Current US Foreign Policy in the Middle East Threatens our National Security

"The purpose of foreign policy is not to provide an outlet for our own sentiments of hope or indignation; it is to shape real events in a real world." John F. Kennedy. I stand firm on the negation of this topic saying that "Current foreign policy in the US undermines our national security" We negate this resolution with 3 points which are 1. US policy in Libya and Israel has gained us a critical strategic ally 2. Our foreign policy in Iran upholds and protects our national security 3. Our current policy is so strong that any current Middle Eastern country can"t undermine it For the purpose of this debate, I will offer the definitions to clarify this resolution. Foreign policy- refers to actions the United States government takes on behalf of its national interests to ensure the security and well-being of Americans and the strength and competitiveness of the U.S. economy. National security- is a corporate term covering both national defense and foreign relations of the U.S. It refers to the protection of a nation from attack or other danger by holding adequate armed forces and guarding state secrets. For the Pro to win this debate, they will need to clearly show how current foreign policy harms our interests as Americans. Now for our first contention, US policy in Libya and Israel has gained us a critical strategic ally. As Libya faces challenges in establishing national security and creating a stable and prosperous country, studies have shown that Libyans are looking to the United States for help and for partnership. This would be beneficial for both these Middle Eastern countries and as well as the United States. With Middle Eastern countries as our allies we are provided with insides with things happening in the Middle East as well as accompanied by these countries in case there is a time of war for the United States. According to US State Department in 2011, the United States led efforts at the UN to respond to the calls of help from the Libyan people and they took action to protect the civilians. So all-in-all our allies within the Middle Eastern countries benefit our nation for our security because they will protect us in a time of war and prevent us from getting into a war. For our second contention our foreign policy in Iran upholds and protects our national security. According to the US State Department, with American leadership, the UN Security Council imposed the toughest UN sanctions regime ever on Iran for its continued failure to live up to its obligation. Also from Daniel Byman a professor in security studies at Brookings Institute says that when Iran feels under attack, their leaders want to prove to their population that they are fighting back. So if Israel or the United States took the war out of the shadows and did a direct military strike on Israel"s suspected nuclear facilities, the Iranian terrorists" response would be considerable. What he is saying is that our current policy with Iran wouldn"t cause Iran to have to enforce nuclear attacks but changing our policy could. Contention 3: our current policy is so strong that any current Middle Eastern country can"t undermine it. Even with strong-hold counties like Russia that are allies with a county that our allies are fighting with, which could eventually cause some tension with these different countries but they don"t tend to mess with us because of our foreign relations with different and because we have such a strong military. So in reality, our national security would not be affected by our foreign policy. Also, any relation with different counties would jeopardize our national security as we are far more powerful than any other country. In conclusion we negate the resolution for three main points. 1. US policy in Libya and Israel has gained us a critical strategic ally 2. Our foreign policy in Iran upholds and protects our national security 3. Our current policy is so strong that any current Middle Eastern country can"t undermine it