Military Aid to Authoritarian Regimes
Current Research for the MLA PF Debate Topic…

TOPIC: Prioritizing Deficit Reduction
Resolved: The United States ought not provide military aid to authoritarian regimes.

IMPORTANT: Please read the following from the \”Debate Bible\” (Disadvantages, Counterplans & Topicality): The Debate Bible (by Jon Brushke).pdf (or Doc).

NEXT EVIDENCE/ARGUMENTS UPDATE =
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2019 (Around 11:30 pm)

BACKGROUND:
Time to Disengage from the Middle East (Prof. Mohammed Ayoob, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Policy, National Interest, June 30, 2016)
The Orlando and San Bernardino shootings have led important personalities to make several suggestions, both workable and unworkable. These range from banning the entry of Muslim immigrants into the United States to tighter gun control. However, hardly anyone seems to have asked the fundamental question: why have some radicalized inhabitants of broader Middle-Eastern origin developed such hatred for Americans that they are willing not only to inflict tremendous suffering on innocent civilians but also to lay down their own lives in the process?
The answer lies in the history and extent of American involvement in the broader Middle East ranging from Turkey to Pakistan, what has been called the “ arc of crisis ”. The United States was often involved on the wrong side of the internal and regional conflicts in this region, supporting authoritarian regimes to maintain control over restive populations. More important, the extent of its involvement—especially in the post–Cold War era—has far exceeded its economic and strategic interests in the region.
… It is time for the United States to begin disengaging from the broader Middle East. After the terrorist attacks in Orlando and San Bernardino, such disengagement has become a matter of homeland security. These two incidents have made clear even more than 9/11 that the greater the American involvement in the affairs of the broader Middle East, the greater chance of blowback that could inflict great damage on the security of its people at home. While such disengagement may not put an end to terror attacks within the American homeland immediately, it will drastically curtail the chances of such attacks being repeated in the future.

AFF: Protecting Human Rights (Fewer Weapons & Immoral), Preventing Regional Conflict (War/Genocide in Yemen & Preventing Democracy in Bahrain), Reducing Violence (Terrorism, Soft Power & \’Blood for Oil\’).
NEG: Effectiveness (Denying Arms Won\’t Work), Economic Damage (Upwards of $100B in Lost Sales), Threatens U.S. Security (Weakens Deterrence & Undermines \’Soft\’ Power).

MAGNET EVIDENCE/ARGUMENTS PACKETS (for Magnet Academy Debate Students):
Change \’Arms Sales\’ to \’Military Aid\’ and \’Saudi Arabia\’ to \’Authoritarian Regimes\’ (Case = \”Middle East\” Specific)
[Complete] PF Evidence (ver 2.01) – US Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia (MLA, 2019-02-01).pdf (or DOC)
[Complete] PF Arguments (ver 2.01) – US Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia (MLA, 2019-02-01).pdf (or DOC)
[Complete] PF Sample \”Rejoinders\” (ver 2.01) – US Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia (MLA, 2019-02-01).pdf (or DOC)
[Complete] PF Sample \”Voting Issues\” (ver 2.01) – US Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia (MLA, 2019-02-01).pdf (or DOC)

REQUIRED RESEARCH VIDEOS:

The US Supports 73% of the Worlds Dictatorships,
Graham Elwood, Political Vigilante, January 9, 2018 – 10 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4JqQHrfPFc
IMPORTANT: Please be mature when listening. There may be \’adult\’ comments from the author.

[Video] How this young prince seized power in Saudi Arabia,
Vox News, January 23, 2018 – 5 min [Transcript: PDF]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DipzS0VH4PA

[Video] Is the U.S.-Saudi Relationship Unconditional?,
Intelligence Squared Debates, Feb 9, 2017 – 5 min [Transcript: PDF]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiBilzBOK_A

[Video] Is Saudi Arabia a Pressure Cooker?
Intelligence Squared Debates, Feb 9, 2017 – 3 min [Transcript: PDF]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8oA4yON0S0

Opening Statement: Hearing on Democracy Promotion in a Challenging World,
US Committee on Foreign Affairs, June 14, 2018 – 4 mins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R7h44gKnoI
IMPORTANT: Transcripts are available. Opening Remarks are shorter, yet potent!

How Much are U.S. Weapons Sales to Saudi Arabia?,
Newsweek, October 12, 2018 – 2 min
https://www.newsweek.com/how-much-us-weapons-sales-saudi-arabia-trump-1167693
NOTE: Please read the article as well. Thanks.

REQUIRED RESEARCH ARTICLES:

Could President Trump Sell Deadly Drones to Dictators?,
Cristina Maza, Newsweek, April 19, 2018
https://www.newsweek.com/could-trump-sell-drones-dictators-new-policy-makes-it-easier-sell-lethal-893628

What Has $49 Billion in Foreign Military Aid Bought Us? Not Much,
Andrew Miller, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, February 27, 2018
https://carnegieendowment.org/2018/02/27/what-has-49-billion-in-foreign-military-aid-bought-us-not-much-pub-75657

How U.S. Military Bases Back Dictators, Autocrats, And Military Regimes,
Prof. David Vine, American University, Huffington Post, May 16, 2017
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-us-military-bases-back-dictators-autocrats-and-military-regimes_us_591b229ae4b05dd15f0ba8e6

ADDITIONAL \”OPTIONAL\” RESEARCH ARTICLES & VIDEOS:

TOPIC: The Special US-Saudi Relationship Has Outlived Its Usefulness.
Intelligence Squared (Debate), February 8, 2017 – 99 min (Please watch the shorter clips underneath the main video)
https://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/special-us-saudi-relationship-has-outlived-its-usefulness
IMPORTANT: This is the heart of the entire debate topic – debated by top experts! A must see for \’top\’ debaters!

CLIP-01: Is the US-Saudi Relationship Unconditional? (5 min)
CLIP-02: Is Saudi Arabia a Pressure Cooker? (3 min)
CLIP-03: Will There Be Consequences for Our Continuing Relationship with Saudi Arabia? (4 min)
NOTE: Please skip the first 50 sec of CLIP-03, because they ended up replacing her question with a different one.

Here is a full description of the various experts…

[LEFT-01] Madawi Al-Rasheed is a visiting professor at the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics and former research fellow at the Open Society Foundation. She was a professor of anthropology of Religion at King’s College, London between 1994 and 2013. Previously, she was Prize Research Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford. She also taught at Goldsmith College (University of London) and the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford. Al-Rasheed is the author of A Most Masculine State: Gender, Politics, and Religion in Saudi Arabia, Kingdom Without Borders: Saudi Arabia’s Political, Religious, and Media Frontiers, and Contesting the Saudi State: Islamic Voices from a New Generation.

[LEFT-02] Mark P. Lagon is a Centennial Fellow and Distinguished Senior Scholar in the Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University and is the former president of Freedom House. From 2007 to 2009, he served as ambassador-at-large, directing the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the U.S. Department of State. Lagon also served in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs at the U.S. Department of State as deputy assistant secretary. In this capacity, he had lead responsibility for United Nations-related human rights and humanitarian issues, UN reform, and outreach. Lagon also served as a member of the Secretary of State Colin Powell\’s policy planning staff, where he focused on the UN, democracy and human rights. Prior to that, was on the senior staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

[RIGHT-01] F. Gregory Gause, III is the John H. Lindsey Chair, professor of international affairs and head of the International Affairs Department at the Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University. He is the author of three books and numerous articles on the politics of the Middle East, with a particular focus on the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf. Gause was previously on the faculties of the University of Vermont and Columbia University and was Fellow for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York (1993-1994). His articles have appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Middle East Journal, Security Studies, Washington Quarterly, National Interest, and in other journals and edited volumes.

[RIGHT-02] Ambassador James F. Jeffrey is the Philip Solondz Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute where he focuses on U.S. diplomatic and military strategy in the Middle East, with emphasis on Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. One of the nation\’s most senior diplomats, Ambassador Jeffrey has held a series of highly sensitive posts in Washington D.C. and abroad. In addition to his service as ambassador in Turkey and Iraq, he served as assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor in the George W. Bush administration, with a special focus on Iran. He previously served as principal deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the Department of State, where his responsibilities included leading the Iran policy team and coordinating public diplomacy.

Five charts that explain Saudi Arabia’s importance to the global arms trade,
Financial Times (London), October 22, 2018 [PDF]
https://www.ft.com/content/dd836c34-d60b-11e8-a854-33d6f82e62f8

The US Provides Military Assistance to 73 Percent of the World’s Dictatorships,
Rich Whitney, Global Research Center, April 23, 2018
https://www.globalresearch.ca/us-provides-military-assistance-to-73-percent-of-the-worlds-dictatorships/5611021
NOTE: Please read the top part carefully and then skim the rest of the article for extra facts in the lower sections.

The US Provides Military Assistance to 73 Percent of the World’s Dictatorships,
Rich Whitney, Truthout Magazine, September 23, 2017
https://truthout.org/articles/us-provides-military-assistance-to-73-percent-of-world-s-dictatorships/
NOTE: Please read the top part carefully and then skim the rest of the article for extra facts in the lower sections.

Time To Rethink U.S. Military Aid To Egypt,
Seth Binder, Strategic Research & Analysis, Lobelog.com, March 28, 2018
https://lobelog.com/time-to-rethink-u-s-military-aid-to-egypt/
Note: Seth Binder is an expert in security assistance and Middle East affairs at Strategic Research & Analysis.

It\’s Time for America to Disengage From the Middle East,
Dr. Mohammed Ayoob, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Policy, National Interest, June 30, 2016
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-skeptics/its-time-america-disengage-the-middle-east-16799
Mohammed Ayoob is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Policy and University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of International Relations, Michigan State University; author most recently of Will the Middle East Implode? (Polity, 2014)

[Video] U.S. Supported Dictators (Historical Information),
David Cooperson, Youtube Video, February 14, 2011 – 3 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gtj1uqXqKok
NOTE: Dictators that have either been given military or monetary aid or directly been put in power, by the government or intelligence of the United States.

Floodgates could open on US drone sales to the Middle East,
Jen Judson, Defense News, May 11, 2018 – 1 min
https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/sofex/2018/05/11/us-drone-sales-could-heat-up-in-the-middle-east/
Note: Article is the real information — video is neither pro nor con.

Exclusive: Trump to boost exports of lethal drones to more U.S. allies – sources,
Mike Stone, Matt Spetalnick, Reuters News, March 20, 2018 – 12 min
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-arms-drones-exclusive/exclusive-trump-to-boost-exports-of-lethal-drones-to-more-u-s-allies-sources-idUSKBN1GW12D
IMPORTANT: If you\’re competitive – watch it all. If not, then watch the first 5 mins.

[History] Democracy promotion: America’s new regime change formula,
RT News, November 17, 2010
https://www.rt.com/usa/democracy-promotion-usa-regime/

[Video] Democracy Promotion in a Challenging World,
US Committee on Foreign Affairs, June 14, 2018 – 3 hrs
https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/hearing-democracy-promotion-in-a-challenging-world/
IMPORTANT: Transcripts are available. Opening Remarks are shorter, yet potent!

[Video] Schieffer Series: Democracy Promotion and America’s Global Leadership,
Center for Strategic & International Studies, October 9, 2018 – 60 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keTZVvAhN-4

[Video] Democracy Promotion in the Age of Trump,
Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, May 10, 2018 – 88 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njfsd40PbQE

[Video] The US Gives Mílítary Aid To 73% Of World\’s Díctatorshíps,
Secular Talk, September 27, 2017 – 8 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztTRcZalb4I
IMPORTANT: Please be mature when listening. There may be \’F~bombs\’ from the author.

[Video] Witnesses: Hearing on Democracy Promotion in a Challenging World,
US Committee on Foreign Affairs, June 14, 2018 – 6 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF7viS3MrVQ
IMPORTANT: Transcripts are available. Opening Remarks are shorter, yet potent!
Carl Gershman, President, National Endowment for Democracy
Daniel Twining, President, International Republican Institute
Kenneth Wollack, President National Democratic Institute

Tracking Billions of Dollars in Foreign Aid in One Map,
How-Much.net, Last Accessed: December 2018
https://howmuch.net/articles/usa-foreign-aid-by-country
NOTE: Do you see your country on the list?

U.S. Vacuum in Global Governance Opens Space for Others,

Dr. Daniel Kaufmann, Ph.D. Economics from Harvard University, the former director at the World Bank, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution, Financial Times, Jan 22, 2018

https://www.ft.com/content/77320836-ff6b-11e7-9650-9c0ad2d7c5b5 (PDF Version)

…

Topic Analysis: LD (Jan/Feb) Military Aid Policy,
Shattering the Lens, LU: December 2018
http://shatteringthelens.com/2018/12/02/resolved-the-united-states-ought-not-provide-military-aid-to-authoritarian-regimes/

Topic Analysis: LD Jan/Feb Military Aid Topic,
Girls Debate, LU: December 2018
https://www.girlsdebate.org/ld-resources/2018/12/6/topic-analysis-ld-janfeb-military-aid-topic

Contact Information (Coach Bill):
Bill Eddy,
coachbill@magnetacademy.com
714.655.8135 (I prefer text)
When contacting me, please include your name and class information (day/time). Thanks!

Military Aid to Authoritarian Regimes Current Research for the MLA PF Debate Topic…

NEXT EVIDENCE/ARGUMENTS UPDATE = FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2019 (Around 11:30 pm)

Military Aid to Authoritarian Regimes
Current Research for the MLA PF Debate Topic…

NEXT EVIDENCE/ARGUMENTS UPDATE =
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2019 (Around 11:30 pm)