Ending U.S. Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia
Current Research for the MLA PF Debate Topic…

TOPIC: [US] Ending Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia
Resolved: The United States should end its arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

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

BACKGROUND:
Back in 2010, President Obama presented a $60B arms sale for Saudi Arabia. It was a notably large sale and sparked controversy among lawmakers who are given advance notice so that they can express any concerns to the president. Here is what the Council on Foreign Relations reported at that time:
\”Is the deal a good idea for the United States and the Middle East? Three of four experts contributing to this CFR.org roundup basically thought so. Anthony Cordesman argues that arms sales make sense in terms of U.S. oil interests, the U.S. need for an ally in the region that can ease the burden on the U.S. military and helping to stop a nuclear arms race in the region. Loren Thompson and F. Gregory Gause III said the Saudis will buy arms elsewhere if the United States refuses to move forward on the sale. Thompson notes the package carefully balances Saudi requirements and Israeli fears, and Gause suggests that even if the sale doesn’t create long-term stability in the region, there’s likely to be some foreign policy benefit for the United States and for the Saudis. William Hartung sounded a cautionary note, warning the deal could spur a regional arms race.\” (Is Big Saudi Arms Sale a Good Idea?, Council on Foreign Relations, Sept. 24, 2010 )

PRO: Protecting Human Rights (Fewer Weapons & Immoral), Preventing Regional Conflict (War/Genocide in Yemen & Preventing Democracy in Bahrain), Reducing Violence (Terrorism, Soft Power & Middle East Weapons Proliferation).
CON: 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):
[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)

[OPTIONAL] LD RESEARCH PACKETS (Similar Topic – Search for \”Saudi Arabia\”):
[-] LD Research – US Military Aid Policy (BFI, Summer 2018).pdf (or DOC)
[-] LD Research – US Military Aid Policy (Champion Briefs, 2018-12-01).pdf
[-] LD Research – US Military Aid Policy (Forensics Files, 2018-12-01).pdf
[-] LD Research – US Military Aid Policy (Premier Debate, 2018-12-01).pdf (or DOC)
[-] LD Research – US Military Aid Policy (Victory Briefs, 2018-12-01).pdf

REQUIRED RESEARCH VIDEOS:

[Video] How Much are U.S. Weapons Sales to Saudi Arabia? Donald Trump\’s Figures and Family Ties Challenged,
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.

[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

REQUIRED RESEARCH ARTICLES:

Is Big Saudi Arms Sale a Good Idea?,
Council on Foreign Relations, September 24, 2010
https://www.cfr.org/expert-roundup/big-saudi-arms-sale-good-idea

Should the Senate use the War Powers Act to remove US troops from Yemen?,
The Tri-City Herald, March 8, 2018
https://www.tri-cityherald.com/opinion/editorials/article204190964.html
[PRO] Mark Weisbrot is Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a leading progressive think-tank in the nation\’s capital. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan.
[CON] James Jay Carafano is director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation. A 25-year veteran of the U.S. Army, Carafano is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a holds a Ph.D. in diplomatic history from Georgetown University.

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)

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

Saudi Arabia is America\’s No. 1 weapons customer,
CBS News, October 13, 2018
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/saudi-arabia-is-the-top-buyer-of-u-s-weapons/

Restrictions on arms sales to Saudi Arabia would likely have a limited impact on US defense firms, Cowen says
CNBC News, November 26, 2018
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/26/saudi-arms-sale-limits-would-have-slight-impact-on-us-defense-firms.html

[Graphics] These are the countries still selling arms to Saudi Arabia,
CNN, November 23, 2018
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/22/middleeast/arms-exports-saudi-arabia-intl/index.html
NOTE: Please read the article as well. Thanks.

[Video] Trump’s $110 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia: still fake,
Washington Post, October 11, 2018 – 3 min
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/10/11/trumps-billion-arms-sales-saudi-arabia-still-fake/?utm_term=.582128df1e1c
NOTE: Please read the article as well. Thanks.

[Video] Trump vows \”severe punishment\” if it\’s confirmed Saudi Arabia behind the disappearance of journalist,
CBS News (60 Minutes), October 13, 2018 – 2 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wljJ9ep80Mo

[Video] The Untold Lives Of The Saudi Royal Family,
The Talko, December 20, 2017 – 10 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDrOteZX0Ao

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!

Ending U.S. Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia Current Research for the MLA PF Debate Topic…

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

Ending U.S. Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia
Current Research for the MLA PF Debate Topic…

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