BF2S Forums What should I write for my US history research paper?

GunSlinger OIF II wrote:

PureFodder wrote:

OrangeHound wrote:

Here's one area I've always been interested in exploring:

Concerning the First Gulf War, the politics (perhaps related to public opinion) behind the Presidential/military decision to not overthrow the Iraqi government.  They just .... stopped.  And, how this decision impacted, perhaps, decisions for Gulf War II

There are other political questions raised by the first gulf war. Why did the west support Saddam when he invaded Iran, using WMDs on troops and civillians and killing around a million Iranians yet when he invades Kuwait, a far lesser crime, the west respond with a huge military campaign?

is it really that much of a mystery?

Not overly, but it's certainly the sort of thing to discuss in a history paper, as long as you don't mind saying mean things about the US leadership.

PureFodder wrote:

GunSlinger OIF II wrote:

PureFodder wrote:

There are other political questions raised by the first gulf war. Why did the west support Saddam when he invaded Iran, using WMDs on troops and civillians and killing around a million Iranians yet when he invades Kuwait, a far lesser crime, the west respond with a huge military campaign?

is it really that much of a mystery?

Not overly, but it's certainly the sort of thing to discuss in a history paper, as long as you don't mind saying mean things about the US leadership.

because the US leadership is the only world leadership that you could say mean things about.

OrangeHound wrote:

Here's one area I've always been interested in exploring:

Concerning the First Gulf War, the politics (perhaps related to public opinion) behind the Presidential/military decision to not overthrow the Iraqi government.  They just .... stopped.  And, how this decision impacted, perhaps, decisions for Gulf War II

An "official" opinion from the Administration that usurping Saddam would lead to Iraqi Civil War and create a quagmire - a la Vietnam.


The legal language of the use of force only advocated combating Iraqi aggression, not to help the citizens get rid of their evil overlord (much like Gulf War II).

There is evidence that Iraqi withdrawal offers were not recognized by the first Bush Administration because the decision to mobilize was already in place.  In fact, even after pledging support to Kurdish dissidents, we (U.S.) looked the other way as those Kurds we pledged to support failed at an attempted uprising.

An interesting research paper could be delivered on the subject, most definitely.

Last edited by KEN-JENNINGS (2008-02-19 13:59:29)

Simon wrote:

I still say go with Bismark.. his foreign policies saved Germany from many hard times, they we're also his downfall due to Wilhelm II!
Oh.. and his primary concern was ISOLATING FRANCE, how can you not like him?

US history.

Simon wrote:

I still say go with Bismark.. his foreign policies saved Germany from many hard times, they we're also his downfall due to Wilhelm II!
Oh.. and his primary concern was ISOLATING FRANCE, how can you not like him?

Ummm ... the topic here is US History.

Why not write about the Cold War?

Plenty of relevence today still, with the situation in Kosovo. East vs West sentiment is still strong.

You can go into the JFK assasination, write about the arms race at the end of WW2. Rise of Nuclear weapon capabilities. The space race. Vietnam. Communism.

You get a fairly wide range of topics to examine within the context of the Cold War, and also stay relevent. If you don't like any particular areas there's plenty more to look into.

OrangeHound wrote:

argo4 wrote:

Simon wrote:

I still say go with Bismark.. his foreign policies saved Germany from many hard times, they we're also his downfall due to Wilhelm II!
Oh.. and his primary concern was ISOLATING FRANCE, how can you not like him?

it has to be a US history paper

I have a similar paper due in about a month. I'm thinking about writing it on how the U.S. justified getting involved in WW2 and how Roosevelt convinced the public and Congress to get involved. It sounds kind of boring, so I might get a different topic, though.

Pearl Harbor?

yes, for the war in the Pacific, but I'm thinking more about the European theatre and also before Hitler declared war on the U.S.

Oh.. I must have missed the part saying US history >.< my bad

HurricaИe wrote:

TheAussieReaper wrote:

Why not write about the Cold War?

Plenty of relevence today still, with the situation in Kosovo. East vs West sentiment is still strong.

You can go into the JFK assasination, write about the arms race at the end of WW2. Rise of Nuclear weapon capabilities. The space race. Vietnam. Communism.

You get a fairly wide range of topics to examine within the context of the Cold War, and also stay relevent. If you don't like any particular areas there's plenty more to look into.

Nuclear weapons would be interesting. Anything more specific in that regard?

how they shaped the post war world, e.g., the rush to grab as many Nazi scientists as possible right after the war, the SALT treaties and how they changed the relationship between the 2 nations

And of course why the U.S decided to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Some historians say that it was more about  intimidating the Soviets than saving american lives--could be your thesis

Last edited by argo4 (2008-02-19 14:16:51)

Write it on the Cuban Missile Crisis. Always interesting...considering we were this close to mutually assured destruction with Russia.

Hey:

heres my suggestion.  You already mentioned the Gulf War.  How about you do your paper on the effects of using depleted uranium munitions in teh gulf war!

PureFodder wrote:

GunSlinger OIF II wrote:

PureFodder wrote:

Not overly, but it's certainly the sort of thing to discuss in a history paper, as long as you don't mind saying mean things about the US leadership.

because the US leadership is the only world leadership that you could say mean things about.

No, but it's a paper on US history, and typically people are reluctant to say bad things about their own leaders. People are more than happy to criticize others

ok, ya got me.  ive been pressing the argument for the sake of argument button a lot lately.

Oky, I think I've narrowed it down to either nukes in the cold war (MAD most likely) or the gulf war. Thankfully our topic proposal doesn't have to be too specific.