2022 World Affairs Council of the Year
Network of Independent World Affairs Councils of America
A global affairs awareness service provided by the
Tennessee World Affairs Council
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Thanks to quiz masters McKinney Harwood and Patrick Ryan and @TNWAC News Editor Campbell Lahman for this week’s quiz.
LAST WEEK’S QUIZ WINNERS
Tim Stewart, Nashville, TN
Donna Heffner, Ponte Vedrà Beach, FL
Colleen Ryan, Nashville, TN
Deborah Monroe, Nashville, TN
Patricia Paiva, Nashville, TN
Basil G. Smith, Jacksonville, FL
Peter Sharadin, Blandon, PA
Steve Freidberg, Boston, MA
Jim Shepherd, Nashville, TN
WELL DONE!
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NOVEMBER QUIZ PRIZE
The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War
By Craig Whitlock
Unlike the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 had near-unanimous public support. At first, the goals were straightforward and clear: defeat al-Qaeda and prevent a repeat of 9/11. Yet soon after the United States and its allies removed the Taliban from power, the mission veered off course and US officials lost sight of their original objectives.
Distracted by the war in Iraq, the US military become mired in an unwinnable guerrilla conflict in a country it did not understand. But no president wanted to admit failure, especially in a war that began as a just cause. Instead, the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations sent more and more troops to Afghanistan and repeatedly said they were making progress, even though they knew there was no realistic prospect for an outright victory.
Just as the Pentagon Papers changed the public’s understanding of Vietnam, The Afghanistan Papers contains “fast-paced and vivid” (The New York Times Book Review) revelation after revelation from people who played a direct role in the war from leaders in the White House and the Pentagon to soldiers and aid workers on the front lines. In unvarnished language, they admit that the US government’s strategies were a mess, that the nation-building project was a colossal failure, and that drugs and corruption gained a stranglehold over their allies in the Afghan government. All told, the account is based on interviews with more than 1,000 people who knew that the US government was presenting a distorted, and sometimes entirely fabricated, version of the facts on the ground.
Documents unearthed by The Washington Post reveal that President Bush didn’t know the name of his Afghanistan war commander—and didn’t want to meet with him. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admitted that he had “no visibility into who the bad guys are.” His successor, Robert Gates, said: “We didn’t know jack shit about al-Qaeda.”
The Afghanistan Papers is a “searing indictment of the deceit, blunders, and hubris of senior military and civilian officials” (Tom Bowman, NRP Pentagon Correspondent) that will supercharge a long-overdue reckoning over what went wrong and forever change the way the conflict is remembered.
Source: Amazon
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LAST WEEK’S QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
What in the World? Quiz – Week of November 1-7, 2021
1. The Group of Twenty summit in Rome brought together leaders from the leading economic powers. These leaders DID NOT travel to the summit EXCEPT for WHICH ONE. [#WACquiz]
A. Russian President Vladimir Putin
B. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro
C. Chinese President Xi Jinping
D. Saudi King Salman
Correct Response: B. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro
https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/31/politics/xi-jinping-vladimir-putin-g20-joe-biden/index.html
2. President Biden met with THIS world leader on the sidelines of the G20 summit for the first time since a “clumsy” rollout of anew defense pact among the UK, Australia and the US, called “AUKUS.” The arrangement included Australian acquisition of nuclear submarines, scotching a proposed sale of diesel-electric submarines from THEIR country. [#WACquiz]
A. President Emanual Macron of France
B. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany
C. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau of Canada
D. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan
Correct Response: A. President Emanual Macron of France
3. As world heads of state – minus some leading polluters like China and Russia – gather in Glasgow for the COP26 UN climate summit, a United Nations report warned that current measures would result in THIS critical result. [#WACquiz]
A. A reduction of 15% in coal-fired power plants vice the Paris agreed 60%.
B. A rise in planetary temperatures of 2.7 degree C, not the 1.5 degree C target.
C. An increase in percentage of worldwide electric vehicles (EVs) of only 40% by 2025.
D. A reduction of agricultural methane emission of just 5%.
Correct Response: B. A rise in planetary temperatures of 2.7 degree C, not the 1.5 degree C target.
https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/un-warns-world-set-27c-rise-todays-emissions-pledges-2021-10-26/
4. According to legislation governing U.S. foreign assistance appropriations, the United States has withdrawn a $700 million aid package from THIS country after General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan dissolved the government and declared a state of emergency last week, prompting protests in the country’s capital of Khartoum. (WACA Weekly World News Update)
A. Egypt
B. Tunisia
C. Mali
D. Sudan
Correct Response: D. Sudan
https://www.axios.com/us-freezes-sudan-aid-over-coup-6c7d0211-8591-4fc1-94d2-4c881f3b8650.html
5. The Biden administration amended their Mutual Defense Cooperation agreement with Greece, renewing a strong alliance. It appears aimed at deterring THIS other NATO member, whose President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently threatened to expel ten Western ambassadors. (WACA Weekly News Update)
A. Albania
B. Turkey
C. Italy
D. Czech Republic
Correct Response: B. Turkey
https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/10/26/us-greece-erdogan-turkey-defense-security-nato-russia/
6. Russia recently brokered a peace deal between Armenia and THIS country after a six-week long war was fought over the disputed Nargorno-Karabakh region, which ended with 6,000 people dead. [#WACquiz]
A. Turkey
B. Iraq
C. Georgia
D. Azerbaijan
Correct Response: D. Azerbaijan
https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-armenia-ethnic-cleansing/31517827.html
7. Paris and London are bickering over THIS post-Brexit aspect of their relationship. [#WACquiz]
A. Submarines
B. Wine
C. Fish
D. Airports
Correct Response: C. Fish
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/britain-warns-france-back-down-48-hours-or-face-trade-trouble-2021-11-01/
8. The President of Nicaragua and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, are said to be moving closer and closer to the creation of a police state having detained at least seven presidential candidates and banned some opposition political parties. THIS President of Nicaragua came on the scene from 1979-1990 as leader of the Sandinista government, target of American-backed “Contra” fighters? (WACA Weekly News Update)
A. Daniel Ortega
B. Enrique Bolaños Geyer
C. Carlos Alvarado Quesada
D. Noel Vidaurre
Correct Response: A. Daniel Ortega
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/10/26/nicaragua-costa-rica-blinken-517056
9. China and Australia reached agreement with THIS multilateral regional association to upgrade their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership. [#WACquiz]
A. SEATO
B. CPTPP
C. APEC
D. ASEAN
Correct Response: D. ASEAN
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/asean-upgrades-strategic-ties-with-china-myanmar-an-integral-member-chair-2021-10-28
10. As THIS city in China prepares to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, it also prepares to be the first city ever to have hosted both the summer and winter games. [#WACquiz]
A. Shanghai
B. Beijing
C. Hong Kong
D. Tianjin
Correct Response: B. Beijing
https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/olympics-beijing-marks-100-days-winter-olympics-amid-covid-rights-concerns-2021-10-27/
A PROUD MEMBER OF THE WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCILS OF AMERICA SINCE 2007
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THE MISSION of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Tennessee World Affairs Council is to promote international awareness, understanding and connections to enhance the region’s global stature and to prepare Tennesseans to thrive in our increasingly complex and connected world.
THE VISION of the Tennessee World Affairs Council is a well-informed community that thinks critically about the world and the impact of global events.
