Assignment 2: State Sponsors of Terrorism

Due Week 6 and worth 100 points

The U.S. Department of State designates and maintains a list of countries that are officially designated as state sponsors of terrorism. There are currently four (4) countries on this list: Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and Syria.

Choose one (1) of the four (4) countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism. Next, use the Internet or Strayer databases to research the terrorist group(s) that your chosen country sponsors.

Write a three to five (3-5) page paper in which you:

Describe the key reasons why your chosen country has been designated by the U.S. Department of State as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Summarize the history of your country’s sponsorship of terrorism.
Examine the terrorist group(s) that your chosen country sponsors and address the following:
Identify the major reasons that your chosen country sponsors the group(s).
Describe the level and type of support the chosen country gives to the group(s) it sponsors (i.e. money, training, equipment, intelligence, etc.). Assess the severity with which the effectiveness of the group(s) would be impacted if they stopped receiving support from its state sponsor.
Summarize any attack(s) carried out by the group(s) being sponsored by your chosen country, as well as the motivation and purpose for the attack(s). Analyze the benefits afforded to state sponsors because of the attack(s).
Identify any public statements regarding their relationship made by the chosen country and / or the terrorist group(s) sponsored. Evaluate the validity of the statement(s) based on known facts.
Use at least three (3) quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar Websites do not qualify as quality resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

Interpret the operational functioning of terrorist groups.
Describe the history and development of the major terrorist groups in the world.
Use technology and information resources to research issues in terrorism and antiterrorism.
Write clearly and concisely about terrorism and antiterrorism using proper writing mechanics and APA style conventions.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric found here.