Israel and Iran - lannan13's Tourney

To be clear about the resolution, I should reiterate my opponent's position that this is not a debate about the relative merits or shortcomings of Israel and Iran, although these must be considered as relative factors, but rather that a preemptive strike on Iran by Israel would, or would not, be justified. Just for the record, I have criticised both the Israeli and Iranian regimes on a wholesale basis in the past, yet I do recognise both countries and peoples have glorious pasts and, if they can reconcile their differences, could have glorious futures too. Now to address my opponent's arguments. Iran's Nuclear Programme ------------------------------ a) The Plea for Nuclear Power Iran, as my opponent correctly points out has large oil reserves and will be self-sufficient for many years to come. However, this does not preclude the need to develop alternative sources of energy. i. Oil and gas is Iran's largest export and it's main source of foreign currency. If more oil exported and less oil is used for domestic ,purposes the more Iran's economy will benefit from positive trade surpluses. ii. Iran's oil and gas reserves are finite: when they are exhausted Iran will have few alternative sources of energy unless they develop nuclear power in advance. iii. Burning oil and gas to produce electricity creates large carbon emissions which are very damaging to the environment whereas nuclear energy is very clean in comparison. While I accept that Iran is not the first country Western people think of as being at the vanguard of green issues, there is no reason top suppose that Iranians are any less concerned with protecting the planet than anyone else. b) Relations with the IAEA Iran's relationship with the International Atomic Energy Agency has not been without "glitches", as my opponent pointed out, but neither have there been any serious concerns been raised that warrant urgent intervention, certainly not a preemptive military strike. And at least Iran has a relationship, albeit flawed, with the IAEA: Israel flatly refuses to open up her nuclear facilities to IAEA inspectors. Furthermore, we must remember that while Iran co-operates with the international community on nuclear arms matters Israel, a nuclear power, refuses to submit to the authority of the United Nations' Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty - the only nuclear power in the world not to do so. As Reuters reported in 2010: "All 189 parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, including the United States, called on Friday in a declaration that singled out Israel for a conference in 2012 to discuss banning weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. " Yet Israel refused to co-operate. Iran and Israel ----------------- Iran and Israel do not enjoy friendly relations, even though Jews in Iran are protected while Muslims in Israel and the illegally-occupied Palestinian territories are routinely persecuted. Nevertheless, many of the statements President Ahmadinejad has made in relation to Israel have been twisted by pro-Israeli media sources in the West and used as propaganda against him. For example "Ahmadinejad did not say he was going to wipe Israel off the map because no such idiom exists in Persian," remarked Juan Cole, a Middle East specialist at the University of Michigan and critic of American policy who has argued that the Iranian president was misquoted. "He did say he hoped its regime, i. e. , a Jewish-Zionist state occupying Jerusalem, would collapse. " Since Iran has not "attacked another country aggressively for over a century," he said in an e-mail exchange, "I smell the whiff of war propaganda. " Putting Two and Two Together ----------------------------------- Even if Iran desired to launch a nuclear attack on Israel in the future, it would do so on the basis of mutually assured destruction because Israel is already in possession of long-range nuclear missiles. This deterrent is what prevented the Cold War escalating into a nuclear exchange between the West and the Communist Bloc and what, today, prevents India and Pakistan, both nuclear powers and sworn enemies, of launching nuclear missiles into each others' territories. For Iran to launch an attack on Israel would be suicide but, as it stands, for Israel to launch such an attack on Iran wouldn't be. That may be reason enough, given Israel's bellicose rhetoric towards Iran, would seem to be a great incentive for the Persians to develop a nuclear deterrent. Preemtive Strike ----------------- Iran is no paragon of virtue, I concede that, but niether is Israel which has consitently defied the will of the internnational community in both nuclear matters and matters relating to the human rights of Palestinians who live under the yoke of Israeli oppression. Consider this, if Israelis did not have the huge political, economic and military support of the Unirted States, they would be considered a paraiah state in the same way as many other countries are who have violated international law. In conclusion, just because the US has chose, for whatever reason, to back Israel no matter what they do in defiance of internatioanl law, just not justify a premtive strike on another sovereign nation. Thank you. Sources: ----------- . http://www.ynetnews.com... . http://www.reuters.com... . http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org... . http://www.ifamericansknew.org... . http://www.nytimes.com...