Research Paper

HSEP 301/POLI 367/CRJS 367: Terrorism

Spring 2008

Newmann

Due Dates are all listed on the syllabus

The paper will be a group project. Each group of five students (possible six) will choose a terrorist organization to analyze. I will help assign the terrorist organizations to be studied from an approved list (see below) the first three weeks of the class. The group will use a division of labor in which each individual student is responsible for examining one aspect/issue of the terrorist organization (see below). All the aspects/issues taken together will provide a comprehensive picture of the terrorist organization. The results of your research will be presented in two ways.

First, each student will write an 8-10 page research paper on his or her designated issue; again that issue will be one aspect of a specific terrorist organization. Included in that paper is to be an overall big-picture assessment by each student of the specific issue they have chosen. In the list below, in parentheses, are the questions that each student should try to answer in his/her assessment. Of course, each student should feel free to analyze the specific issue in other ways as well. These assessments should be based on your general knowledge of terrorism that you have gained during the semester. 8-10 pages is the target. You may write a longer paper if you wish; a shorter paper will hurt your grade.

Second, at the end of the semester, each group will brief the class on the results of their research. Each student within the group will brief the class on his or her specific issue for five minutes. The length of the briefing is important. You will be acting as analysts of a terrorist group. Think of yourself as briefing a senior-level policy maker. The policy maker is giving you five minutes to tell him/her what he/she needs to know about this aspect of the terrorist group. You don’t have much time. So you must be organized and make your major conclusions clear. Each group’s presentations will take about 25 minutes or so of the last few classes.

Important! Though the last three weeks will be taken up by presentations that will take roughly a half of each class, do not stop coming to class. First, I will be lecturing each day in addition to the presentations. Second, there will be a question on the final exam that will require you to compare your research in a specific issue to the research on that specific issue for another terrorist group as presented by another student. In other words, you’ll need to take notes on the presentations given by the other students.

The Issues

For each terrorist organization examined, the assigned issues are listed below. I will give brief examples of what I mean using al-Qaeda, an organization we will discuss at length in class, but that will not be one of the terrorist groups that the research papers will focus upon.

Issue One

Origins, objectives, and doctrines of the organization: Describe the creation of the organization, its reason for being and its political goals. What doctrines does it use to guide its belief systems and activities?

(Are these goals realistic given the politics of the situation? Are these goals negotiable as part of a settlement that will end political violence and lead to a partial achievement of these goals?)

For al-Qaeda (AQ), the origins date back to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan when militants from all over the Middle East and Asia came to Afghanistan to fight the “infidel” invaders. The organization flourished again after the Gulf War in opposition to US troops stationed in Saudi Arabia. The goals are diverse: removal of US troops from the Middle East, destruction of Israel, removal of authoritarian rulers in the Middle East and democratic rulers in Southeast Asia, replacement of those rulers with AQ approved leaders. The doctrines are a mixture of radical Islamic ideas (indeed in many ways very un-Islamic) and Arab nationalism.

(The goals don’t sound very realistic, or very negotiable. AQ may achieve them, however, by sowing general chaos in these regions, a chaos that could lead to the rise of demagogues that might move in the most radical direction. Remember, how economic and political turmoil in Germany, Italy, and Japan between WW I and WW II led to the victory of fascists in all three countries.)

Issue Two

Leadership and leadership structure: Who leads this organization and by what means? Is this leadership stable or in flux? Are there rivalries within the leadership? Is it hierarchical or network-based?

(Is this leadership structured well or is it chaotic to the point where it inhibits the organizations ability to act? Are the organizations too dependent on single individuals or has the institutional structure been developed enough to survive the capture or death of the senior leaders?)

For AQ the picture is mixed. It has a strong leadership (Osama bin-Laden) and it has survived the capture of its number three man -- Khalid Sheikh Muhammed. However, it is also network-based with a series of loosely connected cells, alliances with other groups, and even entrepreneurial groups that it funds, but may not direct.

(The leadership seems to be in a state of flux since it was pushed out of Afghanistan, but it seems to have enough organizational staying power to continue to operate although in a weakened state, it is believed. New people are promoted up the command structure and the entrepreneurial nature of AQ operations makes central command less important in any case.)

Issue Three

Support for the organization, in terms of both governmental and non-governmental, finances, and recruiting methods: Does the organization have ties to nation-states or is it independent of them and geographically dispersed? What are the sources of its funding and its recruit base?

(What could change, weaken, or strengthen that support? Have there been changes in support for the organization? If so, what are those changes and why did they occur?)

For AQ the support structure dates back to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the training facilities set up there, then reenergized after the victory of the Taliban in the Afghan civil war. The support also comes from the religious schools throughout the Middle East and Asia that preach a militant version of Islam. Most of them are funded by Saudi Arabia. Other support comes from charitable organizations tolerated by many nations in those regions and overt support was given by the government of Afghanistan from 1996-2001. Funding also came from organized crime activities, particularly the drug trade.

(Obviously, the aftermath of September 11 has changed that support. Many more passive supporters -- providing funding but not involved in terrorist actions -- turned against the organization. The overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the anti-terrorist measures from Pakistan have hurt AQ. However, reportedly, the US intervention in Iraq has helped recruitment.

Issue Four

Strategy, targets, and method of operations: How does the organization intend to achieve its goals, both in terms of long-term strategy and immediate activities? Does it use mass targeting of civilians for maximum publicity or selective targeting of political figures or economic and infrastructure attacks? Does it use kidnapping or attacks on military targets? Does it operate internationally or only locally? What are its expectations for those operations? How does it achieve victory?

(Is this strategy likely to be successful? How has the strategy played out? Is the organization closer to its goals?)

For AQ the strategy has been the use of violence in ever larger attacks on civilians. The main target has been the US and occasionally its allies. The method has been car bombs and attacks on planes or use of planes as means of attack.

(The strategy has been unsuccessful so far. Instead of causing the US to withdraw from the Middle East, the US is more deeply involved than ever. AQ seems farther away from its goals. Some argue, however, that in the long run AQ has manipulated the US into overreacting and overreaching, that the current US intervention in Iraq will backfire on the US. It will lose support and sympathy around the world. AQ will gain more recruits. Ultimately, the difficulties in Iraq will lead the US to withdraw from the Middle East.)

Issue Five

The nature of counterterrorist efforts against the organization: What measures have been taken by local, regional, and global authorities to combat the organization and what have been the results of these actions?

(Have counterterrorist efforts against the organization achieved success or failure?)

For AQ there have been numerous responses to September 11: US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq; Pakistan turned against the Taliban and turned against militants at home; Saudi Arabia has begun to crack down on militants; US creation of a homeland security agenda and institutions to carry out that agenda; and international coalition against terrorism that supports multinational efforts to crack down on terrorist groups worldwide.

(Whether these efforts have succeeded or not is still uncertain. No attacks have been made on the US since September 11; however, numerous attacks have been attempted around the world. The vast majority have been thwarted, yet some high profile ones have been carried out throughout the world. The Iraq war has opened up a new theater of attack, but it is uncertain how much of the attacks on US and coalition forces in Iraq are the work of AQ-allied organizations.)

Issue Six (Some groups may have six students in them. I will assign Issue Six if needed.)

Non-violent political activities of the organization: Is the organization involved in any kind of political activity that is non-violent in nature? Does it have its own political wing/party that is involved in electoral politics or negotiations with a government? Does it have a civil society component that provides social welfare or education or community outreach for the poor -- trash collection, soccer leagues, pre-school?

(What is the effect of these political activities? Does it build a recruit base, provide funds, or legitimize their violent activities? Has it resulted in a negotiated settlement and possibly an end to violence?)

For AQ, this is less of an issue. AQ is such a virtual organization at this point that deep ties to civil society are too geographically-binding. AQ does have ties to religious schools throughout the world, charity organizations, and mosques, but these serve as conduits for recruits and financing to AQ. When in Sudan and Afghanistan, however, AQ did provide schooling, scholarship money, charity for local organizations, and even ran legitimate business operations. In Afghanistan, AQ provided huge amounts of funding to the Taliban-controlled government to help maintain government social welfare projects, religious education, and the religious police. AQ does not have a wing that negotiates or engages in legitimate political activity. It is fighting total war and has shown no real willingness to consider its terrorist activities as a prelude to a negotiated settlement, as is the case with many other organizations.

(Again, AQ is unusual in that it has no geographic base, so its political activities can’t be linked closely to activities that might implicate people in AQ operations. This is especially so in the current environment in which the world is trying to hunt down AQ. AQ is fighting total war. Its religious nature may preclude – at least for now – any negotiations or compromises with the “infidels.” But if AQ had become involved in these types of activities (social welfare, political action, or negotiations with a government), the result of those activities would be the big question. Has it resulted in a political settlement, a semi-legitimizing of the organization, or a full-fledged embrace of the organization as a political voice in the region?)

We will begin forming the groups and assigning topics early in the semester.

The Terrorist Groups

There are many terrorist organizations. The following is the list you may choose from. On the back of the map quiz there will be a list of these groups and you will be able to choose a first, second, and third favorite. I will try to place everyone in the first or second choice. Until the ma quiz (about the third week or course, feel free to learn more about these groups or ask me questions, so you can pick one that will be the most interesting to you).These are groups I feel have been studied in depth. You will find plenty of information on them.

• Aum Shinrikyo: Bizarre religious-based cult in Japan trying to bring about the end of the world. It used chemical weapons in the Tokyo subway in 1995.
• FARC: (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia): Leftist and narco-terrorists responsible for destabilizing the nation

· HAMAS (Islamic Resistance Movement): A Palestinian organization responsible for most of the current attacks against Israel.

• Hizbollah: Lebanese-based group with ties to Iran that has been responsible for attacks against Israel, kidnappings of US citizens, and the 1983 bombing of the US Marine Barracks in Beirut.

· IRA (Irish Republican Army): Created to push the British out of Northern Ireland. Though there may be peace in Northern Ireland, there are armed splinters of this that remain actively using or threatening acts of terrorist if the current settlements do not satisfy them.

• Jemaah Islamiya: Indonesian-based organization which may or may not be AQ’s main ally in Indonesia, but has been held responsible for numerous terrorist bombings.
• LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam): Sri Lankan group that has been fighting the government for control over the Northeast half of the island nation.

· Red Army Faction (also known as Baader-Meinhof Group): 1960s and 1970s left-wing group operating in West Germany.

· Al-Qaeda in North Africa (or Al-Qaeda Organization in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb), formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat. It developed out of the Algerian Civil War that has been going on since the 1990s (in its current form) and has recently pledged its loyalty to AQ.

· Shining Path: leftist group in Peru that built itself a formidable army then collapsed after decades of activity due to counterterrorist operations and a leadership crisis.

Since this is a group project you will be working together to a certain extent. This means that you should expect to share sources with each other. For example, there may be one copy of the best book on HAMAS at the library. Don’t hog it. Work out a schedule for each of you to take turns with the book. Tell each other of good websites and good journal articles. Don’t be afraid to share sources on this topic. Your specific issues are different enough that you will be interested in different aspects of the same sources. If anyone has any problem with this, let me know.

Paper Requirements and Tips on Writing Good Papers and Making Good Presentations

Below are several sections of instructions and guidelines. This is important. It tells you a lot of important things you can use for any research paper, in any class. It also tells you what I expect. Use what follows and I guarantee that you will get a much better grade on your paper, and more importantly you will learn how to do research and write an organized paper. In particular, pay special attention to the section on sources (bibliographies and references). If you choose to ignore what follows, you do so at your own peril and risk everlasting doom. (Am I being subtle enough?)

Source requirements

You must use at least ten sources. At least two of those sources must be from the web. You must use at least one book and one journal article. If you have questions, talk to me sooner rather than later. None of the assigned readings for the class count as a source. You can use them, but they do not count as part of the ten sources required. Your research cannot be completely from the web. Wikipedia cannot be used as one of the ten sources. It is an encyclopedia and encyclopedias were off limits as research sources when you were in High School. In other words: don’t use wikipedia.

I don't think I need to tell you much about the web. In college I wrote papers on a manual typewriter and I took my SATs on stone tablets. But if you do have any questions about it let me know. An important note about internet sites: what is crucial about any webpage is that you and I know who the source of the information is. All information on the web is not equal. Before you trust any information on the web you must know who runs the websites. Who is the source of the information? The US Nazi Party has many websites. Their information is probably not a source you want to use for research on Israeli foreign policy, for example. Also, if you find a website that deals with human rights in China, you need to know if it is run by the Chinese government; its views will be a bit biased. So you need to know who runs the site, and you need to tell me that in the notation.  In your bibliography you must cite internet information properly!!!! There are several established formats. Here’s one that I use:

A government document:

George W. Bush. The National Security Strategy of the United States of America. September 2002. Available at www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2002.

A newspaper article

Stephen Farrell. “Palestinian Bomb Attack Threatens Hopes for Peace.” Times On Line. January 13, 2005. Available at www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,251-1437764,00.html. Accessed January 13, 2005.

For a document/article you found on the web (This doesn’t have an author, so start with the title, but if it does have an author start with that.

“What Can the US Do In Iraq?” Middle East Report No. 34. International Crisis Group. 22 December 2004. Available at www.crisisweb.org/home/index.cfm?id=3196&l=1 Accessed January 13, 2005.

So, you must include the following: author (if identified); title of article, essay, database, document; organization that sponsors the posting of the information; web address (use this form: Available at http://whatever); and date accessed (because information on the internet is updated and frequently reedited or eliminated). If you have questions about this, ask me. But if you don’t ask me and you simply give me the web address, I will take points off your paper.

There are excellent journals that you can use that deal with the range of issues we’ll address in class. Use the Public Affairs Information Service or ABC POL SCI indexes. Those are the hard copy indexes, both located in the library reference section. PAIS is also online. Ask a reference librarian to help you find these indexes. Of course, the library data bases are great as well. To use the online journal index go to VCU’s Online Journal system. I like to do it this way. On that page pull down the menu in the upper right corner ("Quick Links") and click on InfoTrac One File. You can search for the articles any way you want, but I like to use the menu on the left side of the page. Click on Advanced Search and it allows you to search by entering several bits of information. So you could search under the author’s name and the Journal title. Or for your research papers you can search under several keywords (HAMAS and terrorism) or under a subject and a journal title (to get the works on a given subject from a specific journal that you have found useful, for example Jemaah Islamiyah and Contemporary Southeast Asia). If you have problems getting the journals on line, let me know. Look up either a country or an issue and you will find excellent lists of articles.

Use books too. The web is nice, but it includes information, not knowledge. The difference is simple. Information is up to the minute data, piles and piles of facts and figures. Knowledge is data plus perspective, plus analysis. What does the data mean in the context of history, of theories about the issue you are studying, of the developments in that nation and the world? The internet does not contain many books yet, and therefore it will tell you what happened yesterday, but not if what happened yesterday is typical, unusual, or explained very well in a book or two here, or a journal article there.

This paper should be 8-10 pages of text, with footnotes (endnotes, whatever) and a bibliography. For proper style of notes and bibliography see Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers, some other recognized resource on style, or copy the style used by one of the books you used for your research. Pay attention t this! You must learn how to reference information properly, and how to write a bibliography with the correct and complete information. This is easy to do, but more important than you think. Whether you go into academia or business you will be judged on the quality of your information, and that means people will want to know where you found your information. They will judge you at first, before they read your text, on your bibliography and citations (footnotes/endnotes/parenthetical references). So make sure you include all the important information in both notes and bibliography. Since I have instructed you to pay attention to notation and bibliographic style, and have provided you with a specific place to look for the proper styles, I will take points off of your paper if you do not do this in the correct manner. This is simple. If you do not do it correctly it means one or both of the following: 1) you are not taking the assignment seriously or are too lazy to do the paper correctly; and/or 2) you are doing the paper at the last minute. Both of these are good reasons why you will not get the grade you are able to earn. Most importantly, you need to get used to doing things the proper way. In college I will take points off if you do something the wrong way or don’t try to find out the proper way to do something. In the business world your boss will simply fire you. This is particularly true about finding information. In the business world you will be judged on the quality of your knowledge, the information that you can provide to potential clients or your boss. Everyone needs to be able to judge the quality of your in formation and they can only do that if they know the source of the information. Get used to this.

Also, I realize that in many cases instructors in ENGL 200 are telling you to include reference material in the text of the paper. However, this is exactly the wrong way to reference in social science. What I mean is the following.

• Don’t do this: Gabriel Weimann, a Professor of Communications at Haifa University, states in his book Terror on the Internet that the internet enhances terrorist power to organize and recruit.

• Instead do this: Weimann states that the internet enhances terrorist power to organize and recruit. (add footnote or endnote or parenthetical reference here.)

Also, for references, you must include the page number where you found the information, if available.

Nitpicks

• Papers should be doubled-spaced with one-inch margins, and reasonable sized font (11 or 12 point preferred, but no larger). Shorter pages with wide margins and large print size font will be penalized.

• Quotes: Do not include long quotes!!! You can quote actual participants in an event, but do this sparingly if you feel it is necessary. You can use lots of quotes if you are examining candidate rhetoric for example, but then your paper must be longer than 8-10 pages. I’m looking for 8-10 pages of your work. So don’t quote general information that you found in a scholarly article and don’t quote the conclusions of other scholars. Paraphrase the information or the idea in your own words and then cite the source. So, for example, noted terrorist scholar Reed Richards says: Al-Qaeda probably only consists of 10,000 people world wide. Do not give me a sentence in your paper that reads: “Al-Qaeda probably only consists of 10,000 people world wide.” Give me something that says: “One scholar estimates that al-Qaeda only has 10,000 active members globally.” (Richards, 2003, p. 27). The book doesn’t actually exist, but in the example, I’ve used a parenthetical reference, which gives the author’s name, the year of publication, and the page number. The full bibliographic information will be in the bibliography at the end of the paper. Or if Ben Grimm concludes in his book (not a real book) that: “Al-Qaeda’s growth depends on economic reform in the Middle East. Elimination of poverty is not the biggest problem. Rather it is the ability of the middle class to gain social and economic mobility.” Don’t quote that, but say: “Grimm’s conclusions suggest that economic reforms designed to allow the middle class to grow and prosper will be the key to battling al-Qaeda in the future.” (Grimm, 2004, p. 235). A good quote is this: According to Osama bin-Laden, “for over seven years the United States has been occupying the lands of Islam in the holiest of places, the Arabian Peninsula, plundering its riches, dictating to its rulers, humiliating its people, terrorizing its neighbors, and turning its bases in the Peninsula into a spearhead through which to fight the neighboring Muslim peoples.” (Bin-Laden, 1998). This is an excerpt from the 1998 fatwa of OBL. Bin-Laden is a participant, a historical figure. His exact words are important.

• Make a copy of the paper for yourself before you hand it in to me. There are two reasons for this. If you have a copy, you don't have to worry about me losing a copy. I have never lost anyone's paper, but just in case you should always make sure that you have a copy of your paper with you, in any class, not just this one.

• WHEN YOU TYPE YOUR PAPER ON A COMPUTER MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A BACKUP DISK WITH THE PAPER ON IT. AS YOU TYPE THE PAPER SAVE THE FILE TO THE BACKUP DISK EVERY TEN MINUTES OR SO. This is especially important if you type on the university computers.

• Putting your paper on the hard drive in the computer lab is useless if they sweep the hard drives of files at night. Keep a backup copy for yourself. I have several backup copies of anything I write. You don't ever want to lose work because you didn't back it up.

• Make sure you have a subject and verb in every sentence. (You would be surprised how many important journals and books allow non-sentence sentences). This is non-fiction, not fiction. So you need to observe the basic rules of grammar. A long sentence is not necessarily a better sentence -- each sentence should express only one thought. Don't be afraid to break up a long sentence into two or three shorter ones. It will usually flow better that way.

• As always, ask me questions, early and often.

LATE PAPERS: I will mark late papers down ONE GRADE for each day late. That means that an almost perfect paper -- one that I would give 98 points to -- becomes an 88 if one day late, 78 if two days late, etc,... all the way down to 8 points if nine days late, and zero points if ten days late. Talk to me if you are having some family or personal problems. If there is a serious need to get an extension on the paper, I will give you an extension.  I do realize that there are more important things in life than this class and this assignment.  So if you run into a problem, talk to me. Computer problems do not count as a problem that warrants an extension.  If you are writing your paper at the last minute and you have a problem, the moral of the story is that you should not have been writing your paper at the last minute.  If you have a printer problem, no problem, give me your disk and I will print up the paper, or come to my office hours and we'll print up the paper at my office.  If you have some kind of computer problem, and you are not writing your paper at the last minute, let me know.  Maybe I can help.

On Writing a Good Paper

This is the key to writing a good paper so I am providing detailed instruction on this. What I’m looking for here is a solid introductory section for your paper. The paragraph should include the following:

• your topic; or the question you are answering if you set up the issue that way
• how you will answer the question
• what are the basic answers to the questions regarding your issue -- your conclusions

In other words, the introduction should provide your reader with a "road map" that explains exactly what you will say during the paper. This is not as difficult as it sounds. Basically, what you need to do is write the outline you have for your paper in sentences in the first few paragraphs of the paper. Your opening paragraph (or couple of opening paragraphs) should also give the reader some reason to be interested in your topic and in your argument. Tell the reader why this subject is important.

Here is an example of an opening paragraph: (I’ll use AQ again as an example that won’t overlap with anyone’s potential topic).

This paper will analyze the origins, objectives, and doctrines of al-Qaeda (AQ). AQ is currently the world’s largest and most active terrorist organization – global in activity, recruitment, and mission. It is a curious mixture of 21^st century technology and medieval ideology. (That’s the topic.)

Its, origins date back to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 when militants from all over the Middle East and Asia came to Afghanistan to fight the “infidel” invaders. AQ itself was established by Osama bin-Laden in the mid-1980s. When the Soviets left Afghanistan the organization lost some of its purpose, but flourished again after the Gulf War in opposition to US troops stationed in Saudi Arabia. From that point on, its goals became more ambitious, global in scale, and ultimately aimed directly at the US. The goals are diverse: removal of US troops from the Middle East, destruction of Israel, removal of authoritarian rulers in the Middle East and democratic rulers in Southeast Asia, replacement of those rulers with AQ approved leaders. The doctrines are a mixture of radical Islamic ideas (indeed in many ways very un-Islamic) and Arab nationalism. (That’s how you will explain your issue—by discussing three sub-topics: 1) initial origins; 2) its goals; and 3) doctrines).

Overall, the goals don’t sound very realistic, or very negotiable. While AQ can launch terrorist activities around the world, its ability to actually control territory or capture a nation state is limited. However, it may have the ability to harass, damage, and attack the targets for decades to come. This includes the possibility of catastrophic terrorism from weapons of mass destruction. Such an attack has the potential to alter the global strategic landscape, but in ways that are likely unpredictable and certainly not under the control of AQ. AQ may achieve some of its goals, however, by sowing general chaos in the Middle East and Asia, a chaos that could lead to the rise of demagogues that might move in the most radical direction, especially if this is accompanied by the withdrawal of the US from these regions. Historically, an analogy can be made to the economic and political turmoil in Germany, Italy, and Japan between WW I and WW II that led to the victory of fascists in all three countries. (Those are your conclusions.)

You can use lots of topic headings and subheadings to correspond to the points on your "road map" -- they'll help you organize your thoughts, and they'll help your reader clearly identify where he is on the "road map." The above paper might have five main sections:

1. Introduction:
2. Origins of AQ
3. Objectives
4. Doctrines
5. Conclusions (Analysis)

The VCU honor system covers plagiarism. It is not a fine line. Either ideas are yours, or they are not. But just because someone else has already written an idea that you agree with 100% doesn't mean you can't discuss it in your paper. Just point out whose idea it is; paraphrase it in your own words, cite the source of the idea, and expand upon it. Generally, that is how Political Science works. 90% of all Political Science articles and books do the following (I give you another example that is not topically relevant to the class):

There are various explanations for the Moscow coup in August 1991. Stan says the military instigated the overthrow (Stan 1994, 1-34). Kyle disagreed, saying the military prevented the coup from being successful (Kyle 1997, 17-29). Cartman says the coup failed because its leaders were inept (Cartman 2000, 307-332). However, all three authors understate the impact of public opinion; the coup really failed because of the Russian people's yearning for Democracy.

The article would then outline the theories of Stan, Kyle, and Cartman, criticize each one, and then develop the fourth theory. There is no problem as long as Stan, Kyle, and Cartman get credited with developing their theories, and the fourth theory is yours. If the fourth theory belongs to a fourth author (Kenny? Timmy? Professor Chaos?), the reader must be told that the fourth theory is Kenny's and your article will show why his theory is superior to the other three. The point here is that you may find sources which have different opinions on an issue. For example, one source may say that Hizbullah has ties to Syria and another may say it doesn’t. You need to decide who’s right. State that there are differences of opinions. Cite the sources. Who says there are ties? Who says there aren’t? Then you can, if you want, suggest what you think based on your research. Or you can simply say that a dispute exists and leave it at that.

As always, ask me questions, early and often.

A note on class presentations

A good class presentation is like a good paper -- be organized and straight forward.

1. The presentations will be five minutes long. You don’t have much time. All you can do in five minutes is essentially give a beefed up version of your introductory section of your paper. What is you topic? How did you examine it? What were the three or four major findings of your research? What are your overall conclusions?
2. To organize, think as a journalist would. What is the topic and issue at hand: who? what? where? when? why? Let the audience know immediately what the question you are addressing is and what the main topic of your presentation will be. For example, if the topic is al-Qaeda’s leadership, you want to start off by saying that. "My topic is al-Qaeda’s leadership.” If the specific issue is the difficulty of penetrating foreign terrorist networks say that. "The issue I'd like to address is the difficulty of penetrating foreign terrorist networks."
3. In spite of what many might have taught you, the trick is not to sound intellectual and complex, but to be clear and simple when you speak. Another example: "Gunaratna in his book Inside al-Qaeda states that AQ is moving more deeply in Southeast Asia.” I will examine that argument, suggest reasons why this might be true and why this might not be true. Ultimately, however, I believe that AQ will never be able to gain the following in Southeast Asia that it has in the Middle East and Central Asia.” Then you go into a few of the details.
4. Above all else, be organized, just like you were writing a paper. Put your presentation into an outline form and then as you speak simply go through your outline, item by item. Or say, "I want to discuss three reasons why AQ will not be able to develop and sustain a long-term presence in Southeast Asia. First, the nations in Southeast Asia are much more prosperous than nations in other parts of the developing world. This will deny AQ a critical mass of recruits. Second, the nations of Southeast Asia are democracies or are moving in the direction of democratic institutions. The ability to freely criticize governmental policy creates an outlet for political dissent and reduces the likelihood that large percentages of the population will radicalize itself to the point where it may fund and support terrorists even passively. Three, these nations have secular traditions, separation of church and state is a basic ideology of these nations’ institutions. Factors that might change this, however, could be a long economic down turn or a failure of public education to maintain a viable alternative to religious education, which can often be militant in nature.” Then talk about each one in turn.
5. Since you are presenting along with some other people, you may want to organize your presentations into a coherent whole. Work together to avoid overlap and duplication (some will be unavoidable). I would suggest getting together outside of class and working on this.
6. Powerpoint is required. It is best if your group organizes its powerpoint into one presentation. If anyone has questions about how to use PPT or if some members of the group are non-cooperative or if you have Windows Vista and it won’t play well with Windows XP PPT that other students use (on Vista PPT you can choose to save your files in Windows 2003 versions of PPT; do that and you won’t have problems.). If you give me the PPT a few days before your class presentation is due, I can load it on the syllabus and then we can use it from there (as I will do with PPT I make).