Deck 8: Contemporary Security Issues

Question 1

After the Cold War, the United States emerged as a(n)_______________________.

A) Hegemon.
B) Multipolar leader.
C) Failed state.
D) None of the above.

Answer 1

Hegemon.

Question 2

Prior to the September 11 attacks, George W. Bush came to office hoping to

A) Increase American commitments abroad.
B) Engage in nation building.
C) Scale back U.S. commitments abroad.
D) All of the above.

Answer 2

Scale back U.S. commitments abroad.

Question 3

President Clinton's policies can be termed

A) Liberal internationalist.
B) Expansionist.
C) Isolationist.
D) Constructivist.

Answer 3

Liberal internationalist.

Question 4

The U.S. focus on expanding American values internationally is based upon a belief in

A) Realism.
B) Limited strikes.
C) Isolationism.
D) American exceptionalism.

Question 5

After September 11 George W. Bush adopted a

A) Neoconservative outlook.
B) Liberal internationalist approach.
C) Realist outlook.
D) None of the above.

Question 6

Under President Clinton, the United States did not intervene militarily in

A) Kosovo.
B) Rwanda.
C) Somalia.
D) Bosnia.

Question 7

Creating new economic, political, and security institutions from the ground up is referred to as

A) Institutionalism.
B) Economic sanctions.
C) Total war.
D) Nation building.

Question 8

Offshore balancing is most associated with

A) Woodrow Wilson.
B) Teddy Roosevelt.
C) Alexander Wendt.
D) John Mearsheimer.

Question 9

The limited use of American power by making use of regional allies while leveraging superior U.S. naval and air power is called

A) Offshore balancing.
B) American exceptionalism.
C) MAD.
D) None of the above.

Question 10

The means by which attacks can be conducted from afar, like artillery, missiles, and aircraft, is called

A) Nuclear zero.
B) Standoff technologies.
C) IEDs.
D) Shape the environment.

Question 11

The leveraging of soft power and demonstrating military capability to build relationships abroad and influence countries' best practices in support of economic growth and political and military stability is called

A) Nuclear zero.
B) Standoff technologies.
C) IEDs.
D) Shape the environment.

Question 12

The abolition of nuclear weapons is called

A) Nuclear zero.
B) Standoff technologies.
C) IEDs.
D) Shape the environment.

Question 13

The following is an example of a standoff technology.

A) UAVs
B) AK-47 rifles
C) Mortar rounds
D) All of the above

Question 14

In recent years the United States has been a leader in the use of

A) IEDs.
B) UAVs.
C) MIRVs.
D) AK-47s.

Question 15

"Leading from behind" is associated with

A) George H. W. Bush.
B) Bill Clinton.
C) George W. Bush.
D) Barack Obama.

Question 16

One official goal of the Obama administration has been to

A) Reach a level of zero nuclear weapons.
B) Increase troop levels in Iraq.
C) Build a democratic future through military intervention anywhere it is requested.
D) None of the above.

Question 17

U.S. rebalancing has increased focus on

A) East Asia.
B) Africa.
C) the Middle East.
D) Europe.

Question 18

The argument that the United States has much to gain through association with countries in Asia represents which school of thought?

A) Realism
B) Liberalism
C) Constructivism
D) Feminism

Question 19

The argument that U.S. rebalancing is a form of encirclement represents which school of thought?

A) Realism
B) Liberalism
C) Constructivism
D) Feminism

Question 20

What group of people have criticized President Obama's call for a downturn of nuclear weapons to zero worldwide?

A) Democrats
B) Neoconservatives
C) Russians
D) Germans

Question 21

China's policy of power projection has been labeled

A) An expansionist dilemma.
B) A peaceful rise.
C) The new Qing dynasty.
D) Violent and self-defeating.

Question 22

Which of the following is not one of China's three transcendences or grand strategies?

A) Sustainable industrialization
B) Avoiding hegemony
C) Recapturing Taiwan
D) Achieving a harmonious socialist state

Question 23

The IMF forecasts that China's economy will surpass that of the United States by

A) 2020.
B) 2050.
C) 2016.
D) Never.

Question 24

The IMF classifies China as a developing country based on its

A) Infant mortality rate.
B) Poverty levels.
C) GDP.
D) All of the above.

Question 25

Which country has the largest military in the world?

A) China
B) Japan
C) The United States
D) Russia

Question 26

The country that spends the most on defense is

A) China.
B) Japan.
C) The United States.
D) Russia.

Question 27

Internally displaced people is a problem most associated with

A) North America.
B) The Arabian Peninsula.
C) Africa.
D) Eastern Europe.

Question 28

The nature of wars in Africa has shifted from bigger wars between national and rebel armies to

A) More amorphous, transnational insurgencies.
B) Conflicts with roots in terrorist organizations.
C) Conflicts with roots in criminal groups.
D) All of the above.

Question 29

Asymmetric confrontation may refer to

A) Uneven power relationships.
B) An insurgent strategy such as terrorism.
C) Political activities by the weak against the strong.
D) All of the above.

Question 30

Terrorism is a form of

A) Nonstate action.
B) Political action.
C) Asymmetric confrontation.
D) All of the above.

Question 31

The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan was a response to

A) The Soviet invasion of that country.
B) The end of the Cold War
C) The attacks of 9/11.
D) The work of AQAP.

Question 32

The AQIM operate out of which county?

A) Mali
B) Niger
C) Mauritania
D) All of the above.

Question 33

The al-Qaeda organization active in Yemen is

A) Al-Qaeda central.
B) Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
C) Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
D) None of the above.

Question 34

American-born AQAP figure Anwar al-Awlaki was an American killed in 2011 by

A) A U.S. drone.
B) A military offensive by the government of Pakistan.
C) The Soviet Union.
D) None of the above.

Question 35

"The Underwear Bomber," Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was sent to blow up a plane in the United States on Christmas Day 2009 by which terrorist organization?

A) Al-Qaeda central.
B) Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula,
C) Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
D) None of the above.

Question 36

Al-Shabaab is an organization operating in

A) Afghanistan.
B) Somalia.
C) Morocco.
D) Lebanon.

Question 37

AQIM and AQAP both do all of the following except

A) Operate within the countries in which they reside.
B) Work alongside local insurgencies.
C) Deploy jihadists to other areas.
D) Take responsibility for the September 11 attacks.

Question 38

The al-Nusra front is an al-Qaeda-linked group active in

A) Somalia.
B) Syria.
C) Afghanistan.
D) Pakistan.

Question 39

Who are the biggest consumers of illicit drugs?

A) Americans
B) Europeans
C) Russians
D) Both a and b

Question 40

Most production of illicit drugs takes place in

A) Asia.
B) Latin America.
C) Europe.
D) Both a and b

Question 41

The illicit drug trade is approximately a

A) $500 billion industry.
B) $300 million industry.
C) $1 trillion industry.
D) None of the above.

Question 42

The United States addresses the problem of drug trafficking through

A) Interdiction and punishment of drug producers and traders.
B) Reducing demand within the United States.
C) Efforts to prevent and treat drug addiction.
D) All of the above.

Question 43

When an action taken to prevent or end an illegal or insurgent activity in one area succeeds, only for that activity to pop up somewhere else, this is called

A) Bubble effect.
B) Shape the environment.
C) Offshore balancing.
D) None of the above.

Question 44

Recent technologies that have influenced military competition include

A) Global positioning systems.
B) UAVs (drones).
C) Lasers.
D) All of the above.

Question 45

Actual, tangible, military action is called

A) Kinetic.
B) Bubble effect.
C) Shape the environment.
D) None of the above.

Question 46

Which of the following is a nonkinetic form of conflict?

A) Military intervention
B) Nuclear weapons
C) Cyberwarfare
D) Mortar rounds

Question 47

IEDs benefit actors who

A) Have no tactical intelligence to go on.
B) Have superior arms.
C) Have unlimited funds
D) Are acquainted with the terrain.

Question 48

The places where IEDs are being employed and where drones are being used

A) Are completely different.
B) Overlap.
C) Conflict.
D) None of the above.

Question 49

There are _______________ international laws or regulations in place that can guide the proliferation, deployment, and use of drones.

A) No
B) Many
C) Very few
D) None of the above

Question 50

Weaker states may be able to outlast their stronger rivals through the careful use of

A) Invasion.
B) Superior weaponry.
C) Defiance.
D) None of the above.

Question 51

The Obama administration's security strategy is typified by four courses of action. What are they?

Question 52

What is the U.S. policy toward China?

Question 53

How did the Bush administration shift its strategies following the attacks of September 11?

Question 54

Is al-Qaeda an organization or a movement?

Question 55

What is terrorism and who employs it?

Question 56

Describe the characteristics of China's rise.

Question 57

Explain China scholar Zheng Bijian's view of China's rise.

Question 58

What is the logic behind a "nuclear zero"?

Question 59

What is "leading from behind"?

Question 60

List the problems that have consistently troubled Africa and the effects of these problems.

Question 61

What is the bubble effect and why does it exist?

Question 62

Why are IEDs the perfect asymmetric technology?

Question 63

List three future challenges in the realm of security.

Question 64

Discuss al-Qaeda and how the United States has focused its fight against the group.

Question 65

Discuss international drug trafficking. What are the primary problems, the difficulties in combating the problem, and the U.S. efforts to combat the problem?

Question 66

Will the twenty-first century be "America's century" or "China's century"?

Question 67

Is offshore balancing an appropriate strategy for the United States?

Question 68

Discuss the use of IEDs and UAVs in influencing military competition.