Analyze OpEd Article

GUIDANCE/INSTRUCTIONS

Analyze the OpEd article and take the role of a key player in the national decision making

process (National Security Advisor, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, Director of

National Intelligence, Congress, think tank, interest group, lobby, or the President) and provide

courses of action (2-3 CoAs…Courses of Action) the US should take to address issues identified

in the OpEd article and in that region of the world.  The CoAs must include the 4 National

Interests (Security, Values, Prosperity, and International Order) and the 4 Instruments of

National Power (Diplomatic, Informational, Military, and Economic).  Write from the

perspective of your chosen key player emphasizing the strategic level actions the key player will

need to take to implement the CoAs.  Support with evidence from the readings—it is not merely

an opinion piece.  Use focused analysis using relevant concepts and specific examples from the

readings to support the thesis.

 

Key players:  National Security Advisor, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, Director of

National Intelligence, Congress, think tank, interest group, lobby, or the President

 

Instruments of National Power (IOPs):  Diplomatic, Informational, Military, or Economic

 

National Interests (2010 NSS, Section III):  Security, Values, Prosperity, and International

Order

 

–show how each suggested CoA will support specific US national interests (the reason ‘why’ we

are taking the actions); CoAs should cover all four US national interests

 

–CoAs should show how the instruments of national power (IOPs) will be employed (the

‘how’); limiting discussion to the most important 1-2 IOPs per CoA will be necessary to limit the

paper to 5,000 words

 

–CoAs should be something your key player can implement; show how the key player will

enforce/enact/encourage/recommend the CoAs for implementation in the national decision

making process

 

–include an analysis/discussion of the issues for the entire region of the identified country(ies)

and any neighboring relations in the context of the OpEd’s issues; how would the CoAs affect

other countries in the region? what about neighboring countries?

 

–CoAs should address the who, what, how, where and why; optimally a CoA would be able to

show support to all 4 National Interests, but that is not always feasible; at a minimum all 4

National Interests should be addressed by the CoAs presented in the paper but each CoA might

not address all 4 National Interests in a single CoA

 

COA #1 (the what)

– 1-4 National Interests (the why); make sure all 4 are covered at least once in the paper

– 1-2 Instruments of National Power (the how)

– analysis/discussion of the issues for the entire region (the where)

– how the key player will enforce/enact/encourage/recommend the CoAs for

implementation in the national decision making process (the who)

 

COA #2 (the what)

– 1-4 National Interests (the why); make sure all 4 are covered at least once in the paper

– 1-2 Instruments of National Power (the how)

– analysis/discussion of the issues for the entire region (the where)

– how the key player will enforce/enact/encourage/recommend the CoAs for

implementation in the national decision making process (the who)