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Lesson plans - conflict - preparation

Case-Specific Resources

"The Great Terror," THE NEW YORKER
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/ content/?020325fa_FACT1
This lengthy March 2002 article by Jeffrey Goldberg offers a powerful account of Iraq's use of chemical weapons against the Kurds of northern Iraq. Consider using p. 52-55 to introduce the topic. In these few pages, the survivors tell their stories themselves in graphic detail.

2002 State of the Union Address
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/ 2002/01/20020129-11.html
Particularly useful to the side arguing for having the capacity to develop and use biological and chemical weapons in the name of "defense" and "mutual deterrence." Draw students' attention to the area of the speech beginning with: "Iraq continues to flaunt its hostility toward America and to support terror."

"Remember Halabja," Salon.com, 1998 http://www.salon.com/col/hitc/1998/03/nc_02hitc2.html
A provocative piece by Christopher Hitchens that gets at the question of whether the U.S. has responded adequately to the tragedy in Halabja. Also looks at the United States' blotchy history with Iraq, and how Iraq's status as ally and enemy has fluctuated over the past few decades.

General Background Resources

NTI: Proliferation and Use of Biological Weapons
http://www.nti.org/f_wmd411/f1a4_2.html
A simple primer from the Nuclear Threat Initiative on the definition, history, proliferation and use of biological weapons internationally, with links to various other articles, sites, etc.

NTI: Proliferation and Use of Chemical Weapons
http://www.nti.org/f_wmd411/f1b.html
Strategies for limiting the use of weapons of mass destruction that cover diplomatic measures to military measures. A great resource for the synthesis step.

PBS Frontline - Plague War
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/ shows/plague/etc/cron.html
A good timeline detailing the proliferation and use of biological and chemical weapons.

U.S. Policy Resources

"U.S. Germ Warfare Research Pushes Treaty Limits," THE NEW YORK TIMES
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/ featured_articles/20010905wednesday.html
This Sept. 5, 2001 article is an excellent introduction to the Controversy topic. It raises the essential questions regarding international standards and regulations for biological and chemical weapons.

Biological Weapons Convention
http://www.state.gov/www/global/arms/ treaties/bwc1.html#2
The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) of 1972 was an international treaty prohibiting the research, development, and production of offensive biological weapons. President Nixon submitted it to the Senate calling it "the first international agreement since World War II to provide for the actual elimination of an entire class of weapons from the arsenals of nations."

NTI: Mutual Deterrence
http://www.nti.org/f_wmd411/f1b6.html
A page-long definition and description of "mutual deterrence."

Materials

Teachers will need the following to prepare and implement this lesson: Internet access; a world map in the classroom; an understanding of the Academic Controversy process; copies of Student Handouts. If students do not have Internet access in the classroom, teachers will need to photocopy and prepare Resource Packets for students using materials from the Resources above. Teachers should select materials that are most appropriate for their students' reading level, and the packets should include a variety of different resources - for example, articles and essays, maps, graphs and other visuals, and primary documents. For the Resource Packets, teachers will want to include a number of selections from the "Case-Specific," and "General Background" sections of the Resources.

Students will need the following to complete this lesson: Resource Packets provided by their teachers; paper and pens; an understanding of the Academic Controversy process; copies of Student Handouts. Internet access in the classroom is a helpful resource, and if it's available, the teacher can assign more "investigative" research tasks.