Modified Policy Debate

Thank you very much, Thomas, for bringing this very important topic to light. I stand in firm affirmation of the resolution, and believe we need to bring our troops back home immediately. I will carry the burden of proof in this debate, and I will draw from my opponent's contentions to start. This is not a clear cut case , however, my arguments are going to be based on what is right for our country at this very moment in time. Therefore, it will based on economic climate and the welfare of our troops. I will continue with those points later, but first I would like to address my opponent's contentions. I apologize in advance, if this is not the format Thomas requires, but it helps me stay organized. C-1: Both al Qaeda and Taliban operatives and trainees pose a direct threat to the citizens of the United States, their allies, and interests. Members of these groups are dedicated to the principles of their cause, and will continue to carry out terrorist acts, and human degredations if they are not stopped. The U.S. is among the few nations even capable of putting a stop to and/or reducing this violence. Further, the U.S. has a responsibility to all Americans to keep them safe from said terrorist attacks. Then President Bush stated that it is better to fight them over there, than to fight them here in America. While I agree that these groups do not have our best interests in mind, there is absolutely no way that we are going to stop them from attacking us while we are attacking them. The only way this would work, is to wipe them out completely, and since the majority of these groups is now in Saudi Arabia and Yemen, we are spinning our wheels in Afghanistan. C-2: A primary responsibility of any government is to protect the citizens under it's governance. With rogue organizations with radical ideologies such as al Qaeda and the Taliban, the legitimate government of Afghanistan is unable to address the problems and harms that these organizations pose. Both NATO & the U.N. are assisting, however, the U.S. makes up the lion's share of assistance. If the U.S. were to leave, elements of NATO and the U.N. would likely follow. I agree that the government has a responsibility to protect it's citizens, but I also believe that our troops are citizens. More troops have been killed as a direct result of this war, than the total number of civilians killed by these groups. Our government does NOT have a responsibility to other nations' well being, and frankly, we can't afford it. I will elaborate later. C-3: Exigence. If the Taliban and al Qaeda are not stopped, there remains the strong probablility that they will flow over into neighboring Pakistan. Pakistan is on eof the few nations in the world that possesses nuclear weapons. If nuclear weapons were to fall into the hands of rogue terrorists with nothing to lose, the results could be catastrophic. Efforts to keep this from happening are imperative, and U.S. presence is paramount to that end. They have already flowed into Pakistan, and Pakistan has proved to be on board with their fundamentalist objectives. I might even agree that we need to put some weight on Pakistan, but that is moot in this debate. C-4: Human rights violations are occurring as we debate. If the U.S. forces were to leave, unimagineable atrocities are bound to occur. The entire nation will be propelled into a state of disorganized chaos. Citizens will tire of the degredations and revolt against their oppressors, but will ultimately be crushed due to lack of training and weaponry. The Afghani police assets will be unable to control the situation. The resulting carnage will be unthinkable. I assure you that this is not the case. I agree that human rights are being violated, but I contend that we are the guilty party. What if another country were to just come and occupy the United States? No matter what their intentions were, we would want them gone. There are always two sides to a coin. These people live in a completely different culture, so what may seem horrible to us, may seem a better alternative than becoming an American colony. C-5: An estimated 90 % of the world's opiate based illegal drugs are produced in Afghanistan. These drugs are a cancer to the world. By removing the U.S. forces, we are all but endorsing the production and sale of illegal drugs on an international scale. Opiates are used daily in medical practices around the world. Our country has ZERO jurisdiction in respect to another county's commodities. This includes the Poppy plants of Afghanistan. Our jurisdiction ends at our borders, so if you want to fight the drug war, it must be done here. Otherwise, we become an empire, instead of a republic. We are not international police, and we are not anyone's mother or father. My opening argument will be very quick. We cannot afford to be at war, period. How is our government paying for this war? Who is paying to rebuild these countries? Who is paying for all the weaponry? We are! The problem is, there is no money, and we are going to kill ourselves with debt. Then, we will actually be in trouble, because what is going to stop another nation(Al-quada and taliban are NOT nations) from coming in and taking what is rightfully theirs? After all, if we keep borrowing money, and have nothing to back that money with, we are basically selling off shares of our country to be liquidated when we can't pay the bill. Furthermore, we are needlessly wasting young lives that would better serve our economy right here in this country. I guess the question is, who do we take care of first? Ourselves, or a bunch of other countries that don't necessarily like us? With that, I will pass to Thomas for what I am certain will be a thought provoking second round.