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LESSON PLAN:
THE ROLE OF AMERICAN EMBASSIES
Critical Analysis
By Lara Maupin, formerly a social studies teacher and student government
adviser at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in
Alexandria, Va.
Subjects:
Government/civics, international law, current events
Time:
This lesson is intended to take one - two class periods.
Objectives:
- Students
will identify the services provided by U.S. embassies abroad.
- Students
will understand the role U.S. ambassadors and embassies play in carrying
out U.S. foreign policy and protecting American interests.
Overview:
In this lesson, your students will examine U.S. embassies and the work
they do in order to better understand why they are sometimes targets of
terrorist attacks. As the U.S. returns sovereignty to Iraq and establishes
a large embassy there, students will consider the role embassies play
and how this role sometimes varies depending on the host country. This
lesson is especially relevant in a government or civics class but may
be used in any social studies class in which current events or international
relations are discussed.
Materials:
Correlations
to National Standards Procedure:
1. Introduction/Background
Give your students the following background on recent bombings.
August 7,
1998 the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed, killing 231
people. Four alleged operatives of Osama bin Laden were convicted of planning
and executing the bombings. These bombings raised the issue of security
at all U.S. embassies.
May 12, 2003,
three suicide bombings hit residential housing where many Westerners lived
in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killing 25 plus the nine attackers and wounding
over 200. U.S. and Saudi officials accused al-Qaida of planning the attacks.
The U.S. Embassy and consulates in Saudi Arabia were temporarily closed
due to threats of more attacks.
Ask your
students why they think American embassies and Americans living abroad
are sometimes the targets of terrorism. What should the U.S. do to protect
its embassies and citizens living and working abroad? Inform your students
that a new, large embassy is being established in the newly sovereign
Iraq. Certainly, security will be a major concern. Tell them they will
now learn more about the role embassies play around the world in order
to better understand why they might be targets.
For more
information:
African embassy bombings
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/africa/embassy_bombing/
Saudi embassies close
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/alert_05-20-03.html
2. Article
Analysis
Ask your students to read the following NewsHour Extra article on the
June 28 transfer of sovereignty in Iraq and plans for a continued U.S.
presence.
U.S. Opens
First American Embassy in Baghdad in Over a Decade:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june04/Iraq_6-28.html
(Printer-friendly PDF)
Discuss the
proposed future relationship between the U.S. and Iraq with your students.
What role will the U.S. ambassador and embassy play in the new Iraq? What
do they think?
Note that,
in a June 18 interview, Secretary of State Colin Powell "predicted
the U.S. relationship with Iraq after the turnover would be 'normal political-diplomatic
relations' with the U.S. ambassador to Iraq representing the U.S. government
and reporting to the president through the secretary of State. Supervision
of U.S. funds allocated for Iraq reconstruction will fall under the authority
of the U.S. ambassador. U.S. military forces remaining in Iraq will continue
to report through the military chain of command. Powell said he foresaw
no problems in this arrangement 'because it's a standard arrangement that
we have used in many countries over the years,' and cited Germany and
Korea as examples."
According
to the Coalition Provisional Authority, on June 28 it will cease to exist,
Ambassador Bremmer will return to the U.S. and a new ambassador will be
sent, and the Interim Iraqi Government will take control. The U.S. and
Iraq will then have normal bilateral relations. U.S. forces (and those
from other nations) will remain in Iraq to help maintain security. The
new American embassy will coordinate technical and financial assistance.
For more
information about the interim Iraqi government or Ambassador to Iraq John
Negroponte:
John Negroponte Background:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/Iraq/postwar/player_6.html
The Coalition
Provisional Authority http://www.cpa-iraq.org/
3. Activity:
The Role of U.S. Embassies
Give your students the Handout (Printer-friendly
PDF). Ask them to answer the first question. Discuss their responses.
Let them know they will now learn more about the work embassies do abroad.
Provide them with computers with Internet access and the following Web
sites where they may begin their research on embassies. Students may work
in pairs or small groups while conducting Internet research but should
complete their handouts individually. Alternatively, you may provide printouts
from the following Web sites or assign Internet research as homework,
as appropriate.
For finding
the Web sites of specific embassies worldwide and information about the
services they provide:
http://www.embassyworld.com/
http://travel.state.gov/links.html
http://usembassy.state.gov/
State Department:
Protocol for the Modern Diplomat
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/15742.pdf
Diplomacy
at Work: A U.S. Embassy
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/c6177.htm
For a print-friendly version with more information:
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/8710pf.htm
4. Discussion
After students have completed their handouts, discuss what they learned.
What surprised them? What do they think about the role played by American
embassies and their staffs internationally? What do they now think about
why American embassies are sometimes targets of terrorism? What should
the U.S. government do to protect Americans abroad?
Extension
Ideas
- Have your
students each select a specific nation and research U.S. diplomatic
relations with that country. The following questions should guide their
research. What have the major issues between our two nations been? What
roles have the U.S. embassy and ambassador there played? Look at the
Web site of the U.S. embassy in that country - what can you learn? How
would you characterize the relationship between the U.S. and this nation?
Students report on their findings and compare.
- Have students
learn more about Ambassador Paul Bremmer and the role he played during
the occupation of Iraq. Ask your students how his role differed from
that played by other U.S. ambassadors? Were there any historical precedents
for the role he played? Discuss.
National Standards:
McRel
Compendium of K-12 Standards Addressed:
Civics
Standard 22: Understands how the world is organized politically into
nation-states, how nation-states interact with one another, and issues
surrounding U.S. foreign policy
Level IV (Grade 9-12) Benchmarks:
2. Understands how and why the United States assumed the role of world
leader after World War II and what its current leadership role is in the
world
5. Understands the process by which United States foreign policy is made,
including the roles of federal agencies, domestic interest groups, the
media, and the public; and knows the ways in which Americans can influence
foreign policy
7. Understands the idea of the national interest and how it is used as
a criterion for shaping American foreign policy
9. Understands the current role of the United States in peacemaking and
peacekeeping
National
Council for the Social Studies Thematic Strands:
Culture
Power, Authority, and
Governance
Global Connections
Civic Ideals and Practices
Author Lara Maupin has a Master’s Degree in Secondary Social Studies Education
from George Washington University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology and
Philosophy from Mount Holyoke College.
To
find out more about opportunities to contribute to this site, contact Leah Clapman at extra@newshour.org. | 
