Writing Assignment #1H (Honors)
"Setting the Nation's Agenda"
Due: Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Preamble:
Imagine yourself the National Security Adviser for the President entering his second term. His election campaign was almost exclusively devoted to international terrorism. He has a reputation for knowing little about foreign affairs until September 11, 2001. At the start of his first term, the President declared the existence of an "axis of evil." One of those countries is now under US military occupation.
The President summons you and his chief speechwriter into the oval office to brainstorm an important theme of his second administration.

In the Oval Office, the new President says he wants to make a splash with a speech on foreign policy. He wants to set the agenda for foreign policy of his second term, and he's asking for some "prescriptions."

He demands that you identify areas where he can use the next four years to make a lasting name for himself in international affairs.


Write:
Using resources available on the Global Agenda web site, in your course anthology (Foreign Affairs), and others you find, write a 5-page briefing memo addressed to the President.

In your memo, select three foreign affairs areas where you think the President can have an important impact.

You answer these questions – and others you might add – in your memo:

• What are the top three international issues of concern to the United States?
• Why are they so important to the U.S?
• What are the consequences to the U.S. of tackling these issues in the coming four years?

Alternative writing form: If you wish, you may write your paper as a "transcript" of a conversation you have with the President in the oval office, in which you outline your choices and he responds.

Things to remember:
This is a course about foreign affairs issues and how they relate to the United States. You should not confine yourself to topics you know we'll cover in this semester. Nor should you feel constrained by real choices made by real presidents. Feel free to roam beyond.

And even though the President won’t care, you must cite your sources on a bibliography page.