First in a series of three evening forums are envisioned for each of the months of January through March to explore the War in Iraq from the perspective of Simsbury and Farmington Valley area residents. Each of the forums will consist of panelists who will present a range of positions from supportive of the current policy to opposed to current policy. A moderator will be used to keep the discussing moving forward. Simsbury Public Television will be invited to record and broadcast these forums. Invitations will be offered up to public citizens, elected officials, veterans, members of emergency services and especially high school students. A moderator will record areas where disputes about facts become disruptive so that they can be researched and discussed at a subsequent forum. The proposed agenda for the January 10th forums is as follows: First Forum (January 10th 7:30 – 9:30 at Boy Scout Hall, Simsbury) Statements from each of the panel participants on what are the goals of the current involvement in Iraq are and what the United States involvement should be including: - The relevance of terrorism - The relevance of oil - What are the Economic Interests of the United States in the Middle East and the World - Strong or weak central government in Iraq - US Military and Political Influence among Middle East leaders Questions from the audience will be welcome. Also we still need panelists that support current policy in Iraq. |