Preamble:

You are the National Security Adviser of the United States. It is 1990. Iraq has just invaded Kuwait. Your President has just decided he wants to go to war to repulse this blatant violation of international law, which also happens to be a direct threat to one of America's closest friends in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia.

Your Defense Secretary announces that the only way to successfully conduct military operations in the region is to base U.S. and allied military personnel, weapons and equipment on Saudi soil, and to conduct offensive military operations from those bases. Your Secretary of State argues that putting U.S. military on Saudi soil will violate the beliefs of millions of muslims and possibly inflame militants who could attack the United States. The President must decide what to do.

Write:

Write a 4-5 page memo to the President in which you take a position on whether to ask the Saudis for permission to base American forces on their soil. Take into account the possible ramifications. (Feel free to use the benefit of hindsight to review actual events after the decision was made.) Decide whether the risk is worth the benefit.

You are invited to research the actual debate on this subject, as reported in 1990-91.

Things to remember:

• This is a course about international terrorism
• You must cite your sources, either in the body of your paper or in a bibliography.