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Alpha Stage
21,000 More Troops to Iraq
January 11, 2007







The Washington Post is running an article entitled, “Bush to Add
21,500 Troops in an Effort to Stabilize Iraq.“

Response to the speech made by President Bush has been fierce.
According to the article, “Both Senate and House Democrats moved
toward introducing resolutions of disapproval, with House Democrats
contemplating simply introducing the president's speech and asking
members to vote for or against it. Democratic leaders made clear that
such non binding resolutions would be only a first step. If sentiment
against the president continues to grow, senior Democrats said they
will try to use their power of the purse to quell what they call an
escalation.”

The article further explains that the United States will send nine new
provincial reconstruction teams to Iraq. These teams are, “joint
Pentagon and State Department programs to help rebuild the country
from the bottom up, including schools, local government and political
interest groups.”
Read the article.

Discussion-Starters for Younger Children:

  • Ask your students to describe something that they’ve made.
  • Consider making a list of descriptive words on the board.

  • Inquire, how does it feel to make something? Why?
  • Consider writing a list of feelings on the board or asking
    students to draw pictures of different feelings.

  • Ask if your students have ever destroyed something or taken
    something apart. What?
  • Be sure to allow a variety of students to offer short
    answers.

  • Why would somebody destroy something?



Discussion-Starters for Older Students:
  • Vocabulary Terms to Discuss: Pacify; Beleaguered; Tactic;
    and, Provincial.

  • Ask your students if they agree that it’s important to build
    schools in Iraq. Why might it be so important to build schools?
  • You might consider holding a mock Congressional
    budget hearing in your classroom to address this
    question.

  • Pose: Imagine that it is your responsibility to respond to an
    Iraqi militant who claims that the only reason the U.S. is
    building schools in Iraq is for propaganda purposes. How
    would you respond? Why?
  • Consider asking students to write editorials in which
    they respond to this scenario.

  • If the President decides to send more soldiers to Iraq, is it
    appropriate for Congress to decide not to pay these soldiers?
    Why/why not? What might happen if Congress doesn’t pay
    these soldiers? Explain!
  • Students might develop political advertisements on
    behalf of the President who obviously wants Congress
    to fund his plans. Other advertisements could be
    developed on behalf of Congressmen who are against
    the President's plans.
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