Students are asked to complete exercises pertaining to significant intelligence issues. Sample exercises are provided below.
Sample Discussion Questions
- Valerie Plame was under a CIA case officer under non-official cover. What does this mean? What is the difference between official and non-official cover? How much damage do you think was done to CIA sources and methods by the exposure of Ms. Plame's identity? How much was done to her personally?
-
Who put her identity more at risk, her husband or Karl Rove? What were the
motivations of each? What damage was done by subsequent further press articles on the issue, which included photos of Ms. Plame and disclosure of a CIA front company which employed her? - What are the wider issues at stake in this episode, including the President's use of Iraq's WMD program as a reason for invading Iraq? What does this suggest about the role of secrecy in a democracy?
- What do you think the ultimate outcome will be? Will anyone get prosecuted? Is the law against agent disclosure too vague? What role did political partisanship play in contributing to a satisfactory outcome? What is a satisfactory outcome for all concerned?
Sample Exercise
The article should focus on the prospects or outlook for the December '05 Iraqi national elections, with special attention given to the issue of potential Sunni participation. It should be relatively short, 500-750 words. Sources of facts, data or opinions should be noted, and judgments or analysis should be preceded by statements like "we believe" or "we estimate". It may be useful to puts source information and analysis in separate paragraphs. Your conclusions should be stated in the opening topic sentence, which should stand alone. You may want to include alternative outcomes and their consequences, as well as some key indicators of success or failure. But make sure these are stated as judgments.
School Solution Exercise
Iraq: Outlook for the National Elections
We believe there will be extensive public participation in the upcoming parliamentary elections this December, including large numbers of Sunnis, resulting in a new national government that will likely be more representative of the entire population. While the insurgent will likely to attempt to disrupt the balloting, the security situation probably will be relatively good in most areas. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen if the election outcome will promote greater political stability and enhanced security over the long run, particularly if the Sunnis are dissatisfied with the overall results of the process.