Resolved: The benefits of domestic surveillance by the NSA outweigh the harms.

"I would much rather be here today debating this point than trying to explain how we failed to prevent another 9/11," said Gen. Keith Alexander, NSA director. I agree with mr. Alexander which is why I stand affirmative in today's debate. Resolved: the benefits of domestic surveillance by the NSA outweigh the harms. 1. Imporving the national security. 2. Congress and the United States citizen's knowledge. Lastly 3. National security is the most important thing to the United States. 1. Improving the National Security. We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, and ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense..." There it is, in the preamble of the constitution, the document our founding fathers fought for, lived for, and died for, a perfect illustration of why Domestic Surveillance is necessary and why the benefits, fulfilling the principles stated, and protecting American lives, clearly outweighs the harms. The first sentence of this document states that our government has the responsibilities of providing for our defense and ensuring domestic tranquility. With constant terrorist attacks, and the lack of information leading to them, meaning no NSA, the government is no where near fulfilling the needs of the Constitution causing harm to our nation. Domestic surveillance by the NSA is just one of many aspects the government has put in place to follow through with the principals created by our founding fathers. According to the NSA, their primary role is to collect information through various legal procedures, including PRISIM which was authorized by FISA In section 702 in 2008 of FISA an act passed by Congress in 1978 to establish procedures for requesting judicial authorization for foreign intelligence surveillance and to create the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court; intended to increase United States counterintelligence; separate from ordinary law enforcement surveillance, according to Dr. James Jay Carafano. Procedures are in place so that FISA warrants grant them to acquire information in both legal and Constitutional abiding means. Let me explain there is no harm in what NSA is doing. Simply collecting and scanning over data has not impacted human lives. Those american who are not associated with terrorists should not fret, it doesn't impact them. A direct quote from President Obama, "Our intelligence professionals must be able to find out who the terrorists are talking to, what they are saying, and what they're planning," "The lives of countless Americans depend on our ability to monitor these communications." This is saying the benefit is on us to look on communications and legally intercept and prevent terrorist attacks. The benefits of the legal surveillance, prevent potential terrorist attacks, save countless lives, provide for the common defense and ensure domestic tranquility. So as you can see, the completely legal domestic surveillance, not spying, by the NSA, provides very little, if any at all harm to Americans, but provides numerous benefits of saved lives, increase in national security, and peace of mind for citizens in a completely lawful, safe way that has virtually no harm to American lives, ideals, or principles in any way, shape or form. Contention 2. Congress and US citizen"s knowledge. A.Congress not only authorized surveillance- they created it: Mike Rogers a UNITED STATES representative said June 16th, 2013 stated "All 535 members of Congress have had access to classified briefings describing the specific uses of these two programs, though not all members have chosen to attend these breifings." Washington post on july 30th, 2013 wrote "On may, 26, 2011, the house passed the 2011 patriot act sunset extension act, which reauthorized section 215 of the USA Patriot Act, the provision that underlies the National Security Agency"s telephone metadata program. the house approved the bill by a 97-vote margin, with 196 republicans voting in favor." B.Americans expect it for safety: A editor in Florida stated July 18, 2013 "there are also double standards in the debate over Snowden. Many of Snowden"s most vocal supporters in his attacks on the surveillance capabilities of the NSA would be among the most vocal critics of the agency if there were another major terror attack on US soil. Many of his supporters were also no doubt in awe of the technology, including signals intelligence, was harnessed to track down the Boston bombers within days of their attack in April. Where was their criticism of the so-called "Surveillance state" then? And when Snowden's supporters take their families on planes overseas, would they really prefer that agencies such as the NSA were severely weakened, or do they take comfort in knowing that today"s NSA may have detected a terrorist before they boarded that plane? Contention 3: National Security is the most important thing to the united states. A. NSA: Could have prevented 9/11: If the DOMESTIC SURVEILLANCE program had been in place before 2001, 9/11 could have been prevented. Shaun Waterman writer for Washington Times said on October 3, 2013 "A number of senators made it clear at the hearing that they supported the domestic data gathering. Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, baldly stated that the metadata program would have thwarted the september 11 plot because at least one of the 19 hijackers was in telephone contact with a known terrorist facility in the Middle East. the program is designed so that US calls to or from foreign numbers associated with terrorist suspects can be found after the fact- and their contacts with other US telephone numbers before and since can be logged. "I am here to tell the American people" the senator claimed, that if the metadata program had been in place, "The 19 hijackers who were here in the country, most of them in illegal status, talking to people abroad, we would have known what they were up to." Ken Dilanian writes "Under growing pressure over recently disclosed surveillance programs, the head of the NSA told lawmakers Tuesday that gathering telephone data and monitoring internet use has helped to disrupt more than 50 "Potential terrorist events" since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Gen. Keith Alexander and other officials, testifying before a largely sympathetic House Intelligence Committee, identified two new cases - and alleged plot to blow up the New York Stock Exchange and a U.S. resident who helped finance a terrorist group in Somalia - that they said proved the worth of the surveillance programs disclosed this month by former Marylander Edward Snowden."