Context, Culture, and Intelligence
**I would like the essay to be about The Pentagon Order to Plan for Escalation in Iraq, but I am open to any other suggestions for topics**
• You are the Chief Intelligence Advisor for a key decision-maker in the U.S. government, whom you must prepare for an upcoming engagement of vital importance (any objective – strategic, operational, or tactical, military or diplomatic, on any issue – is acceptable).
• No matter which type of issue you choose, it will have grand-strategic implications; mishandling it will result in mission failure, which is unacceptable. Getting this right is of the utmost importance.
• Remember your Principal is a proud and powerful person with decades of experience, but little practical knowledge of the specifics of this issue. So you will need to tell him everything he needs to know to accomplish his objectives without appearing too basic or elementary.
• You will need to consider not only the relevant cultural and historical features of our counterparts, but also the informational needs (and ego) of your Principal.
• Briefly define the issue, the objective, and focus the bulk of your analysis on how to engage the counterparts to meaningfully achieve the objective with the most sophisticated consideration of the operational environment possible.
• Describe the relevant features of your analysis regarding the materials discussed in class.
• Avoid the use of “I”, “we” “he” or “our” – opt instead to use terms such as “the author.” Your research paper is about a topic and IS NOT ABOUT YOU or your unsupported opinion. Writing the paper in the “third person” shows that you have taken a step back from the material and are writing objectively.
