Debate to Address the Question: Is Keeping Troops in Iraq in America’s Best Interests?
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — On Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 7:00 PM, the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, in partnership with MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, will launch the inaugural event of its National Discussion and Debate Series. Four participants will argue the proposed resolution: “Keeping troops in Iraq is vital for America’s national interests in the Middle East” in a debate moderated by Margaret Warner, senior correspondent for PBS’s The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.
Frederick W. Kagan, Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), and Reuel Marc Gerecht, AEI Resident Fellow, will argue in favor of the resolution. Jessica Tuchman Mathews, President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Chas Freeman, former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and President of the Middle East Policy Council, will argue against it. More information, including biographies of the debaters, research, lesson plans, news, audio, and video, is available online at http://www.millercenter.org/debates.
The debate, the first in a series of five set to take place during the 2007-08 academic year, will take place in the historic Dome Room of the University of Virginia’s Rotunda in Charlottesville, Va. It will be webcast live and archived on the Miller Center’s web site, http://www.millercenter.org/. PBS affiliates throughout Virginia and stations carrying the PBS World digital channel will carry the events live and in delayed format. It will also be broadcast on WVTF Public Radio and Radio IQ, a partnership between Virginia Tech and Ferrum College, covering most of Central and Western Virginia. The conversation has already started online — via interactive group pages on YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, Google, and Yahoo.
For interested broadcast outlets, debate footage will be available via satellite: Echostar: AMC?2, transponder K-7, Slot A — Feed Time: 18:00-20:00 Tuesday, September 18, 2007 — TEST 18:00-19:00, AIR 19:00-20:00 w/ 00:15 approx.
Confirmation # 213690. Uplink frequency 14126.5, horizontal. Downlink frequency 11826.5, vertical.
The National Discussion and Debate Series, the Miller Center’s newest initiative, will address major issues facing the United States, including privacy in the Information Age, health care, immigration, and the changing nature of “family” in America. Its aim is to examine these issues in depth, and to contribute to the national conversation with a genuine, thoughtful give and take that will both enlighten people and provoke dialogue.
The second debate, set to take place on Nov. 13 in Washington, DC, will argue the resolution: “In the light of technological advances and the war on terror, Americans should lower their expectations for privacy.”
Founded in 1975, the Miller Center of Public Affairs is a leading nonpartisan public policy institution that aims to fulfill Jefferson’s public service mission by serving as a national meeting place for engaged citizens, scholars, students, media representatives and government officials to research, reflect, and report on issues of national importance to the governance of the United States, with special attention to the central role and history of the presidency.
http://www.millercenter.org/debates
http://www.macneil-lehrer.com/
MILLER CENTER OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
CONTACT: CONTACTS: Lisa Todorovich, Asst. Dir., Communications,+1-434-243-4096; cell: +1-434-409-1327, ltodorovich@virginia.edu or KimCurtis, Communications Assistant, +1-434-243-2985; kcurtis@virginia.edu bothof Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia
Web Site: http://www.macneil-lehrer.com/http://www.millercenter.org/