Resolved: North Korea poses a much greater threat to United States National Security than Iran

For the purpose of this debate, I would like to define the following terms used in the resolution: Threat: A prevalent force imposing harm or danger National Security: The defense and foreign relations of a country, including protection of its interests (dictionary.com) Contention 1: Iran has dangerously poor government policies When comparing the governments of North Korea and Iran, it becomes irrefutably apparent that the Iranian government is a much greater threat than that of North Korea. A big issue in the Middle East right now is political corruption. Well Iran is no exception to this ongoing threat. In fact last year, president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai admitted to accepting under-the-table bribes from Iran. Karzai said that once or twice a year, he would receive a payment of up to $975,000. Iran's incentives for this bribery were to sideline NATO involvement in the Middle East (New York Times). Furthermore, Karzai's chief of staff was also caught excepting more than a million dollars worth of euros once more, from the government of Iran. Further investigation reveals that this bribe was to be distributed as payments to multiple insurgent groups including the Taliban! (guardian.co.uk) However I will touch on this further in my next contention. Iran is responsible for bribes such as these and it is prudent that we recognize the threats they pose to the United States. It is in the national interests of the United States to end the war on terror, and as long as Iran continues to support the Taliban, they are threatening this cause. In addition, I reiterate that investigations done on these bribes conclude that the payments made by Iran were incentives to weaken NATO involvement in the Middle East. (guardian.co.uk) It is not only in the interest of the security of our troops, but the overall endeavors of the United States to make political reform in the Middle East as smooth as possible. However it is the political policies of Iran that is degrading to such aspirations of the United States. Yet another threat that Iran's politics pose to the U.S is their nuclear program. According to globalsecurity.org, Iran is currently in the process of expanding their nuclear horizons. Further evidence leads experts to believe that Iran is currently working on the production of nuclear weaponry. What's even more unsettling is Iran's attempts to conceal this threat. To this day, Iran continues to restrict full examinations of their nuclear facilities that are allegedly being used for energy production. (guardian.co.uk) But I ask you this; why would Iran be so secretive if they had nothing to hide? For this reason it is widly excepted that that Iran is in the process of obaining the intelegence and materials for building nuclear weapons. Considering tensions between neighboring American allies such as Israel, this is a threat that cannot go ignored. Contention 2: Iran presents signifigantly greater threats of insurgencie than Iran As I have already established, the Iranian government has been responsible on multiple recent accounts of supporting terrorist groups such as the Taliban. Iran is supporting the very terrorists that assisted in the bombings of 9/11! The September eleventh bombings were a monumental domestic attack that challenged the national security of the United States and Iran continues to support this threat. It is estimated that there have been 2,304 US and coalition troop casualties that have occurred from the war on terror (CNN), and Iran's financial support of insurgent groups are just further worsening these casualties. The primary military objective that America faces right now is to end the war on terror and impose reform in the Middle East, however Iran is being counterproductive to this goal. And amidst all this war and tragedy, North Korea continues to sit locked up and politically isolated in eastern Asia. But the insurgents that Iran supports don't only pose a threat to United States and its troops, but also many American allies in the Middle East such as Israel. Accounts of Iranian bribes and insurgencies are also threatening to the democratic reform that the United States is attempting to develop in nations such as Afghanistan. Insurgency is a large problem in Iran that poses and an incredible threat to the United States, however this is a threat that North Korea has already contained in their country. Because of an established government, Kim Jong Il has managed to maintain structure in his society thus minimizing instances of insurgencies. This is a key difference between North Korea and Iran; one supports Insurgencies, the other one prevents it. Contention 3: Iran imposes a larger economic threat than North Korea When comparing threats imposed by Iran and North Korea, we must also compare their economies. North Korea has a rather intimidating military; however their willingness to use it is also based on their economic status. According to cia.gov, North Koreas Gross domestic Product is only 40 billion dollars! Compare that to Iran's GPD which is currently over 853 billion dollars. Furthermore, The CIA world fact book places Iran as the 19th most economically stable country in the world. North Korea placed 98th. So when given the numbers, it becomes clear that Iran is the much more economically stable country, while North Korea is hurting. But even in this time of economic hurt, let's examine where north Korea is getting that 40 billion dollars from. According to cia.gov, 42% of North Korea's exports go to china, and 38% of North Korea's exports go to South Korea. Both of these nations are very close allies of the United States. (state.gov) so now we must ask ourselves, would North Korea really harm a country that has influence over 80% of their already minimal consumers? I don't think so. Iran on the other hand is in a much more economically stable position, thus deeming them a larger economic threat. Not only is Iran the 19th most economically stable country in the world, (cia.gov) but Iran shares strong alliances with other powerful nations of the world including China, Russia, Germany, and France (rutgers.edu) whereas North Koreas only significant ally is china. (independent.co.uk) But what if china were forced to choose between the countries of Iran and North Korea? Well it becomes clear that china would show more support in Iran simply because they have a much better economy. In fact, as of 2010, Iran is the fourth largest exporter of oil (with china landing sixth). It would be unbeneficial for china to side with North Korea when the real money resides in Iran. It is for these reasons that I would like to urge a strong vote in the affirmation of this resolution.