economic sanctions ought not be used to achieve foreign policy objectives

"economic sanction- to cut off all imports and exports from one or more countries" A sanction need not necessarily be a complete and total removal of trade. Take for example Iran, where Congress is currently considering sanctioning gasoline because Iran is so heavily reliant upon it. ".i ask my opponent to consider trade sanctions a part of economic sanctions." What else could a trade sanction possibly be? "my value premice is-justice" There is no warrant for this. "my criteria is that it is unjust to kill or take money from citizens for something so futile." There is no warrant for this, either. "to quote Abraham Lincolin "those who deny freedom to others , deserve it not for them selves." " This has no link to the topic at hand. "it is unjust to take more of their money for something that they may or may not agree with" Why would we raise taxes to not trade with somebody? If it were true, isn't stopping genocide/apartheid worth a small tax hike? Why is the current level of taxes the appropriate amount and an increase in taxes unjust? It's nice to know that my opponent can make up claims that support his case, but he needs to use real evidence to actually have an intelligent debate. "if you remember i quoted abraham lincolin before stating my first contention. I used that particular quote to imply that we are taking their rights to life liberty and property, by enforcing sanctions " I'm fairly certain Abraham Lincoln wasn't talking about economic sanctions in his quote. Quoting Abraham Lincoln on the issue of slavery in no way proves that economic sanctions kill people. "the theory that sanctions are effective is just that , a theory, a theory is unproven and potentially wrong ," ...just like every claim my opponent has made in his previous speech. "unless my opponent can prove or disprove said theory, this argument should stand.sanctions largely have been extremely ineffective in the past , why continue a practice that has so historically been furile?" If my opponent wants to make the argument that sanctions have been ineffective, then he'd darn-well better prove it himself, not make an unwarranted assertion and claim that it's true until I disprove it. This isn't helped by the fact that he is the Intsigator and PRO side of the resolution. "military forces would have to be deployed to enforce sanctions" When has this ever occured? It takes military troups to stop local companies from trading over seas? "sanctions cannot be in place or enforced forever and when sanctions are removed or weakened , that leaves an open spot for attack on the country sanctioning" What? "a famous non-violent protester once said "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind " that man was MAHATMA GHANDI and this mans methods were effective because he fought without fighting at all, but by using boycotts" My opponent just said that boycotts are the best alternative. Wait... how is a sanction any different from a boycott? It isn't. "another example and more proof that this argument is correct was MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. who also fought using non-violent methods" ...such as boycotts. =============================================================================== I value morality, because ought implies a moral duty. The criterion by which we ought to determine morality is consequentialism. First, because governments are created by society to maximize societal wellbeing and would not exist unless they benefited society, governments must ensure that their actions have positive consequences. Second, only consequentialism affirms the idea that all humans have equal value. There is no morally relevant distinction between persons, so the worth of all humans must be weighed equally. Other approaches to morality, such as deontology, posit that we cannot sacrifice one to save many. Such a view of morality allows one person's life to be valued over the life of others. Foreign policy objectives, as the resolution implies, are the desired consequences. Thus, because sanctions are effective in achieving foreign policy objectives[1] they are a moral policy. [1] http://www.ima.org.uk...