Campaign News Digest

CAMPAIGNCAMPAIGN NEWSNEWS DIGESTDIGEST DECEMBER 2004 Arafat Dies; New Elections Set The African Union has stepped in to mediate the situation. It will be the first such effort by the AU YASIR ARAFAT, controversial leader of the in West Africa. Palestinian Liberation Organization and the first president of the Palestinian National Authority, died on November 11, at 75 years of age. New Secretary of State for Arafat, who was considered a terrorist by some, and Bush’s Second Term a hero and statesman by others, began his career AFTER WINNING the re-election earlier last month, running guns in the war against Israel in 1948. In President Bush will face serious challenges in his the late 1950s, while in Kuwait, he helped found second term. Not the least of which is a change in the Al Fatah movement, which would become the the top US foreign policy post, secretary of state. core of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. But Colin Powell announced his resignation last month. in 1988, he accepted a United Nations resolution President Bush immediately nominated National demanding recognition of Israel as a state and an Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice for the post, end to terrorism, and in 1993 he signed a peace though she has to be confirmed by the Senate. agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak The questions are, what kind of foreign policy Rabin. But after Mr. Rabin’s assassination by a changes is Bush expected to make in his second Jewish radical in 1995, the peace process faltered. term, and what kind of secretary of state is Rice Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia has going to be. Bush’s second term will be his last, in announced that elections for a new Palestinian accordance with Constitutional law. Some political president will be held by January 9, and has analysts argue that therefore Bush will want to appealed to the international community to help leave some kind of legacy, but few expect great restart the peace process. Until the elections, the changes in his policies. speaker of the parliament, Rawhi Fattouh, will As for Rice, many see her as very capable, but with serve as president. But there is a lot of guessing a much different style than Powell’s. She has been over who might be elected. Possible candidates seen by some as a business-like ‘executor of Bush’s range from experienced politicians like Nabil will,’ but others argue that she will now have to Shaath, current Palestinian foreign minister, to face ‘the moderating influences of Congress and Marwan Barghouti, a popular Palestinian leader of foreign leaders.’ the Intifada, who is in jail in Israel serving five consecutive life sentences. Mahmoud Abbas, current PLO leader and former prime minister, has NATO’s First Appearance at UN been nominated as Al Fatah’s official candidate. Security Council WHEN NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Riots, Violence in La Côte Scheffer addressed the UN Security Council on d’Ivoire November 11, it marked the first time that a NATO Secretary General had participated in a formal TEN DAYS of rioting followed violent exchanges Security Council session. between La Côte d’Ivoire government forces and the French military last month. Riots broke out after In his address, Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer the French destroyed four aircraft and three said that even though it was not NATO’s goal to helicopters of the Côte d’Ivoire air force, in become a ‘global policeman,’ NATO has expanded response to a raid by which killed nine French its assistance to the UN. Highlighting the soldiers. cooperation between the two organizations, he said, ‘Bosnia and Herzegovina is the most successful The West African country has been divided for proof of the effectiveness and potential of the several years now between rebel factions in the United Nations and NATO working together for north, and forces loyal to the government in the peace and stability.’ south. After a 2002 coup attempt by the northern rebel forces, France helped negotiate a peace treaty, Calabresi, Massimo; ‘Condi Gets Her Shot;’ Time; November 29, 2004. and the United Nations sent a peacekeeping mission ‘NATO Debut at UN Security Council;’ NATO Update; there. But the government of La Côte d’Ivoire has November 11, 2004. suspected France of sympathizing with rebel forces. This page has been downloaded from www.campaignmilitaryenglish.com. It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. Copyright  Macmillan Publishers Limited 2004. CAMPAIGNCAMPAIGN NEWSNEWS DIGESTDIGEST

This page has been downloaded from www.campaignmilitaryenglish.com. It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. Copyright  Macmillan Publishers Limited 2004. CAMPAIGN NEWS DIGEST DECEMBER 2004 Student Worksheet Task 1: pre-reading vocabulary Before reading the articles, match the underlined words in the first column with their closest synonyms in the second column. 1. to set a) to transport and sell something illegally 2. statesman b) a quick attack 3. to run c) to schedule 4. to falter d) to emphasise 5. to guess e) inheritance, heritage 6. raid f) political leader 7. to step in g) to move uncertainly 8. legacy h) to intervene 9. to highlight i) to speculate Task 2: comprehension check Answer the following questions True or False: 1. Arafat signed a peace treaty with Rabin in 1988. 2. One possible candidate for the Palestinian presidential elections is a prisoner. 3. Forces from La Côte d’Ivoire destroyed four French aircraft. 4. France arranged a coup attempt on the Ivorian government in 2002. 5. Rice will likely become the new US secretary of state. 6. Rice is well known for her arguments with Bush. 7. November 11 was the first anniversary of a NATO secretary general speaking to the UN Security Council. 8. NATO views Bosnia and Herzegovina as a positive example of cooperation between NATO and the UN. Task 3: discussion Choose one of the following topics, and be prepared to speak about it as fully as possible: 1. How do you think Arafat’s death will affect the Middle East peace process? 2. How do you thing events in the Ivory Coast have affected France’s negotiating ability there? What is the best course of action for conflict resolution? 3. How do you think Rice’s appointment to secretary of state will affect world politics? 4. Describe the term ‘global policeman.’ To what extent is NATO playing that role today? What about the UN? Do you think the two agencies should be more or less involved in global policing? Why? Task 4: writing The third article mentions that Bush might want to leave behind a ‘legacy’. Think of a famous historical figure who left a political legacy, and write an essay of no more than 300 words. Describe what kind of legacy the person left, and the positive and negative effects of their legacy.

This page has been downloaded from www.campaignmilitaryenglish.com. It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. Copyright  Macmillan Publishers Limited 2004. CAMPAIGN NEWS DIGEST DECEMBER 2004 Teacher’s Notes Task 1 1. to set c) to schedule 2. statesman f) political leader 3. to run a) to transport and sell something illegally 4. to falter g) to move uncertainly 5. to guess i) to speculate 6. raid b) a quick attack 7. to step in h) to intervene 8. legacy e) inheritance, heritage 9. to highlight d) to emphasise Task 2 1. F 2. T 3. F 4. F 5. T 6. F 7. F 8. T Task 3 Notice that these questions for the most part ask for the ‘how’ of the topic, not just the ‘what.’ Describing how something was done, or will happen, or should be done, is a much more difficult task linguistically than simply saying what was done, will be done, or should be done. It generally requires more grammatical control and deeper vocabulary knowledge. Do not let advanced students stay in comfortable terrain by simply describing the what; encourage them to explore the how and why as well. Topic 2 (La Côte d’Ivoire) can also be used as a role play. Depending on the size of your class, you can appoint representatives from the La Côte d’Ivoire, France, rebel forces, the African Union, and the UN. Have the students do some research on the situation before beginning the negotiation, and create a concrete agenda or list of things they would like to attain in the negotiations. Award them points for achieving concrete things on their agenda, and see who gets the most points. Task 4 You might want to take a couple of minutes to talk about what is meant by a political legacy. Elicit descriptions from the class. Ask them what types of things leaders do in order to leave a legacy, what concrete things do they leave behind? For more information, visit these websites: Arafat: www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1348450,00.html Ivory Coast: allafrica.com/cotedivoire/ Rice: www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101041129-785347,00.html NATO: www.nato.int/docu/update/2004/11-november/e1111b.htm

This page has been downloaded from www.campaignmilitaryenglish.com. It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. Copyright  Macmillan Publishers Limited 2004.