Extemp Practice Question Roundup, aka it was Finals Week at UChicago

1. Can the US manage in Iraq without Blackwater?
2. How can the US balance its relationships with the elected Pakistani government and the political opposition?
3. Is Russia’s rearmament plan a threat to the US?
4. How can the US better address the Mexican drug trade?
5. Should countries that demand goods whose production leads to greenhouse gas emissions take responsibility for their environmental impact?
6. Is the US prepared to sign an international climate treaty?
7. How can courts stop mistrial by electronic communication?
8. Are the actions taken against AIG over bonus payouts helpful to fixing the economy?
9. Is the Federal Reserve’s plan to buy more US government debt the jolt the economy needs or an act of desperation?
10. Will the Obama administration cut funding for abstinence-only sex education?
11. Does Osama bin Laden still have clout in the Middle East?
12. How will President Obama’s Nowruz video message affect US-Iran relations?
13. Does the juvenile justice system need reform?
14. How will President Obama “demand excellence” from schools?
15. Can the US and NATO break the “strategic stalemate” in Afghanistan?

March 2009 Practice Extemp Questions

1. Will the US lift its sanctions on Cuba?
2. What are Hamid Karzai’s chances for re-election?
3. Will the Obama administration be able to restart the US-Russia relationship?
4. Can the US make a successful appeal for reconciliation to more moderate elements of the Taliban?
5. Have Obama’s Cabinet choices increased the GOP’s likelihood of attaining congressional seats in 2010?
6. Will the Obama plan improve American education?
7. Is the Chinese government turning Tibet into a “hell on earth”?
8. Should the UN Security Council use its powers to defer the International Criminal Court’s warrant for the arrest of Omar al-Bashir?
9. Should the US make greater use of drug courts?
10. What can be expected of the nation’s new drug czar, Seattle Police Chief R. Gil Kerlikowske?
11. How will France’s return to integrated military command affect NATO?
12. Will the US and the EU’s disagreement over economic recovery policies spread to other areas?
13. How will the Obama administration handle the issue of health benefits for federal employees with same-sex partners?