Website Spotlight: The War Behind Closed Doors

Website URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/iraq/

Welcome to one in a series of posts which spotlight quality websites that I use with my U.S. History survey course students at Azusa Pacific University to enrich the regular material in our learning modules.

In this post, I limit myself to those specific aspects of the website which I find fit particularly well within our face-to-face class sessions (each student is required to bring a laptop to class) or as the basis for the students' regularly-assigned written reactions.

++++++++++

I ask the students to work through the following links:
 
Introduction
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/iraq/etc/synopsis.html

Chronology: The Evolution of the Bush Doctrine
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/iraq/etc/cron.html

Interviews:

John Lewis Gaddis
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/iraq/interviews/gaddis.html

William Kristol
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/iraq/interviews/kristol.html

Richard Perle
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/iraq/interviews/perle.html

Kenneth Pollack
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/iraq/interviews/pollack.html

++++++++++

Concluding Note:

I hope you will use this blog post in conjunction with both the modules on my Learning Professor wiki and the numerous other posts in my Website Spotlight series.

1. The website spotlighted in this post fits within the following U.S. History survey course module on the wiki:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/Bush+43

2. The other blog posts in my Website Spotlight series--chronologically displayed by U.S. History survey course module-- can be found on this wiki page:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/WEBSITE+SPOTLIGHT 

Website Spotlight: Ambush in Mogadishu

Website URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ambush/

Introductory note:

Welcome to one in a series of posts which spotlight quality websites that I use with my U.S. History survey course students at Azusa Pacific University to enrich the regular material in our learning modules.

In this post, I limit myself to those specific aspects of the website which I find fit particularly well within our face-to-face class sessions (each student is required to bring a laptop to class) or as the basis for the students' regularly-assigned written reactions.

++++++++++

I ask the students to work through the following links:

Introduction
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ambush/etc/synopsis.html

"Did My Son Have to Die?"
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ambush/readings/joyce.html

Interviews with 6 of the Rangers [read all 6]
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ambush/rangers/

Firefight
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ambush/firefight/

++++++++++

Concluding Note:

I hope you will use this blog post in conjunction with both the modules on my Learning Professor wiki and the numerous other posts in my Website Spotlight series.

1. The website spotlighted in this post fits within the following U.S. History survey course module on the wiki:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/Clinton

2. The other blog posts in my Website Spotlight series--chronologically displayed by U.S. History survey course module-- can be found on this wiki page:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/WEBSITE+SPOTLIGHT 

Website Spotlight: Clinton Years

Website URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/

Introductory Note:

Welcome to one in a series of posts which spotlight quality websites that I use with my U.S. History survey course students at Azusa Pacific University to enrich the regular material in our learning modules.

In this post, I limit myself to those specific aspects of the website which I find fit particularly well within our face-to-face class sessions (each student is required to bring a laptop to class) or as the basis for the students' regularly-assigned written reactions.

++++++++++

I ask the students to work through the following links:

I. 1992 Campaign
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/chapters/1.html

Read the entire screen (which includes these subtitles):

Love at First Sight
The Campaign Unravels
The Comeback Kid
The Mother of All Campaigners
Buy One, Get One Free
We Are Gonna Win

II. 1993-1994 Promise/Defeat
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/chapters/3.html

Read the portion entitled "A Pivotal Budget Decision"

III. 1995-1996 Defeat/Victory
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/chapters/4.html

Read the portion entitled "Standing His Ground - 1995 Government Shutdown"

IV. 1997-1998 Renewal/Impeachment
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/chapters/5.html

Read the entire screen (which includes these subtitles):

Repairing the Breach
The President and the Intern
Taking Care of Business
Speaking his Mind
Impeachment

V. Interviews
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/interviews/

Of the 20 interviews available, read these:

Paul Begala
James Carville
Rahm Emanuel
David Gergen
Dick Morris
Dee Dee Myers
Leon Panetta
George Stephanopoulos

VI. Anecdotes
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/anecdotes/

Concentrate on these 4:

"The Phone Call" (Dick Morris)
"The Handshake" (Anthony Lake)
"The Kids" (Robert Reich)
"Escape" (Robert Reich)

++++++++++

Concluding Note:

I hope you will use this blog post in conjunction with both the modules on my Learning Professor wiki and the numerous other posts in my Website Spotlight series.

1. The website spotlighted in this post fits within the following U.S. History survey course module on the wiki:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/Clinton

2. The other blog posts in my Website Spotlight series--chronologically displayed by U.S. History survey course module-- can be found on this wiki page:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/WEBSITE+SPOTLIGHT 

Website Spotlight: Obama's War

Website URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/obamaswar/

Introductory Note:

Welcome to one in a series of posts which spotlight quality websites that I use with my U.S. History survey course students at Azusa Pacific University to enrich the regular material in our learning modules.

In this post, I limit myself to those specific aspects of the website which I find fit particularly well within our face-to-face class sessions (each student is required to bring a laptop to class) or as the basis for the students' regularly-assigned written reactions.

++++++++++

I ask the students to work through the following links:

I. Interviews
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/obamaswar/interviews/

Concentrate on these:

Col. Andrew Bacevich
Richard Holbrooke
Gen. Stanley McChrystal
Lt. Col. John Nagl
Anne Patterson

II. Analysis
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/obamaswar/themes/

Can We Win This?
Afghanistan and the Counterinsurgency War
Pakistan -- The Hardest Problem of All
The Push into Helmand Province
Obama's New Strategy (March 2009)

III. Chronology
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/obamaswar/etc/cron.html

IV. Map
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/obamaswar/etc/map.html

V. Readings (A bit dated--2009--but well done)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/obamaswar/etc/links.html

"Armed Social Work: The Marines New Brief"
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/terri-judd-armed-social-work-the-marines-new-brief-1783875.html

++++++++++

Concluding Note:

I hope you will use this blog post in conjunction with both the modules on my Learning Professor wiki and the numerous other posts in my Website Spotlight series.

1. The website spotlighted in this post fits within the following U.S. History survey course module on the wiki:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/Obama

2. The other blog posts in my Website Spotlight series--chronologically displayed by U.S. History survey course module-- can be found on this wiki page:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/WEBSITE+SPOTLIGHT 

Website Spotlight: Bush's War

Website URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/bushswar/

Introductory Note:

Welcome to one in a series of posts which spotlight quality websites that I use with my U.S. History survey course students at Azusa Pacific University to enrich the regular material in our learning modules.

In this post, I limit myself to those specific aspects of the website which I find fit particularly well within our face-to-face class sessions (each student is required to bring a laptop to class) or as the basis for the students' regularly-assigned written reactions.

++++++++++

I ask the students to work through the following links:

I. Annotated Video Timeline (175 video clips)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/bushswar/cron/

With each of the 175 video clips, there are sections entitled "Related Video," Related Pages," and "Interviews" associated with that clip. Those links sometimes take you to other FRONTLINE videos than Bush's War itself.

Click on 10 that interest you the most.

II. Extended Interviews
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/bushswar/interviews/all.html

Here are some of the ones you should look at:

L. Paul Bremer
John Burns
Ahmad Chalabi
Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Dick Cheney
James Dobbins
Jay Garner
Michael Gordon
Frederick Kagan
Hamid Karzai
Jack Keane
Andrew Krepinevich
Douglas MacGregor
H.R. McMaster
David Petraeus
Tom Ricks
John Yoo

III. Battlefield Stories
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/bushswar/stories/

Here are some of the ones you should read:

1. Bad Voodoo's War
2. Rules of Engagement
3. A Company of Soldiers: Innovating & Improvising

IV. Timeline: The Evolution of the Bush Doctrine
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/iraq/etc/cron.html

V. Map: The Insurgency
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/insurgency/map/

VI. Reporter's Dispatches

Baghdad From a Bulletproof Window
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/warriors/report/

A Visit to an Iraqi Police Station
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gangsofiraq/notebooks/smith.html

++++++++++

Concluding Note:

I hope you will use this blog post in conjunction with both the modules on my Learning Professor wiki and the numerous other posts in my Website Spotlight series.

1. The website spotlighted in this post fits within the following U.S. History survey course module on the wiki:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/Bush+43

2. The other blog posts in my Website Spotlight series--chronologically displayed by U.S. History survey course module-- can be found on this wiki page:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/WEBSITE+SPOTLIGHT 

Website Spotlight: Endgame

Website URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/endgame/

Introductory Note:

Welcome to one in a series of posts which spotlight quality websites that I use with my U.S. History survey course students at Azusa Pacific University to enrich the regular material in our learning modules.

In this post, I limit myself to those specific aspects of the website which I find fit particularly well within our face-to-face class sessions (each student is required to bring a laptop to class) or as the basis for the students' regularly-assigned written reactions.

++++++++++

I ask the students to work through the following links:

I. Introduction
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/endgame/etc/synopsis.html

II. Interviews:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/endgame/interviews/

Michael Gordon
Frederick Kagan
Gen. Jack Keane
Col. H.R. McMaster
Thomas Ricks

III. Timeline:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/endgame/cron/

This section is incredible, providing a blended chronology of what was being done simultaneously in Washington and in Iraq. If a document or interview is referred to, you just click to bring it up.

IV. Themes
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/endgame/themes/

Bottom Line, What Went Wrong?
Rumsfeld and the Generals
General Petraeus and the New Team
Can the Surge Work?
The Colonels' War

++++++++++

Concluding Note:

I hope you will use this blog post in conjunction with both the modules on my Learning Professor wiki and the numerous other posts in my Website Spotlight series.

1. The website spotlighted in this post fits within the following U.S. History survey course module on the wiki
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/Bush+43

2. The other blog posts in my Website Spotlight series--chronologically displayed by U.S. History survey course module-- can be found on this wiki page:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/WEBSITE+SPOTLIGHT 

Website Spotlight: Invasion of Iraq

Website URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/invasion/

Introductory Note:

Welcome to one in a series of posts which spotlight quality websites that I use with my U.S. History survey course students at Azusa Pacific University to enrich the regular material in our learning modules.

In this post, I limit myself to those specific aspects of the website which I find fit particularly well within our face-to-face class sessions (each student is required to bring a laptop to class) or as the basis for the students' regularly-assigned written reactions.

++++++++++

I ask the students to work through the following links:

I. Interviews

Thomas Ricks
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/invasion/interviews/ricks.html

Lt. General David Mckiernan
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/invasion/interviews/mckiernan.html

Lt. Col. Marcone
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/invasion/interviews/marcone.html

Colonel David Perkins
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/invasion/interviews/perkins.html

II. Chronology
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/invasion/cron/

++++++++++

Concluding Note:

I hope you will use this blog post in conjunction with both the modules on my Learning Professor wiki and the numerous other posts in my Website Spotlight series.

1. The website spotlighted in this post fits within the following U.S. History survey course module on the wiki:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/Bush+43

2. The other blog posts in my Website Spotlight series--chronologically displayed by U.S. History survey course module-- can be found on this wiki page:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/WEBSITE+SPOTLIGHT

Website Spotlight: Gulf War

Website URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/

Introductory Note:

Welcome to one in a series of posts which spotlight a quality website that I use with my U.S. History survey course students at Azusa Pacific University to enrich the regular material in our learning modules.

In this post, I limit myself to those specific aspects of the website which I find fit particularly well within our face-to-face class sessions (each student is required to bring a laptop to class) or as the basis for the students' regularly-assigned written reactions.
++++++++++

Introduction
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/etc/synopsis.html

Oral History: Interviews with key persons:

Colin Powell, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/oral/powell/1.html

Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/oral/cheney/1.html

General Norman Schwarzkopf
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/oral/schwarzkopf/1.html

Map: Overview of the Middle East
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/maps/1.html

Map: Kuwaiti Theater
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/maps/2.html

Weapons and Technology (click on the ones that interest you)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/weapons/

War Story: U.S. female pilot is captured by the Iraqis
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/war/5.html

War Story: British Commando Andy McNab
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/war/2.html

++++++++++++++++
Concluding Note:

I hope you will use this blog post in conjunction with both the modules on my Learning Professor wiki and the numerous other posts in my Website Spotlight series.

1. The website spotlighted in this post fits within the following U.S. History survey course module on the wiki:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/Bush+41

2. The other blog posts in my Website Spotlight series--chronologically displayed by U.S. History survey course module-- can be found on this wiki page:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/WEBSITE+SPOTLIGHT