U.S. National SecurityThe Clinton Era

The Dream of the 90s “The End of History”

(Fukyama 1989, 1992) “The dream of the 90’s” Two Trends:

Decreased wars, smaller militaries

Rise of humanitarian interventions

Globalization

President William J. Clinton Term: 1993-2001 Nickname: President

Inter-Bush Former Careers:

Political activist Law professor Attorney General of

Arkansas Governor of Arkansas President (3rd youngest)

Crises 1993: Somalia 1993-94: North Korea 1994: Rwanda 1994: Haiti 1998: US Embassy Bombings -

Kenya and Tanzania 1999: Kosovo 2000: Bombing of USS Cole Iraq (ongoing)

Operation Southern Watch: US entered Iraqi airspace >150,000 times 1991-2001, hitting Iraqi air defenses every six months or so

“Bystanders to Genocide” Samantha Power

Journalist, activist Adviser to the Obama

administration 2013: US Ambassador to

the UN Main point of the

article? Was not intervening in

Rwanda a mistake?

“Bystanders to Genocide” “The two tracks of events in Rwanda –

simultaneous war and genocide – confused policymakers who had scant prior understanding of the country. Atrocities are often carried out in places that are not commonly visited, where outside expertise is limited. When country-specific knowledge is lacking, foreign governments become all the more likely to employ faulty analogies and to ‘fight the last war.’”

“Bystanders to Genocide” “Because this is a story of nondecisions and

bureaucratic business as usual, few Americans are haunted by the memory of what they did in response to genocide in Rwanda.” (106)

Clinton gave his remarks in Kigali in 1998, said “never again”… “But the incentive structures within the U.S. government have not changed. Officials will suffer no sanction if they do nothing to curb atrocities. The national interest remains narrowly constructed to exclude stopping genocide.” (106)

“Bystanders to Genocide” Anthony Lake, top official in the Clinton

administration: “‘What’s so strange is that this didn’t become a “how did we screw this up?” issue until a couple of years later,’ he says. ‘The humanitarian-aid mission did not feel like a guilt mission.’” (107)

Political Science Boggle When I show the name of an article, you will have 1

minute to write down all of the concepts from class that the article illustrates.

At the end of 1 minute, members of your group will present 1 at a time.

The group member with the most unique answers wins the round. Unique answers only count if at least one other group

member acknowledges that the concept is correct.

Bystanders to GenocideSamantha Power

President Obama’s Address at the National

Defense UniversityMay 2013

Obama’s WayMichael Lewis

White House Structure and Decision Making:

Elaborating the Standard Model

Walcott and Hult

Policy Preferences and Bureaucratic Position:

The Case of the American Hostage Rescue Mission

Smith

The Falling ManTom Junod