International Conflict and the Media
ACTIVITY 11: The Political Context
Introduction
Most Americans have little understanding of the intractable problems in the Middle East and thePersian Gulf. These three Readings give some political context to very difficult issues. There aremany important Middle Eastern problems however, that are not dealt with in these readings. Thepurpose of these readings is to give a brief political context for the second Persian Gulf War. It isimportant for students to see that the events of this war are closely connected with the events inthe Middle East and the fall of communism.
Student Objectives
- To understand that events in the Middle East are interconnected to other parts of the world.
- To understand that the Gulf War that broke out in 1990 was closely connected with priorevents, particularly the 10-year war between Iran and Iraq which began in 1980.
Time
1 class period
Materials
Copies of Reading 11A-C; one Reading for each group
Recommended Procedures
- Divide the class into three groups. Distribute copies of one Reading to each group (11A,11Band 11C). Ask the students to read and discuss the Reading in their group. After about 20minutes, ask each group to assign a spokesperson to report to the class on the developmentsthat relate to their reading.
- After the three reports, ask the students what were the relationships between events in Europeand those in the Middle East. The students should see that the Middle East has beeninterconnected with events in Europe for a long time (i.e., colonial relationships, World War I,World War II, the end of the Cold War, etc.).
- Ask the students what were the connections between the problems of the Middle East andthose of the Persian Gulf. The students should understand that the Arab-Israeli conflict hasinfluenced events in the Persian Gulf.
- Ask the students whom the Western nations and the Soviet Union supported during the PersianGulf War.
Return to the Contents page for International Conflict and the Media.
Go to Activity 12.
Go to the Bibliography.