1. Set Focus
Frame the inquiry with these essential questions: What basic principles should define U.S. foreign policy? How do we decide what is in our national interest?
2. Read and Discuss
Have students read the debate and then answer the following questions:
- What is the issue being debated? How does it relate to current events? (The issue is whether the U.S. should lift the embargo on Cuba. The embargo was imposed on Cuba in 1962, and its 60th anniversary this year has renewed the debate about whether the embargo is effective.)
- Evaluate why these two authors might be interested in and qualified to comment on this issue. (Ted A. Henken is a professor of Latin American studies at Baruch College. As a U.S. senator, Marco Rubio is involved in setting U.S. policy. In addition, he is of Cuban ancestry, and many of his constituents in Florida are as well.)