“What in the World? Weekly Quiz" | Nov 22-28, 2021

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

Jonathan Wood, Smyrna, TN
David Hillinck, Huntsville, AL
Colleen Ryan, Nashville, TN
Maureen Mulville, Crest Hill, IL
Roger French, Washington, IL
An Broc, London, England
Steve Freidberg, Boston, MA
Patricia Paiva, Nashville, TN
Rich Buck, Peoria, IL
Jim Shepherd, Nashville, TN
Bernie Drake, Peoria, IL
Connie Tomczyk, Peoria, IL
Barbara Gubbin, Jacksonville, FL
P. McLaughlin, Louisville, KY
Yezzie Dospil, Nashville, TN
Peter Sharadin, Blandon, PA
Kevin O’Brien, Washington, IL
Tim Stewart, Nashville, TN
Basil G. Smith, Jacksonville, FL

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 15-21, 2021

1. Host country leader Boris Johnson said the COP26 UN Climate Summit agreement was the “death knell” for coal, but it was criticized for wording that called for THIS distinction demanded by China and India.

A. “Phase down”
B. “Country by country determinations”
C. “Energy sovereignty”
D. “Phase out”

Correct Response: A. “Phase down”
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-59284505

2. The COP26 UN Climate Summit was said to be just, “Blah, blah, blah,” by THIS 18 year-old Swedish climate activist. She warned of coming “media spin” to characterize the summit outcome as “a step in the right direction.”

A. Xiye Bastida
B. Greta Thunberg
C. Kallan Benson
D. Luisa Neubauer

Correct Response: B. Greta Thunberg
https://www.foxnews.com/world/greta-thunberg-derides-cop26-climate-pact-blah-blah-blah

3. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are meeting to discuss U.S.-China relations in THIS place.

A. Washington
B. Virtually
C. Beijing
D. Guam

Correct Response: B. Virtually
https://www.reuters.com/world/biden-tell-xi-that-china-must-play-by-rules-senior-us-official-2021-11-15/

4. U.S. officials warned European allies that Russia may be planning an invasion of THIS country. Moscow has massed over 100,000 troops near the border.

A. Belarus
B. Latvia
C. Ukraine
D. Moldova

Correct Response: C. Ukraine
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-11/u-s-warns-europe-that-russian-troops-may-plan-ukraine-invasion

5. Australia’s Defense Minister said it was “inconceivable” that his country, a partner in the AUKUS defense pact, would not stand by the United States in defense of THIS.

A. Freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
B. An invasion of Taiwan to reunify by force.
C. Attacks on American reconnaissance flights in international airspace.
D. An invasion of the disputed Senkaku Island.

Correct Response: B. An invasion of Taiwan to reunify by force.
Economist Espresso (no link)

6. Yielding to “Run Sara Run” posters, this Filipino politician, daughter of THIS incumbent President will seek the Vice Presidency on the ticket of presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., known as Bongbong, son of the former dictator.

A. Leni G. Robredo
B. Diosdado Peralta
C. Rodrigo Duterte
D. Vincente Sotto III

Correct Response: C. Rodrigo Duterte
Economist Espresso (no link)

7. The EU is reviewing stronger sanctions against THIS nation and top officials over its use of migrants – many trapped in a standoff along the Polish border – in what the EU calls a “hybrid attack” against the West.

A. Estonia
B. Ukraine
C. Belarus
D. Kaliningrad

Correct Response: C. Belarus
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59289998

8. U.S. Secretary of State Blinken is starting his first trip to Africa with a stop in Nairobi where he is expected to talk with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta about potential sanctions on THIS government and warring rebels in the Tigray Province.

A. Sudan
B. South Sudan
C. Ethiopia
D. Somalia

Correct Response: C. Ethiopia
https://www.bbc.com/news/world

9. The U.S. Navy coordinated unprecedented multilateral exercises in the Red Sea among Israel, the United Arab Emirates and THIS Gulf nation, which alongside the UAE signed the “Abraham Accord,” with Israel last year. The military integration is worrisome for mutual foe Iran.

A. Kuwait
B. Qatar
C. Bahrain
D. Oman

Correct Response: C. Bahrain
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-59289341

10. Libya’s military prosecutor is seeking to halt the presidential candidacy of Saif al-Islam, son of THIS former dictator deposed and killed in 2011 amid the “Arab Spring” revolts.

A. Khalifa Haftar
B. Muammar Gaddafi
C. Fayez al-Sarraj
D. Mohamed al-Menfi

Correct Response: B. Muammar Gaddafi
https://www.bbc.com/news/world/middle_east

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