the united states should join the ICC

I affirm. I define: 1.Crimes against humanity- a brutal crime that is not an isolated incident but that involves large and systematic actions, often cloaked with official authority, and that shocks the conscience of humankind; Specific crimes that fall within this category are mass murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhumane acts perpetrated against a population, whether in wartime or not. I value Governmental Legitimacy. In order to be legitimate, a government must protect the rights of its citizens, protect its own global interests, and fulfill other roles of government (like military etc.) This is the ultimate value in the round because: 1)Government action must first and foremost be undertaken to protect its own legitimacy. A government will never act against its own interests or against its own people, and all actions must first protect the government's power – secondary interests may be undertaken if power remains unhurt. As the US is the actor in the resolution, it must make a decision promoting its own power and legitimacy above all else. 2)Government legitimacy is intrinsically linked to the resolution. Insofar as the resolution is a choice between two systems of prosecution, and in order for a government to be legitimate it must maintain an effective judicial system, governmental legitimacy is always linked to the decision between the affirmative and negative society. My value criterion is the maximization of the protection of rights. This is the best criterion in upholding government legitimacy through: 1)Under the social contract governments constrain rights from their originally unlimited nature, but protect the rights that citizens do have. If a government cannot protect the rights of citizens that it grants then it is illegitimate, as the most important function of government is to protect rights. 2)Additionally, the U.S. Code outlines United States obligation to protect human rights in foreign nations. Title 22 section 2304 states: "The United States shall, promote and encourage increased respect for human rights and ï¿½fundamental freedoms throughout the world without distinction ... a principal goal of the foreign policy of the United States shall be to promote the increased observance of internationally recognized human rights by all countries. The President is directed to formulate and conduct international security assistance programs of the United States in a manner which will promote and advance human rights." Contention One: Submission to an international court furthers United States political interests. David Scheffer explains, "[Through joining the ICC] we would have enormous influence in the nomination of judges, the prosecutor's staff, and the prosecutor himself or herself. [By joining, we could] put one of our best military lawyers on the bench, one very cognizant of the law of armed conflict, because there are no such individuals on the bench right now. Of eighteen judges, there is not a single military law expert. We could have brought that to the bench and had an enormous impact on how the court thinks about situations and how it understands the law of armed conflict. Our nominee for judge would have been elected; there is no question about that. We would wield enormous influence over how the court operates because it would look to us for assistance. Primarily, such requests involve resources and the apprehension of fugitives, both of which allow the U.S. government to have an enormous impact on the process. However, between the United States and the ICC, there is no such communication; in fact, it is prohibited under the American Servicemembers' Protection Act." Clearly, sovereignty of the people, a right guaranteed in the constitution, can only be adequately upheld through the affirmative. Contention Two: Submission to an international court furthers humanitarian and anti-terrorism initiatives. A.Affirming results in an increase of American soft power. Soft power can be defined as the ability of the United States to enact successful foreign policy initiatives through allies, or diplomatic means. Hard power is therefore the U.S.'s ability to pursue these initiatives through military intervention. Soft power is always preferable to hard power because it does not risk American lives. The Oxford Analytica expounds: "The longstanding US canons of openness, civil liberties, and democracy have traditionally held strong world-wide appeal. By the same token, when US officials are seen to violate these canons, soft power assets are damaged." Through not submitting to an international court, U.S. officials appear opposed to liberal notions necessary in securing soft power assets globally. B.An increase of American soft power promotes national interests. An increase in soft power would lead to an increase of influence that would benefit American interests in international organizations. Joseph Nye explains, "If you look at countries like Jordan or Pakistan, which are somewhat friendlier towards the United States, we see that larger numbers are attracted to Al-Qaida and other organizations. It is necessary to prevent those extremists from prevailing as they try to radicalize the majority. Soft power is essential to be able to attract the majorities to a diverse and pluralistic world of better opportunities, human dignity, and international rights. We will not prevail in this struggle against terrorism unless the majority wins. The only way to ensure the majority wins is through an increase of soft power. Even when you need to use hard power against terrorism, you will need cooperation from other governments in a civilian matter. This problem will not be solved by brute force alone. The U.S. requires close civilian cooperation -- intelligence sharing, policy work across borders, tracing financial flows and other procedures imperative to the success of global foreign policy initiatives, especially against terrorism." Contention Three: An international court would provide adequate checks on U.S. power The United States has a long history of crimes against humanity. Dating back since its creation with the genocide of Native Americans, African enslavement, the internment of Japanese Americans in the 1940's, and the Tuskegee trials which ended as recently as 1972Such an extensive history of racism, genocide, slavery and human rights abuses, it is necessary for the United States to submit to this international court. It is foolish to assume that these crimes will never again happen because of the U.S. forerunner as a "liberal democracy". Both Julius Caesar and Adolf Hitler were elected to power, and both of them felt their actions were humane and justified, especially for the well-being of society. The history of brutality, as well as other prevalent examples of crimes against humanity being initiated in democratic states warrants the necessity for the United States to submit to a system which will provide a check on the U.S. government to prevent actions that will disregard basic rights of citizens. Moreover, David Scheffer writes, "The ICC delegates to domestic courts, by its very framework, the first cut at the crimes within its jurisdiction. Therefore, domestic courts have the first right, the first option, to seize a case, to investigate it, and if merited, to prosecute it." The only way the international court would be prosecuting the United States is if it failed to prosecute these crimes first; thus it maintains protection of human rights while still maintaining sovereignty. I now stand ready for cross examination.