Cadets Attend the Mass Atrocity Prevention Practicum

In October, the CHGS and Dartmouth College hosted the Mass Atrocity Prevention Practicum (MAPP). This two-day, crisis simulation, created by a career CIA senior officer, was attended by more than 70 students from West Point, Navy, Dartmouth, Yale, SUNY-Binghamton, and Rutgers. Conducted in a hybrid online format, six mixed, intercollegiate teams were asked to react to a hypothetical flare up of violence on the Israel-Gaza border aggravated by use of a new autonomous weapon. Teams of roughly a dozen students represented the US, UN, EU, Turkey, Iran, and NGOs. Advised by faculty and experts from intelligence, DoD, State, and the NGO world, teams wrestled with imperfect information, limited options, and competing national interests. As the scenario unfolded over twelve hours, the crisis evolved, impacting planning, decision-making, and conflict analysis. The event was bookended by a lecture on autonomous weapons by BG(R) Dave Barnes and a wrap-up by Middle East expert AMB Dennis Ross.