DOCSLIB.ORG

Strategic Personality and the Effectiveness of Nuclear Deterrence: Deterring Iraq and Iran

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Strategic Personality and the Effectiveness of Nuclear Deterrence: Deterring Iraq and Iran INSTITUTE FOR DEFENSE ANALYSES DEFENSE THREAT REDUCTION AGENCY Strategic Personality and the Effectiveness of Nuclear Deterrence: Deterring Iraq and Iran Caroline F. Ziemke September 2001 Approved for public release; distribution unlimited. IDA Paper P-3658 Log: H 01-001983 SPONSOR: Defense Threat Reduction Agency Dr. Jay Davis, Director Advanced Systems and Concepts Office Dr. Randall S. Murch, Director BACKGROUND: The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) was founded in 1998 to integrate and focus the capabilities of the Department of Defense (DoD) that address the weapons of mass destruction threat. To assist the Agency in its primary mission, the Advanced Systems and Concepts Office (ASCO) develops and maintains an evolving analytical vision of necessary and sufficient capabilities to protect United States and Allied forces and citizens from WMD attack. ASCO is also charged by DoD and by the U.S. Government generally to identify gaps in these capabilities and initiate programs to fill them. It also provides supprt to the Threat Reduction Advisory Committee (TRAC), and its Panels, with timely, high quality research. ASCO ANALYTICAL SUPPORT: The Institute for Defense Analyses has provided analytical support to DTRA since the latter’s inception through a series of projects on chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons issues. This work was performed for DTRA under contract DASW01 98 C 0067, Task DC-6-1990. SUPERVISING PROJECT OFFICER: Dr. Anthony Fainberg, Chief, Advanced Concepts and Technologies Division, ASCO, DTRA, (703) 767-5709. © 2001 INSTITUTE FOR DEFENSE ANALYSES: 1801 N. Beauregard Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22311-1772. Telephone: (703) 845-2000. Project Coordinator: Dr. Brad Roberts, Research Staff Member, (703) 845-2489. REPORT: This material may be reproduced by or for the U.S. Government pursuant to the copyright license under the clause at DFARS 252.227-7013 (NOV 95). The publication of this document does not indicate endorsement by the Department of Defense, nor should the contents be construed as reflecting the official position of the sponsoring agency. INSTITUTE FOR DEFENSE ANALYSES IDA Paper P-3658 Strategic Personality and the Effectiveness of Nuclear Deterrence: Deterring Iraq and Iran Caroline F. Ziemke PREFACE This study was conducted under the sponsorship of the Advanced Systems and Concepts Office (ASCO) of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). It is a continuation of a study published by IDA and DTRA/ASCO in November 2000, entitled “Strategic Personality and the Effectiveness of Nuclear Deterrence” (IDA Document D-2537). The author is indebted to the colleagues who contributed time and intellectual energy to this work. Dr. Tony Fainberg and Dr. William Durch of DTRA collaborated to develop the scenarios that constitute the core of this analysis and helped implement, refine, and critique the study at all stages of its development. The comments, corrections, and suggestions of Dr. Philippe Loustaunau and Dr. Kongdan Oh Hassig – both of the Strategy, Forces, and Resources Division of IDA – and members of the DTRA / ASCO staff have resulted in a product with more coherence and, the author hopes, fewer errors of fact and logic. Dr. Victor Utgoff, Deputy Director of SFRD, has been a mentor, collaborator, sounding board, and cheerleader for the Strategic Personality methodology since its inception (for which he deserves much of the credit and the author’s undying gratitude). General Larry Welch, President of IDA, and Mr. Michael Leonard, Director of SFRD, have provided moral, intellectual, and administrative support throughout the five years’ gestation of this methodology. Ms. Eileen Doherty and Ms. Barbara Varvaglione provided editorial and production guidance and support. Responsibility for any inaccuracies, omissions, or other lapses in judgment is, of course, the author’s alone. iii CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................... ES-1 I. NUCLEAR DETERRENCE AND THREAT REDUCTION IN THE ERA OF THE “KOSOVO SYNDROME”........................................................ 1 A. Strategic Personality and the Effectiveness of Nuclear Deterrence............ 4 B. Deterring Iran and Iraq................................................................................ 5 II. DETERRING IRAQ ............................................................................................... 9 A. Iraq’s Strategic Personality......................................................................... 9 1. The Cradle of Civilization ..................................................................... 9 2. The Abbasid Caliphate........................................................................... 11 3. From Gilgamesh, Hammurapi, and Nebuchadrezzar to Saddam Hussein................................................................................. 14 4. Iraq’s Introverted, Sensing, Thinking Strategic Personality.................. 19 5. Iraq’s Strategic Outlook......................................................................... 24 B. The Scenario ............................................................................................... 25 1. Historical Background .......................................................................... 25 2. The Scenario .......................................................................................... 28 3. Balance of Ultimate Concerns and Strategic Personalities.................... 30 C. Deterring Iraq.............................................................................................. 39 1. An Iraqi Strategic Calculus.................................................................... 40 2. Forging an Effective Deterrent .............................................................. 42 3. Immediate and Effective Deterrence ..................................................... 45 III. DETERRING IRAN ............................................................................................... 49 A. Iran’s Strategic Personality......................................................................... 49 1. The Cradle of Civilization ..................................................................... 49 2. Iran’s Islamic Identity: Shi’ism and Islamic Revolution ....................... 52 3. Iran’s Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling Strategic Personality.................... 59 4. Iran’s Strategic Outlook......................................................................... 63 B. The Scenario ............................................................................................... 64 1. Historical Background ........................................................................... 64 2. The Scenario .......................................................................................... 67 3. The Balance of Ultimate Concerns and Strategic Personalities............. 71 C. Deterring Iran.............................................................................................. 83 1. An Iranian Strategic Calculus ................................................................ 84 2. Forging an Effective Deterrent .............................................................. 85 3. Immediate and Extended Deterrence..................................................... 88 v IV. CONCLUSIONS.................................................................................................... 93 A. Threats to “Challengers’ ” Ultimate Concerns ........................................... 93 1. Introverted States ................................................................................... 93 2. Sensing Iraq and Intuitive Iran............................................................... 96 3. Thinking Iraq and Feeling Iran .............................................................. 97 B. The Utility of Nuclear Weapons................................................................. 99 C. Deterring Iraq and Iran: Countering Potential “Clashes of Strategic Personality ................................................................................... 102 1. Extroverted United States and Introverted Challengers and Allies ....... 102 2. Sensing Iraq versus Intuitive United States ........................................... 103 3. Intuitive Iran versus Intuitive United States .......................................... 104 4. Thinking Iraq versus Feeling United States........................................... 105 5. Feeling Iran versus Feeling United States ............................................. 106 D. Threat Reductions without the Kosovo Syndrome? ................................... 106 Appendix A: The Strategic Personality Types........................................................ A-1 Appendix B: Strategic Personality and Ultimate Concerns: The Introverted Types....................................................................................... B-1 Appendix C: The Strategic Personality Types and Exemplar States...................... C-1 vi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The likelihood of some future rogue state launching an ICBM in what would certainly be a suicidal act of vengeance or retaliation against the United States is, if not altogether impossible, then at least vanishingly small. The real reason the United States must keep nonproliferation and nuclear deterrence at the very center of its national security strategy is the imperative to defend its oldest and most cherished Ultimate Concern: maintaining the global strategic, economic, and diplomatic freedom of action that
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Irak: Attentats Et Reconstruction Politique
    INSTITUT URD DE PARIS Bulletin de liaison et d'information I N°220-221 I JUILLET -AOUT 2003 . " La publication de ce Bulletin bénéficie de subventions du Ministère français des Affaires étrangères (DCCID) et du Fonds d'action et de soutien pour l'intégration et la lutte contre les discriminations (FAS/LD) Ce bulletin paraît en français et anglais Prix au numéro: France: 6 € - Etranger: 7,5 € Abonnement annuel (12 numéros) France: 60 € - Etranger: 75 € Périodique mensuel Directeur de la publication: Mohamad HASSAN Numéro de la Commission Paritaire: 659 13 A.S. ISBN 0761 1285 INSTITUT KURDE, 106, rue La Fayette - 75010 PARIS Tél. : 01- 48 24 64 64 - Fax: 01- 48 24 64 66 www.fikp.org E-mail: [email protected] Sommaire: • IRAK: ATTENTATS ET RECONSTRUCTION POLITIQUE. • PÉRIPLE DIPLOMATIQUE DE N. BARZANI ET J. TAlABANI , , • CRISE ENTRE WASHINGTON ET ANKARA : L'ARMEE AMERICAINE ARRÊTE À SOUlEIMANIEH ONZE MILITAIRES TURCS Ii SOUPÇONNÉS DE COMPLOT" CONTRE lE GOUVERNEUR KURDE DE KIRKOUK • CINQUIÈME AUDIENCE DU PROCÈS DE lEYlA ZANA ET DE SES . COllÈGUES: lES OBSERVATEURS DÉNONCENT lA Ii PARODIE DE JUSTICf" • DAMAS: lES ASSOCIATIONS DES DROITS DE L'HOMME lOCALES DÉNONCENT lES ARRESTATIONS DES KURDES , . • STRASBpURG : lA TURQUIE CONDAMNEE PAR lA COUR EUROPEENNE DES DROITS DE L'HOMME • AINSI QUE ... • lU DANS lA PRESSE TURQUE IRAK: à Saddam Hussein, des « islamistes sans frontières» en djihad contre les ATTENTATS ET RECONSTRUCTION POLITIQUE occidentaux, des agents des services de renseignement iranien (Italaat) agissant seuls ou de concert, sont tenus pour responsables de ces 'ÉTÉ 2003 aura été marqué municipaux, gouverneurs) et la actions qui ne visent pas que les dans l'Irak d'après Saddam remise en état des écoles, des Américains.
    [Show full text]
  • How Generations Feel When Brands Take a Stand
    How Generations Feel When Brands Take a Stand ©Copyright 2018 Quester The Set-Up Quester is in the process of conducting a new joint project with 747 Insights and Collaborata: GENERATION NATION 2019: Defining America’s Gen Z, Millennials, Generation X and Boomers This study provides a comparison of attitudes and behaviors across these four cohorts, to expand upon current intelligence and cut to the core of what it means to be an American in 2019. Aided by technology, media, politics, and more, we can see Generational values shifting at a faster pace than we’ve ever seen before. One of the discussion areas centered around perceptions of whether brands should take a stand on social and political issues … So Let’s Recap Generation Nation - Should Brands Take a Stand? GEN Z MILLENNIALS They probably shouldn’t. It depends. It could cause tension, and employees may not Maybe … if it’s not too agree. extreme But it could be okay if it’s not offensive and they really believe in it. GEN X BOOMERS It’s not really my It’s their right, but they business – they can if might lose business. they want to. They probably shouldn’t do it. Unless But it’s probably not for it’s something really the right reasons. non-controversial. Generation Nation Brand Completion So we asked all of those questions about general brand perspective and Brand thoughts! finished all of the discussions. The Best Laid Plans … And then— one week later … The Reaction So we went back in and talked to about 100 people in each generation.
    [Show full text]
  • What Makes a Leader Effective? U.S. Boomers, Xers, and Millennials Weigh In
    WHITE PAPER - News and Insight for Learning, Development and HR Leaders What Makes a Leader Effective? U.S. Boomers, Xers, and Millennials Weigh In By Jennifer J. Deal, Sarah Stawiski, William A. Gentry, and Kristin L. Cullen Contents Introduction 3 Generational Cohorts 4 Survey Results: 5 What Makes a Leader Effective? Developing Leaders for All Generations 11 Conclusion 12 About the Research 13 Endnotes 13 About the Authors 14 Introduction Conventional wisdom suggests Generations at Work in the USA that Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials in the United States are Most of the workforce in the U.S. is made up of three fundamentally different from one generations: Baby Boomers (born 1946 to 1963), Gen Xers another. And certainly there are (born 1964 to 1979), and Millennials (born after 1980).1,2,3 real differences—including the The post-war generation was called the Baby Boom way we dress, the way we consume because of the rapid increase in birth rate at the end of information, the music we listen World War II. Baby Boomers weren’t born when WWII to, and ideas about appropriate ended, but experienced post-war prosperity that resulted personal behavior. in middle-class Americans having access to utilities such Many organizational leaders are as central heating, running hot water, household anticipating a substantial upheaval appliances, televisions, and automobiles. Though during in work culture and expectations as their youth Baby Boomers were thought of as being more Millennials enter the workforce anti-authority,4 currently they are typically characterized and more Baby Boomers retire. But as materialistic workaholics who are at the top of the will there need to be wholesale authority structure, and are focused on their own personal changes in how leaders need to fulfillment, acquisition of things, status, and authority.5,6,7 behave to be effective? Generation X is the cohort born in the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • A Influência Dos Ulemás Xiitas Nas Transformações
    UNIVERSIDADE DE SÃO PAULO FACULDADE DE FILOSOFIA, LETRAS E CIÊNCIAS HUMANAS DEPARTAMENTO DE HISTÓRIA PROGRAMA DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM HISTÓRIA SOCIAL RENATO JOSÉ DA COSTA A INFLUÊNCIA DOS ULEMÁS XIITAS NAS TRANSFORMAÇÕES POLÍTICAS OCORRIDAS NO IRÃ DURANTE O SÉCULO XX – O WILAYAT AL-FAQIH E O PRAGMATISMO DOS AIATOLÁS COMO INVIABILIZADORES NA EXPANSÃO DA REVOLUÇÃO IRANIANA Versão Corrigida São Paulo 2013 1 RENATO JOSÉ DA COSTA A INFLUÊNCIA DOS ULEMÁS XIITAS NAS TRANSFORMAÇÕES POLÍTICAS OCORRIDAS NO IRÃ DURANTE O SÉCULO XX – O WILAYAT AL-FAQIH E O PRAGMATISMO DOS AIATOLÁS COMO INVIABILIZADORES NA EXPANSÃO DA REVOLUÇÃO IRANIANA Tese de doutorado apresentada à Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH) da Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Programa de Pós-graduação stricto sensu em História Social, como exigência parcial para a obtenção do título de Doutor em Ciências Sociais. Orientador: Prof. Dr. Jorge Luís da Silva Grespan Coorientador: Prof. Dr. Paulo Daniel Elias Farah Versão Corrigida São Paulo 2013 Catalogação da Publicação Serviço de Documentação Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas da Universidade de São Paulo Costa, Renato José da. A influência dos ulemás xiitas nas transformações políticas ocorridas no Irã durante o século XX: o wilayat al-faqih e o pragmatismo dos aiatolás como inviabilizadores na expansão da Revolução Iraniana / Renato José da Costa. – São Paulo: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas da Universidade de São Paulo, 2013. xvii, 292f. : 50il.; 29,7 cm. Orientadores: Jorge Luís da Silva Grespan e Paulo Daniel Elias Farah. Tese (doutorado) – Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas, Departamento de História Social, 2013.
    [Show full text]
  • Life As a Baby Boomer
    Chapter 6 Life as a Baby Boomer Red Diaper Baby At the outset of the classic 60’s film Yellow Submarine, a cartoon Ringo Starr, heads down, hands in his pockets, walking across the screen muttering over and over to himself in a sad resigned voice nothing ever happens to me … nothing ever happens to me… That was me. At least it was a part of me that I was conscious of and I distinctly remember it even now, many years since. It was before the Beatles, including Ringo, the 1950’s had ended and the sixties had literally begun, 1960, 1961,1962, and I and was getting impatient to get on with it, go to high school. The huge fins growing out of ever-longer and longer automobiles were becoming passé, and the custom of buying a brand-new car every single year, trading in of course the old one, was being replaced by an exodus to the suburbs where cars properly belonged. A decade before, the automobile had already pushed out the trolleys in Newark, where I grew up, so that I only knew their obsolete tracks, the way our 1952 green Desoto skidded when we drove on Clinton Avenue. I was born in 1949 the quintessential early baby boomer, now entering the early years of the baby boomers’ grand entry into Medicare and Social Security. It will go on for the next several decades until there are no more to enter, no one left alive born before 1965. One of my first memories is sitting in front of a TV at a neighbor’s house, the one on my block among the first to buy a TV set, it being heavily marketed immediately in the New York area.
    [Show full text]
  • PATTERNS of DISCONTENT: WILL HISTORY REPEAT in IRAN? by Michael Rubin and Patrick Clawson *
    PATTERNS OF DISCONTENT: WILL HISTORY REPEAT IN IRAN? By Michael Rubin and Patrick Clawson * While international attention is focused on Iran’s nuclear program and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s bombast, Iranian society itself is facing turbulent times. Increasingly, patterns are re-emerging that mirror events in the years before the Islamic revolution. These include political disillusionment, domestic protest, government failure to match public expectations of economic success, and labor unrest. Nevertheless, the Islamic regime has learned the lessons of the past and is determined not to repeat them, even as political discord crescendos. This essay is derived from the authors’ recent book, Eternal Iran: Continuity and Chaos (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2005). Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s victory in Iran’s Ahmadinejad’s 2003 election as mayor of 2005 Presidential elections shocked both Tehran. Iranians and the West. “Winner in Iran calls The election of Ahmadinejad was only the for Unity; Reformists Reel,” headlined The latest in a series of surprises that Iran has New York Times.1 Most Western produced in recent decades. Indeed, a review governments assumed that former President of Iran's history over the last thirty years and Expediency Council chairman Ali Akbar suggests that Iran excels at surprising its own Hashemi Rafsanjani would win. 2 Many people and the world. This does not mean academics also were surprised. Few paid any that history will be repeated. But it is worth heed to the former blacksmith’s son who rose bearing in mind that nearly three decades to become mayor of Tehran. Brown after the shah's grip on power began to falter, University anthropologist William O.
    [Show full text]
  • Westminsterresearch
    WestminsterResearch http://www.westminster.ac.uk/westminsterresearch Sudanese literature in English translation: an analytical study of the translation with a historical introduction to the literature. Thorraya Soghayroon School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Languages This is an electronic version of a PhD thesis awarded by the University of Westminster. © The Author, 2010. This is an exact reproduction of the paper copy held by the University of Westminster library. The WestminsterResearch online digital archive at the University of Westminster aims to make the research output of the University available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the authors and/or copyright owners. Users are permitted to download and/or print one copy for non-commercial private study or research. Further distribution and any use of material from within this archive for profit-making enterprises or for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. Whilst further distribution of specific materials from within this archive is forbidden, you may freely distribute the URL of WestminsterResearch: (http://westminsterresearch.wmin.ac.uk/). In case of abuse or copyright appearing without permission e-mail [email protected] Sudanese Literature in English Translation: An Analytical Study of the Translation with a Historical Introduction to the Literature Thorraya Soghayroon A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements of the University of Westminster for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy July 2010 Abstract This thesis sets out to record, analyze, and assess modern Sudanese literature within its historical, cultural, and political context. It highlights the diversity and distinctiveness of that literature, the wide range of its themes, and the resilience and complex background of its major practitioners.
    [Show full text]
  • BASRA : ITS HISTORY, CULTURE and HERITAGE Basra Its History, Culture and Heritage
    BASRA : ITS HISTORY, CULTURE AND HERITAGE CULTURE : ITS HISTORY, BASRA ITS HISTORY, CULTURE AND HERITAGE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONFERENCE CELEBRATING THE OPENING OF THE BASRAH MUSEUM, SEPTEMBER 28–29, 2016 Edited by Paul Collins Edited by Paul Collins BASRA ITS HISTORY, CULTURE AND HERITAGE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONFERENCE CELEBRATING THE OPENING OF THE BASRAH MUSEUM, SEPTEMBER 28–29, 2016 Edited by Paul Collins © BRITISH INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF IRAQ 2019 ISBN 978-0-903472-36-4 Typeset and printed in the United Kingdom by Henry Ling Limited, at the Dorset Press, Dorchester, DT1 1HD CONTENTS Figures...................................................................................................................................v Contributors ........................................................................................................................vii Introduction ELEANOR ROBSON .......................................................................................................1 The Mesopotamian Marshlands (Al-Ahwār) in the Past and Today FRANCO D’AGOSTINO AND LICIA ROMANO ...................................................................7 From Basra to Cambridge and Back NAWRAST SABAH AND KELCY DAVENPORT ..................................................................13 A Reserve of Freedom: Remarks on the Time Visualisation for the Historical Maps ALEXEI JANKOWSKI ...................................................................................................19 The Pallakottas Canal, the Sealand, and Alexander STEPHANIE
    [Show full text]
  • Controversy 11
    Controversy 11 AGING BOOMERS Boom or Bust? WHO ARE THE BOOMERS? When you hear the word “Boomer,” what do you think of? Who are the Boomers, actually? It’s important to give an answer to both questions. On the one hand, we need to consider the subjective associations we have with the word “Boomer.” On the other hand, we need to consider verifiable facts. The term “Boomer” easily evokes stereotypes. Stereotypes are con- veyed by many of the names given to Boomers over the years, labels such as “The Pepsi Generation,” “The Me Generation,” or “The Sixties Generation.” These phrases convey con- sumerism, narcissism, rebellion, and openness to change. Even the original term “Baby Boomer” doesn’t seem quite right because people in this generation aren’t babies anymore. The oldest of the Boomers are already receiving Social Security benefits, and many others are thinking seriously about retirement. Some facts are clear. There were 77 million people born in the United States between the years 1946 and 1964, and this group of people is generally referred to as the generation of the Boomers. We can see this group graphically displayed as a bulge in the population pyramid featured here. As the Boomer generation moves through the life course, as they grow older, this demographic fact will have big implications over the coming decades. But here we should pause to consider several interrelated questions. What does the term “generation” really mean? Do all individuals who fit into this demographic group form a single “generation”? Are there traits they share in common? Conversely, are there differences among members of the Boomer generation? This is but one set of questions we need to consider.
    [Show full text]
  • BETWEEN CREATION and CRISIS: SOVIET MASCULINITIES, CONSUMPTION, and BODIES AFTER STALIN by Brandon Gray Miller a DISSERTATION Su
    BETWEEN CREATION AND CRISIS: SOVIET MASCULINITIES, CONSUMPTION, AND BODIES AFTER STALIN By Brandon Gray Miller A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of History – Doctor of Philosophy 2013 ABSTRACT BETWEEN CREATION AND CRISIS: SOVIET MASCULINITIES, CONSUMPTION, AND BODIES AFTER STALIN By Brandon Gray Miller The Soviet Union of the 1950s and 1960s existed in a transitional state, emerging recently from postwar reconstruction and on a path toward increasing urbanity, consumer provisioning, and technological might. Modernizing rhetoric emphasized not only these spatial and material transformations, but also the promise of full-fledged communism’s looming arrival. This transformational ethos necessitated a renewal of direct attempts to remold humanity. Gender equality—or, at the very least, removing bourgeois strictures on women—remained a partially unfulfilled promise. Technological advances and the development of Soviet industrial capacity offered a new means of profoundly altering the lives of Soviet men and women. As other scholars have noted, Soviet women were the most obvious targets of these campaigns, but they were not alone in these projects. This dissertation argues that the Soviet state also directed intensive campaigns to remodel male consumptive and bodily practices in order to rid them of politically and socially destructive tendencies, making them fit for the modern socialist civilization under construction. Rooted in, but divergent from, Bolshevik novyi byt campaigns and Stalinist kul’turnost efforts, Soviet authorities actively sought to craft productive male citizens of a modern mold freed of the rough and coarse habits associated with working-class and village masculinities. Many of men targeted in these campaigns fell short of these stated aims.
    [Show full text]
  • Middle East a Few Remarks on Geography, History And
    Open Access Journal of Science Mini Review Open Access Middle East. A Few Remarks on Geography, History and Art Abstract Volume 2 Issue 3 - 2018 This article results basically from personal impressions gathered during my visits to João Vicente Ganzarolli de Oliveira the Middle East in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2011 and 2017, as well as from some suggested Professor and Researcher of the Tércio Pacitti Institute of the readings. Special emphasis is laid on geographical factors, as well as on historical Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil circumstances connected with architecture and sculpture in the ancient Middle East. Important to stress is that the tale of the Mesopotamian hero Gilgamesh is much more Correspondence: João Vicente Ganzarolli de Oliveira, than the first epic ever written in the world; Gilgamesh’s wish for immortality is the Professor and Researcher of the Tércio Pacitti Institute drama of every single man, no matter if he lived in ancient Mesopotamia during the 3rd of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Rio de Janeiro millennium BC, or if he lives in the 21th century’s Manhattan. (RJ, 21941-901, Tel +5521-3938-9600, Email [email protected] Keywords: old empires, culture, Greek miracle, Mesopotamia, Egypt Received: May 26, 2018 | Published: June 29, 2018 Introduction the fourth millennia BC, high advanced cultures started to develop and to thrive in Mesopotamia and Egypt. The presence of big and Surrounded by seas and deserts, larger than the Holy Roman generous rivers in terms or fertilization of the soil–namely the Tigris, Empire at its height but smaller than China, the Middle East is neither the Euphrates and the Nile respectively–in this crescent-shaped region a continent nor a country.
    [Show full text]
  • United States History
    UNITED STATES HISTORY For each multiple choice question, fill in the appropriate location on the scantron 1. Which impact did Title IX had on educational institutions 8. The Watergate Scandal is appropriately described by in the United States? which statement? A. use of quotas for enrollment A. It concerned the Nixon’s’ administration attempt to B. creation of standardized testing goals cover up a burglary at the Democratic National C. equal funding of men’s and women’s athletics Committee headquarters D. government-funded school vouchers B. It involved the illegal establishment of government agencies to set and enforce campaign standards 2. What event during the 1970s resulted in the United C. It involved the choice of the Reagan Administration States increasing its regulation of nuclear power plants? to secretly supply aid to the Contra rebels in A. the signing of the SALT treaty Nicaragua B. North Korea’s announcement that it had nuclear D. It concerned the secret leasing of federally-owned weapons oil rigs to western ranches C. the incident at Three Mile Island D. restrictions created by the UN Atomic Energy 9. Nixon’s name for the many Americans who supported the Commission government and longed for an end to the violence & turmoil of the 1960s was the 3. Which US president regarded universal health care as a A. counterculture major issue for the federal government to resolve? B. hippies A. Jimmy Carter C. silent majority B. Ronald Reagan D. détente C. George H.W. Bush D. Bill Clinton 10. President Jimmy Carter was instrumental in creating a peace accord known as the 4.
    [Show full text]