Current U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East undermines our national security.

Evidence is only to be presented when asked for Last speeches, no new evidence is to be presented 1st speech- opening 2nd- rebuttals 3rd- more rebuttals 4th- summary 5th- Closing statement Good luck! CON- Case Definitions Merriam Webster- undermine- to subvert or weaken insidiously or secretly Foreign Policy- actions the United States government takes on behalf of its national interests abroad to ensure the security and well-being of Americans and the strength and competitiveness of the U. S. economy. - California State University Current-from the Obama administration onwards We would like to provide two observations Obsv 1- As no foreign policy in the history of civilization is 100% effective, the Affirmative cannot nitpick certain miniscule harms in the current foreign policy. Our opponents have to show you, Judge, that there is a great magnitude of harms that undermine the national security. Obsv 2- Since the United States is the biggest superpower in the world, almost no one can undermine it"s national security. Using the Rand Corporation"s key term of threaten, a country has to have the intent and capability to be considered a threat. Any argument the Affirmative argues on this debate, has to meet this "threat" criteria. Contention 1- The Current US foreign policy in the Middle East keeps the United States safe. According to CIA- The United States cannot avoid terrorism simply by pulling back from the Middle East, Pillar, a Federal Executive Fellow in the Policy Studies program of the Brookings Institution argues. Retrenchment would not serve our foreign policy or security interests. America can do little to change its status in the world. Indeed, the US partnership with Israel"the most frequently voiced complaint by Islamic terrorists"moderates Israeli policies and sustains Israel's confidence in its security. Reduction of US support for Israel would not reduce terrorism, and might even encourage it. But while our opponents may say that we are currently drawing our troops out of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, according to CountDownToDrawDown. org: Reports indicate that the Pentagon wants to keep at least 25,000 troops in Afghanistan to maintain peace and stability. There were only 34,000 troops there when Obama took office. If 25,000 troops are kept after 2014, the net withdrawal would only be 9,000 troops, making troop levels the same as what they were in 2007. Likewise, the United States is also very safe from terrorists currently. The Atlantic reports that only 0.01% of all terrorist related deaths in 2011 were private US citizens. The impact is that if we must withdraw the current foreign policy from the middle east because it undermines our national security, then how come terrorism might increase without the foreign policy? Currently with the foreign policy, many US citizens are being protected. The national security is currently safe with the current policy in the Middle East. [Retrenchment means a cutting of expenses- Merriam Webster] Contention 2- Current US Foreign Policy decreases probability of an Al Qaeda attack Because of the current US foreign policy, last year, Osama Bin Laden was killed This was dramatically decreased the probability of an Al Qaeda attack, which is considered the top terrorist threat to the United States, according to the Council on foreign relations. According to the Center for American Progress and the National Counterterrorism Center"s Worldwide Incidents Tracking System: There was a 16 percent drop in successful attacks by the Al Qaeda network in the year after bin Laden"s death compared to the year before. There was also a 35 percent drop in casualties caused by the Al Qaeda network in the year following bin Laden"s death compared to the year before. There were only 81 successful attacks by the Al Qaeda network in Pakistan since bin Laden"s death, down from 159 the year before. There were 0 successful attacks by the Al Qaeda network in the United States since bin Laden"s death. The impact is clear. The current US foreign policy is doing a great job from protecting the United States as well as other countries. Under the Obama foreign policy, Bin Laden was killed. Since the probability of attacks on the US and other countries decreased dramatically since, the US national security is not being undermined with the current US foreign policy.