The Bush Doctrine

Tomorrow in class, we will conduct a debate in which you will be in groups of 3: 1 supporting the Bush Doctrine, 1 opposed to the Bush Doctrine, and 1 judge/moderator.

From there, you will want to go to this website and read the information there so you are familiar with the points of view: http://www.crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-19-3-c-the-bush-doctrine.  This will give you a broader understanding of the background of the Bush Doctrine than the tutorial that you just watched.

You will not know which one of the three groups you will be in until you come to class tomorrow, so you should be prepared to argue both sides of the issue.  Each of you will have 10 minutes to prepare your argument before the debate begins.  You may do that with other members of your position or on your own.  During that time, judges will prepare a series of questions to ask both debaters.  They, also, may do this alone or with their fellow judges.  In an effort to help you prepare, I have included two documents below for you to consider.

Once the debate begins, both sides will have 3 minutes to make an opening statement.  Judges should work to keep this time and not allow either person to go beyond it.  Your statement may be less than 3 minutes, but it may not be more.  Neither the judges nor the opposing side may interrupt or ask questions during this period.  They should be taking notes and preparing to ask questions when that time comes.

After that time is up, the judges will have 10 minutes (5 minutes for each) to question each debater about their side.  The person representing the other side may not interrupt during this period, but should be taking notes on the answers given to those questions.

For the third portion of this, both sides will have 10 minutes to debate each other, with the judge present to make sure that the debate is civil and on point.  Debaters should listen to the answer of their opposition attentively, but not interrupt them in the middle of an answer or question.  Both the opposition and judges are encouraged again to take notes and prepare responses.

After this period, all of the judges will meet together for 10 minutes in a "fishbowl" style discussion group, with no input from the outside to discuss and debate their views on the issue.  The judges may use information from the debates or what they have learned on their own.  At the end of this period, the judges will vote on which side convinced them the best as to whether or not the Bush Doctrine should be part of U.S. foreign policy.

If there is any time left over, we will work to conclude the discussion as a class.