In this course, we learned that it is important to utilize the prevailing ethical perspectives, in particular to find the one most appropriate to the situation. The consequentialist perspective sheds light on my conclusions -- that national interest is the ultimate objective of both press freedoms and military action but that the latter form of national interest is more immediate in nature and therefore should supersede the former. I feel that my ability to examine this ethical dilemma from a number of viable perspectives and to determine the best perspective and subsequently apply that perspective is evidence that I have mastered the concepts of this course.

The role of press freedom in communication is at the heart of this issue. The ethics of the communication, when the dilemma involves two mutually exclusive points of national interest, is difficult...

In providing a framework for this evaluation and for this discussion I feel that I have demonstrated competency in the subject matter of this course.
At the outset of this course it was determined that by the time the course was completed we as students should be able to identify an ethical dilemma, determine the different perspectives at work and utilize those perspectives in order to resolve the dilemma. I approached a contentious issue that had multiple equally valid perspectives and I was able to identify the issues and stakeholders involved. From there I applied the relevant ethical schools of though to bring the issue to a decisive resolution. This is precisely what we were intended to be able to do at the end of the course, so I feel that my term paper is evidence that I have met the goals of the course and mastered the objectives.