Resolved: Current U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East Undermines Our National Security

"I look at what's happening around the world and I see Iran four years closer to a bomb. I see the Middle East with a rising tide of violence, chaos, tumult. I see jihadists continuing to spread." And while we may not all agree Mitt Romney, the facts don"t lie. We have seen what has happened, what has been done about that, and finally the results of what has happened. We"ve seen that our foreign policy in the Middle East is not only ineffective, but they also undermine our very own security as a nation. As a result we stand in firm affirmation of the resolution stating resolved: Current U.S. foreign policy in the middle east undermines our national security. We stand in affirmation for three main contentions, Terrorism, Iran, and lastly our Foreign Policy with Middle Eastern Allies and The Publics Opinion. We offer the following definitions from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and the World Atlas. Current: presently elapsing Foreign Policy: the policy of a sovereign state in its interaction with other sovereign states Middle East: The Middle East (or West Asia) sits where Africa, Asia and Europe meet. The countries of the Middle East are all part of Asia, but for clarity reasons we geographically show them here as a separate landmass. Undermines: to subvert or weaken insidiously or secretly National Security: Measures adopted by the government of a nation in order to assure the safety of its citizens, guard against attack, and prevent disclosure of sensitive or classified information which might threaten or embarrass said nation. Point 1: Terrorism Since the 9/11 attacks the United States has been particularly interested in terrorism abroad. We have invested a decade of time and billions of dollars in the War on Terror, and yielded few results. But before we move to disect our attacks upon terrorism we need to understand it. International terrorism, as defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, involves violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or any state, or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or any state. These acts appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion, or affect the conduct of a government by assassination or kidnapping. International terrorist acts occur outside the United States or transcend national boundaries in terms of the means by which they are accomplished, the persons they appear intended to coerce or intimidate, or the locale in which their perpetrators operate or seek asylum. Since the 9/11 attacks we have done little to be an effective force against the strong enemy of terrorism. Our foreign policies have varied between countries to fit to each situation, however, we are seeing that not having the same rules to play by have led to an uprise in terrorism in what we thought were stable countries. We have recently seen a threat to the stability of Pakistan, Israel, and other countries we thought we have liberated and now had as a foothold. Point 2: Iran We have all been widely aware of Iran"s first nuclear program which began in the 1960s under the shah. It made little progress, and was abandoned after the 1979 revolution, which brought to power the hard-line Islamic regime. In the mid-1990s, a new effort began, raising suspicions in Washington and elsewhere. Iran insisted that it was living up to its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, but in 2002, an exile group obtained documents revealing a clandestine program. Faced with the likelihood of international sanctions, the government of Mohammad Khatami agreed in 2003 to suspend work on uranium enrichment and allow a stepped-up level of inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency while continuing negotiations with Britain, France and Germany. Looking at recent investigations taken every 2-4 years we are seeing peaked interest from the Iranian government in what they say, "its goal in developing a nuclear program is to generate electricity without dipping into the oil supply." We have seen however, "And while the agency"s statistics show that Iran has, since February, nearly doubled its stockpile of fuel enriched to 20 percent purity." Not to mention that since Iran is one of the key influences in the Middle East other countries are bound to follow. Point 3: Our Foreign Policy with Middle Eastern Allies and the Public Opinion Sub-Point A: Every year the United States focuses billions of dollars on our connections with most of our middle-eastern allies. We can especially see this in the struggling country of Syria. In the strongly weakened nation is wanting more weapons and ammunition that we can, but won"t provide them. If we do then our policies will crumble no matter who wins. If the Free Syrian Army wins they will not be satisfied, because we didn"t provide sufficient support, but if the Syrian Government wins then they will be hostile at the fact that we supported the opposition. With either side having risk there is not a choice the United States can support with a positive state of mind that their followers will win. When it comes to the resolution and the issue to whether or not this threatens our national security it is an obvious yes. If we do not support one side or the other then who will their anger be directed towards us later. The ongoing revolution is doubled edged, as the world has most vividly seen since the riots and attacks that occurred on American diplomatic facilities last month. The region is driven by tensions, and Iran and Islamist extremists are seeking to influence events and expand their control. The future of democratic institutions in the region, and the security of the United States and its allies, hangs in the balance. Sub-Point B: Public Opinion One of the most important parts of our job in the Middle East is to win the hearts, minds, and souls of the people. If the public doesn"t like our presence they will continue to make it a miserable one. The public has proved time and time again that they do not think that terrorism is a large problem. When asked in a over all survey on what threatens the nation more a majority would say that terrorism is not major problem in the United States. If you want precise details around 12% of the people in the U.S. believe that terrorism is a major problem and 45% believe it to be somewhat a problem. This shows that todays society is not informed of the problem. If the people were informed on this problem then there is a large possibility that people would support the United States and therefore inforce our national security. Conclusion: It is for these reasons and many more that we respectfully ask for an affirmative ballot in today"s debate.