaeda: Statements and Evolving Ideology,” Congressional Research Service, July 9, 2007, http://fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/RL32759.pdf. 
Adrian Brown, “Osama Bin Laden’s Death: How It Happened,” BBC, September 10, 2012, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-13257330.  
Bureau of Investigative Journalism, “Obama 2014 Pakistan Drone Strikes,” June 11, 2014, http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2014/06/11/obama-2014-pakistan-drone-strikes/. 
Jimmy Carter, “A Cruel and Unusual Record” The New York Times, June 24 2012, https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/25/opinion/americas-shameful-human-rights-record.html?_r=1. 
Center for Global Development, “Aid to Pakistan by the Numbers,” http://www.cgdev.org/page/aid-pakistan-numbers.  
Judy Dempsey, “Europe Stays Quiet Despite Unease About Drones,” New York Times, June 11, 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/12/world/europe/12iht-letter12.html.  
Karen DeYoung and Greg Miller, “Obama: U.S. at ‘Crossroads’ in Fight Against Terrorism,” Washington Post, May 23, 2013, http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-outlines-new-rules-for-drones/2013/05/23/1b5918e6-c3cb-11e2-914f-a7aba60512a7_story.html. 
Anthony Dworkin, “Drones and Targeted Killing: Defining a European Position,” European Council on Foreign Relations, July 2013, http://www.ecfr.eu/page/-/ECFR84_DRONES_BRIEF.pdf.  
Economist, “Drones and the Man,” July 30, 2011, http://www.economist.com/node/21524876.  
Claire Felter, “The Controversy Over U.S. Strikes in Somalia,” CFR.org, April 3,2019, https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/controversy-over-us-strikes-somalia. 
Max Fisher, “Does Killing Terrorist Leaders Make Any Difference? Scholars are Doubtful,” New York Times, August 30, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/31/world/middleeast/syria-killing-terrorist-leaders.html. 
Dan Gettering, “The Drone Databook” The Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College, September, 2019, https://dronecenter.bard.edu/files/2019/10/CSD-Drone-Databook-Web.pdf. 
International Crisis Group, “Drones: Myths and Reality in Pakistan,” May 21, 2013, https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-asia/pakistan/drones-myths-and-reality-pakistan. 
Sarah Kreps and Miles McCain, “Congress keeps quiet on U.S. drone policy - and that’s a big problem,” The Washington Post, August 24, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/08/24/congress-keeps-quiet-on-u-s-drone-policy-and-thats-a-big-problem/?utm_term=.12882fce55c2. 
Zachary Laub, “Pakistan’s New Generation of Terrorists,” CFR.org Backgrounder, November 18, 2013, http://www.cfr.org/pakistan/pakistans-new-generation-terrorists/p15422. 
Carol E. Lee, Felicia Schwartz, “Obama Apologizes for Airstrike on Afghan Hospital” The Wall Street Journal, October 7, 2015, https://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-apologizes-to-doctors-without-borders-for-airstrike-that-hit-hospital-1444245760. 
Larry Lewis, Diane M. Vavrihcek, “Rethinking the Drone War” CNA and Marine Corps University Press, 2016, https://fas.org/man/eprint/drone-war.pdf. 
Myra MacDonald, “Enabling Pakistan,” War on the Rocks, June 3, 2014, http://warontherocks.com/2014/06/enabling-pakistan/.  
Dylan Matthews, “Everything You Need to Know About the Drone Debate, in One FAQ,” Washington Post, March 8, 2013, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/08/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-drone-debate-in-one-faq/. 
Doyle McManus, “The Drone Warfare Drawbacks,” Los Angeles Times, July 5, 2014, http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-mcmanus-column-drones-20140706-column.html. 
PBS Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, “The Ethics of Drones,” March 2, 2012, http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2012/03/02/august-26-2011-the-ethics-of-drones/9350/.   
James A. Schear and Michael J. Mazarr, “Washington’s Weak-State Agenda,” Foreign Affairs, May/June 2014, http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/141220/james-a-schear-michael-j-mazarr/washingtons-weak-state-agenda.  
Michael Spangler, “Pakistan’s Changing Counterterrorism Strategy: A Window of Opportunity?” Parameters 44, no. 1, Spring 2014, http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/parameters/issues/Spring_2014/4_Spangler.pdf.  
Rupert Stone, “Should We Be Scared of Trump's Drone Reforms?” USA | Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera, 20 Mar. 2017,  http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2017/03/scared-trump-drone-reforms-170319074243420.html. 
Brajesh Upadhyay, “US and Pakistan: Will the Relationship Endure?” BBC Urdu, November 19, 2014, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30105416.  
The White House, “National Strategy for Counterterrorism,” June 2011, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/counterterrorism_strategy.pdf . 
The White House, “Fact Sheet: Presidential Memorandum – “Legal and Policy Transparency Concerning United States’ Use of Military Force and Related National Security Operations” and Accompanying Report on Transparency in Legal and Policy Frameworks,” December 5, 2016, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/12/05/fact-sheet-presidential-memorandum-legal-and-policy-transparencyhttps://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/12/05/fact-sheet-presidential-memorandum-legal-and-policy-transparency. 
Micah Zenko, Reforming U.S. Drone Strike Policies, Council on Foreign Relations Press, January 2013, http://www.cfr.org/wars-and-warfare/reforming-us-drone-strike-policies/p29736. 
Micah Zenko, “U.S. Airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, Versus Drone Strikes in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia,” Council on Foreign Relations, November 10, 2016, https://www.cfr.org/blog/us-airstrikes-iraq-and-syria-versus-drone-strikes-pakistan-yemen-and-somalia.  
  • Home
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    • Kendrick Lamar
  • Mr. Radcliff
  • Mr. Taylor
  • NatSec
    • National Security Council >
      • The Interagency Process
      • Departments & Agencies
      • Tools of Diplomacy
      • National Interests
    • Crisis in Pakistan >
      • Roles >
        • APNSA
        • State
        • Defense
        • DOJ
        • DHS
      • Context
      • Recent History
      • Timeline
      • Root Causes
      • Role of the U.S.
      • Other Interested Parties
      • Further Research
      • Glossary
      • Flashpoint