1. Former President Obama made the draw-down of active US military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan a centerpiece of his national policy.  Critics maintain he simply transitioned open war to covert war through the use of drone strikes.  To be successful, drone operations require an extremely high level of actionable intelligence.  Critics assert the drain on intelligence resources for drone warfare degrades the quality of intelligence generation elsewhere.  Do you believe these are valid criticisms or political posturing?  Why or why not?

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2. Communication between government and the media during a crisis has often been described as a love-hate relationship.  The idea that “publicity is the oxygen of terrorist groups” raises the question of how much terrorists influence media coverage.   It has also been stated that “the media and terrorists have a symbiotic relationship; they mutually depend on each other and the terrorists manipulate the media to further their propaganda war.”  The constant repetition of the videos of the airliners striking the twin towers is cited as an example of the freedom of the press advancing the cause of terrorists.  It led to a movement to prohibit showing of the videos by some.  Are the criticisms valid?  Is the media a tool of terrorists?

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