They would never get out alive.

The very worst thing about NBC’s abysmal ‘reality’ competition show Get Out Alive With Bear Grylls surprisingly is not that it features a bunch of crybaby yuppies for its cast, shamelessly rips off other programs that preceded it, has a complete lack of physical or psychological strain, or subjects its participants to the most humiliating and pointless labors, but that it takes the very best thing about another show pitting man vs. wild and inadvertently perverts it into little more than an indicator of this spinoff’s comparative absurdity, so laying bear its own shallowness and low respect for the viewer’s intelligence.  To reduce one of the most charming and witty survival guys on television to a condescending, egotistical parody of himself demands an uncommon talent, but Get Out Alive accomplishes said feat with ease, making it the most amusing and paradoxically depressing hiking and camping – I mean survival – show in a long time.

Get Out Alive tries to be Survivor meets The Amazing Race without any actual surviving or physical exertion; it tasks ten teams of two with walking to some arbitrary destination every episode and collecting assorted survival materials and meals along the way, e.g. deers that just happen to be lying dead in a designated cave, all trussed up and ready to be butchered by some resourceful ‘hunters’.  The host, Bear himself, stalks them all this while and spies on them from afar with binoculars, giving commentary on their morale or progress and pointing out what they’re doing right (what he would do on his show) or wrong (what he would never do on his show).  Every now and then he gives his pupils – his fellows to be more respectful but less realistic – a ‘challenge’ designed to test their survival skills, including but not limited to purifying their urine and using a slingshot to fatally strike an ox in the skull, the ox being fake, of course, in order to avert the critical gaze of respected ‘animal rights’ organizations like PETA.  “Campers ready… Go!”  The victors of said challenges win a trip to some oasis-like getaway where they feast and pamper themselves with the luxuries of civilization not granted by the wilderness, receiving amenities such as Crest toothpaste and Gilette deoderant, products so beloved by competitors that they literally tout the exact brand as a symbol of their gratitude.  “This Wal Mart steak is melting in my mouth.”  To entertain themselves in those moments when they’re not drinking their pee, sleeping in a tent, or nearly passing out due to the immense stress of their daily hike, the competitors point fingers at each other for underachivement, complain about the difficulties of being on a well-paying, nationally syndicated TV show, form ‘alliances’ to influence the seemingly autocratic but really democratic eliminations, and lounge about the camp in their underwear, at least the women do, because it’s a truth universally acknowledged that the optimal way to relive anxiety in the mountains and improve ratings is to saunter about half-naked in an environment that provides no logical rationale to do so.  At least there’s a beach on Survivor.  Each episode concludes with a firelit ‘council’ meeting presided over by Jeff Probst – I mean Bear – who asks his disciples uncomfortable and divisive questions in an effort to make them rat each other out as the weak link in the troupe.  Upon evaluating the fellowship’s strengths, weaknesses, and most importantly nuisances, he eliminates the losing team of the night, viz. the one that least emulates his show’s persona, and requests that they bring him their torches knives.  The Bear has spoken.

Viewers have the fortunate option to change the channel whenver they like, but those who were gullible enough to apply for this tripe must “deal with the pain”, in the words of their mentor.  “NBC will need more than big muscles and beach babes without a beach to survive.  They need to be smart.  Dumb gets you killed.”

"Would you kindly..."

No, like seriously, dude.  Like I got my WISDOM teeth surgically removed yesterday, so I've like been poisoning my mind with video games like ever since.  Go ahead, make my day.

Movie Mini-reviews

For those that are neither really good nor really bad.

Experience has taught that few things in entertainment are more dissatisfying than a movie with an identity crisis.  A comedy, ‘buddy cop’ actioner, and crime thriller all in one, Beverly Hills Cop delivers moderately in each of these areas but never fully realizes its potential in this mishmash of genres.  Its cast certainly displays exceptional charm and talent: Eddie Murphy exerts a commanding, on-screen presence as the fast-talking, Detroit-based cop Axel Foley, who takes “a vacation” to Bevery Hills in order to solve the case of his childhood pal Mikey’s murder, Judge Reinhold and John Ashton provide a rare dose of the film’s humor as the uber-formal, by-the-book, often bumbling “supercops” with whom our hero teams up, Lisa Eilbacher is fine as Axel’s old friend Jenny, who’s unfortunately nothing more than a friend, and Steven Berkoff gives a surprisingly captivating performance as the scrumptiously vile, drug-smuggling antagonist. Their characters are fairly well developed and likeable, but they’re left floundering with the burden of a script that’s neither especially funny nor action-packed, too serious to qualify itself as a comedy and too slim to be designated as compelling drama.  Although the movie sparingly touches on the dynamic between literal and spiritual interpretations of the law in the context of obtaining arrest warrants for criminals who pose an imminent threat, the commentary isn’t pressed nearly enough to make it one of the film’s central assets.  The only truly outstanding attribute of this 80s title happens to be its soundtrack, which combines technopop lyrics and a really catchy instrumental theme for an unexpectedly appealing sound.  Beverly Hills Cop isn’t a bad movie by any means, but the degree to which one will enjoy it largely depends on how willing one is to give up the more conventional aspects of a given genre, be they consistent humor, action, or drama, for some well-written, animated, and memorable characters.

Grade rating: B-

As someone who rarely criticizes movies for being too long and indeed cherishes 2.5+ hour mammoths like Peter Jackson's King Kong, the LOTR and Dark Knight trilogies, and Sergio Leone’s old westerns, I speak against my own bias for epic stories when I say that The Impossible is a harrowing, realistic, eye-opening, and absolutely bloated biographical film about a family vacationing in Thailand that was profoundly and irreversibly affected by the devastating tsunami which ravaged Asian shores in 2004.  Filled to the brim with crying, screaming, bleeding, gasping, coughing and dying in general, then eventually with hugging, kissing, and loving in general, this 114-minute feature would be better paced at 80-some minutes without losing the impact of its story, but it’s still a strong work nevertheless, being hampered only by its desperate effort to fill up enough time to be recognized for some stupid awards (disregarding, of course, that what most audiences consider the best movie/funniest home video never wins the #1 prize, as evidenced by the scads of movies on IMDB’s top 250 list which never got a golden trophy, much less a nomination).  The makeup, special effects, and production design are all disturbingly believable, driving home the sheer horror of real-world natural disasters and the miraculous endurance of their survivors, a feat that the written word cannot accomplish as effectively.  The absence of violence and human indecency in no way lessens the intensity of The Impossible, which stretches the PG-13 rating practically as far as it can manage in terms of graphic imagery.  The excellent cast makes the victims’ shock and suffering even more palpable.  Naomi Watts is arresting as a mother on the verge of death who masks her pain to comfort her son, and Ewan McGregor almost made me forget about Obi-Wan in his portrayal of a father restlessly scouring an alien landscape for his family, but newcomer Tom Holland nearly trumps both veterans as a spoiled teen who transforms into a man under the most trying of circumstances.  In an industry where child roles are mostly dominated by utterly talentless actors, his performance is a welcome breath of fresh air and a symbol that Hollywood needn’t pass away with the next generation as retiring directors so like to prophecy.  The Impossible is overlong, excessively sentimental, and poorly edited, especially in the final minutes when the separated family members run right past each other ad nauseum in cliché, Hollywood style, but it still conveys a potent message about the destructive power of nature and the folly of taking one’s life for granted.

Grade rating: B+

To say that The Bourne Identity boldly rewrites the action thriller formula would be an erroneous statement, but it does excel at delivering excitement, entertainment, and adrenaline within its fairly standard framework.  Matt Damon plays Jason Bourne, a man who loses all his memory after taking two bullets in the back and nearly dying in the ocean.  To his bewilderment, Bourne discovers that he possesses a versatile set of hyper-violent and observational skills that renders him a prime target for the Central Intelligence Agency, which immediately dispatches a horde of assassins to Europe when their person of interest make a memorable entrance at a Swedish bank to retrieve his personal files.  “I can tell you the license plate numbers of all six cars outside.  I can tell you that our waitress is left-handed and the guy sitting up at the counter weighs two hundred fifteen pounds and knows how to handle himself.  I know the best place to look for a gun is the cab or the gray truck outside, and at this altitude, I can run flat out for a half mile before my hands start shaking.  Now why would I know that?  How can I know that and not know who I am?”  In order to avoid drawing further attention to his whereabouts, our amnesiac pays off a financially desperate woman named Marie to drive him to Paris, but their short-term contract quickly complicates into a close alliance when the authorities trace their connection and Marie becomes an accomplice in whatever Bourne’s crimes happen to be.  United by necessity, a thirst for independence, and love, the two lead their American enemies on a trek across Europe in a search for Bourne’s roots, engaging in car chases, shootouts, and brutal fistfights, all captured without excessive shaky camera, unnecessary special effects, or utterly implausible staging.  In time, the C.I.A. agents realize that they have severely underestimated Bourne’s capability, and predator swiftly devolves into prey.

The storytelling might irk some viewers who are accustomed to receiving an answer for every question raised by the narrative, but the movie’s writers, Tony Gilroy and W. Blake Herron, wisely recognize that a completely coherent and transparent plot often detracts from an intriguing one.  The crux of this Bourne is not the reasons that compel the chase in the first place, but the thrill of the chase itself; just as Steven Spielberg’s first professional project Duel managed to tell a gripping story without offering a clear and logical explanation for the film’s central conflict, so too does The Bourne Identity focus on conveying an ambiguous yet compelling fight for survival, creating in this manner an ingenious effect whereby the audience’s confusion, tension, and energy equal that of the film’s main characters.  On another note, if an analytical spectator looks underneath the flashy action that largely defines the movie’s tone, he can extract subdued but provocative themes of identity and self-determination that tie somewhat into Christian debate over Free Will and Predestination.  As Bourne gains ever more awareness concerning his ever darker past, he wrestles with the life that he will continue to lead, wondering whether he even has a choice as to his destined profession.  Is he obligated to follow the record he has thus far established, the path of a hired gun who wallows in depravity and lawlessness, or does he have the opportunity to start anew of his own initiative and walk a different course?  The movie seemingly projects the latter answer to his predicament, making it distinctly Arminian and anti-Calvinist in a metaphorical sense, but perhaps I’m overthinking the whole thing.  Contrary to what the many ChristianMingle ads playing during the TV presentation might suggest, this isn’t a religious movie.

As I’ve already commented, the technical aspects of Bourne are really strong, with cinematography, stunts, music, and performances that tower above anything in similar action movies.  Matt Damon brilliantly exudes Bourne’s tact, determination, and sometimes gentlemanly care, while Franka Potente believably portrays a woman who’s first repelled by then drawn to danger after meeting a strange amnesiac whose mass of contradictions only makes him more dashing.  One needn’t ponder why Marie should fall for a man so brutal to his foes and chivalrous to his friends; to quote the eminent Phil Robertson, Jason Bourne is the ultimate redneck, kind of like the son you never had.

Grade rating: B+

The New Hunt For Red October

The following is the lesser of the two team policy cases I wrote while competing in STOA last year (the other one was to bomb Iran, an action so extreme and un-PC by today's standards that the manuscript's very title dispelled any hope that it might engage myself, my peers, and most importantly the judge, who ought ideally to be the most receptive to reason, in a realistic debate guided by logos over pathos).  The 1AC is transcribed in the exact form recited at tournaments, while the responses are composed of backup evidence along with my blog persona's commentary - much though I endorse character indictments when warranted in debate, just as in the courtroom, I would never resort to using them in the high-school arena, unless the character in question is Theodore Postol or Earl H. Fry.  First and foremost, I give a huge shout-out to my wonderful partner of last year, for gathering so much evidence, supporting me in my suicidal attempt to run a case that actually does something, and never insisting that we switch to some (unfortunately more successful) unpatriotic, isolationist crap about how the United States is supporting/committing acts of terrorism.  I would make a sarcastic comment about the plausibility of this idea comparative to those cases advocating full withdrawal from Afghanistan/South Korea, flipping off Israel and Pakistan, or using remote-controlled planes to hit a missile with a smaller missile that failed its tests in the span of 3 minutes, but I won't go there, Snerdley.  I must also thank my coaches, for all the time and research they devoted to making this brief phenomenal, and Mr. W., for the invaluable insider knowledge he shared on this subject.  Please forgive me for any times I may have cited the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Hill Dot Com, CNN, or the U.S. Department of ____ and graciously recognize that I couldn't find the same data anywhere else.

Combat Narco Submarines - Unabridged and Unadulterated

When a lunatic goes on a shooting spree at a government school, American politicians demand immediate action, but when victims endure even more savage violence in foreign countries, these same compassionate leaders turn a blind eye.  This utter hypocrisy is evidenced through the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC for short, a communist terror group which assaults natural rights, enslaves children, and ships tons of contraband drugs into our streets annually. The United States has long borne a record of neutrality towards groups like the Colombian rebels that have no regard for human life.  Because America has a moral obligation to defend liberty and justice throughout the world, we urge this house to break that record and take military action against the world’s predators.

We present the criterion of net benefits to assist in weighing this debate round, which means that if the benefits of enacting our policy outnumber any costs, then an affirmative vote is warranted.  In addition, we present a thesis on solvency: if the affirmative policy can effect the impacts or benefits of its advantages, then the case should be deemed solvent.  This is reasonable and realistic because actual, Congressional legislation is never presented in order to abolish harms, but simply to improve on the status quo.  Likewise, this house should regard this case as an attempt not to purge but to reduce evil.

Firstly, let’s provide some background on the drug trade in South America.

Background

1. Narco submarine

Wired magazine wrote,

Wired (WIRED is the first word on how ideas and innovation are changing the world.  Each month in the magazine and every day online, our editors deliver a glimpse into the future of business, culture, innovation, and science.  It received three National Magazine Awards for general excellence in 2005, 2007, and 2009, and was nominated for a National Magazine Award for Magazine of the Year in 2011.  WIRED and Wired.com reach more than 14 million readers each month.), January 29^th, 2009, “Feds Harpoon Alleged “Narco Submarine” Crews”, http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/01/new-law-harpoon/

Measuring up to 80 feet long, a narco sub is a class of boat called a "semi-submersible," a vessel that travels at the ocean’s surface, with most of its mass hidden underwater.  According to the U.S. Southern Command, the boats have emerged as a favorite ship of commerce for international drug smugglers, in large part because they’re barely visible from the surface, making them hard to find on radar or by sight.

2. Current Navy presence inadequate

Avi Jorisch, a former consultant at the Defense Department, wrote in 2012 that,

Avi Jorisch (Avi Jorisch is the founder of the Red Cell Intelligence Group, a consulting and training firm that specializes in national security issues relating to terrorism, illicit finance and radical Islam. In addition, he is an Adjunct Scholar at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Previously, Mr. Jorisch served as a Policy Advisor at the Treasury Department’s office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, a liaison to the Department of Homeland Security and an Arab media and terrorism consultant for the Department of Defense. Mr. Jorisch holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Binghamton University and a master’s degree in Islamic history from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Mr. Jorisch has traveled extensively in the Middle East and written at length about illicit finance, radical Islam and counter- terrorism.), The Daily Beast (The Daily Beast was founded in 2008 as the vision of Tina Brown and IAC Chairman Barry Diller. Curated to avoid information overload, the site is dedicated to breaking news and sharp commentary. In 2011, The Daily Beast became the online home of Newsweek magazine, which has served as the world’s preeminent conversation starter since its founding in 1933. The combined operation now regularly attracts over 18 million unique online visitors a month and the magazine reaches millions more through its tablet and international editions.), May 13^th, 2012, “Drug War at Sea: Rise of the Narco Subs”, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/05/13/the-drug-war-at-sea-rise-of-the-narco-subs.html

The reason these vessels are so successful, according to U.S. and Latin American law-enforcement officials, is that they’re difficult to capture.  Their hulls are painted dark blue, making them nearly impossible to spot.  Powered by ordinary diesel engines, they leave little wake and produce an extremely small radar signature.  The DEA claims that roughly 10 percent of all narco subs leaving Latin America are caught, but the true number is probably much lower since crews often sink their craft if they fear they might be discovered.

Because the current system fails to counter the transportation of these illegal drugs, we propose the following course of action.

Plan

1. The U.S. Navy will immediately deploy Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in the Caribbean and the Pacific to destroy or apprehend narco submarines and other drug-running vessels.  Each destroyer will carry 2 seahawk helicopters which will drop advanced sonar systems into the water to patrol for narco subs.

2. P-3C Orion aircraft will provide support with sonobuoys and aerial reconnaissance.

Funding is $200 million provided by the Navy’s budget.  We can provide more details if the negative team requests them.

Mandates: 1. The Navy will deploy the USS Pinckney DDG-91 to the Pacific along the Mexico border and the USS Farragut DDG-99 to the 4th fleet in the Caribbean, outside of the U.S. exclusive economic zone.  2. The destroyers will carry MH-60R maritime helicopters equipped with AN/AQS-22 Airborne Low Frequency Sonar (ALFS) to help patrol for and identify narco submarines, go-fast boats, and other drug-transportation vessels.  3. P-3 Orion aircraft stationed in Corpus Christi, Texas and Jacksonville, Florida will drop sonobuoy nets into the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific to locate narco submarines.  4. Upon identifying narco submarines or other drug transportation vessels, any of these three platforms will arrest or destroy the targets depending on the normal means of engagement.

Agency: President, Congress, and any other needed bodies.

Enforcement: U.S. Navy

Funding: $200 million allotted from the Navy’s $155 B budget for FY2013.  All unforeseen costs will be paid for by cuts to tax credits for ChevyVolts and Justin Bieber’s Fisker Karma.

Timeline: Immediately upon affirmative ballot.

Advocacy: The affirmative team, obviously, but also Admiral James Stavridis, former Commander of U.S. Southern Command, current Commander of U.S. European Command and NATO Supreme Allied Commander, honored recipient of 2 Defense Distinguished Service medals, 5 Legions of Merit, a Defense Superior Service medal, a Ph.D in Law and Diplomacy, author of several books, and all-around great American whom we appreciate but don’t actually need to propose a plan because of 12 undeniable truths enumerated in the Debater’s Manifesto.  In addition, this plan is constructed in part by a Navy veteran who formerly served in operations to counter narco subs in the Atlantic.

This policy would effectively curb cocaine imports through narco submarines.  We’ll explain how in the solvency.

Solvency

1. Advanced sonar technology

According to Defense Industry Daily, the ALFS system has up to 4 times the range of other sonar equipment.
Defense Industry Daily (Defense Industry Daily (DID) is an online trade publication dedicated to defense acquisition, with a strong focus on the procurement of weapon programs, systems, and their subsystems.  DID was founded in 2004 by Tig Tillinghast and Olivier Travers to help address what was seen as an opaque and poorly performing market.  We don’t rely on access journalism, bogus “exclusives” or rumors to drive traffic. Instead, we focus on data by tapping a huge number of primary sources cross-referenced with worldwide media coverage.), December 25th, 2012, https://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/154m-for-3-aqs-22-alfs-sonars-et-al-03643/

The AN/AQS-22 Airborne Low-Frequency Sonar (ALFS) will equip the US Navy’s new MH-60R multi-mission helicopters, serving as their primary anti-submarine sensor.  The new FLASH sonar operates using lower frequencies and higher-power waveforms than existing dipping sonars, improving long-range detection.  The AQS-22 dipping sonar claims 4x the area coverage of current systems, and includes both active and passive sonar modes to help track, localize, and classify submarines.  A winching system with up to 2,500 feet of cable raises and lowers the sonar.  The ALFS system complements the MH-60R’s radar, and works in concert with other equipment including active or passive sonobuoys, signal processing improvements that are especially helpful in shallow water. This Spotlight article highlights ALFS-related contracts from 2002 to the present.

2. Anti-submarine destroyer

From the popular defense website, Global Security,

Global Security (GlobalSecurity.org is the leading source of background information and developing news stories in the fields of defense, space, intelligence, WMD, and homeland security.  Launched in 2000, GlobalSecurity.org is the most comprehensive and authoritative online destination for those in need of both reliable background information and breaking news.  GlobalSecurity.org, is well-respected, trusted and often-referenced in the media, both domestically and internationally.  Along with its rapid growth in audience and traffic, GlobalSecurity.org has developed a reputation as a trusted source of military information. It is a frequently visited destination for other news organizations as they build their own coverage of developing events.  It attracts over 100,000 unique visitors on week days [1/3 repeat, 2/3 first time visitors], serving over 250,000 page views daily.), July 7^th, 2011, “DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class”, http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/ddg-51.htm

The Navy considers the newest Arleigh Burke-class destroyer to be its most capable and survivable surface combatant.  The DDG 51 was the first U.S. Navy ship designed to incorporate shaping techniques to reduce radar cross-section to reduce their detectability and likelihood of being targeted by enemy weapons and sensors.  The composition of the fleet change rapidly during the 1990s as modern ARLEIGH BURKE guided missile AEGIS destroyers entered active commissioned service.  Originally designed to defend against Soviet aircraft, cruise missiles, and nuclear attack submarines, this higher capability ship is to be used in high-threat areas to conduct antiair, antisubmarine, antisurface, and strike operations.

3. Anti-submarine aircraft

From the official website of the U.S. Navy in 2009,

The US Navy, February 18^th, 2009, “P-3C Orion long range ASW aircraft”, http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=1100&tid=1400&ct=1

Originally designed as a land-based, long-range, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) patrol aircraft, the P-3C's mission has evolved in the late 1990s and early 21st century to include surveillance of the battlespace, either at sea or over land.  Its long range and long loiter time have proved invaluable assets during Operation Iraqi Freedom as it can view the battlespace and instantaneously provide that information to ground troops, especially U.S. Marines.  The P-3C has advanced submarine detection sensors such as directional frequency and ranging (DIFAR) sonobuoys and magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) equipment.  The avionics system is integrated by a general purpose digital computer that supports all of the tactical displays, monitors and automatically launches ordnance and provides flight information to the pilots. In addition, the system coordinates navigation information and accepts sensor data inputs for tactical display and storage. The P-3C can carry a mixed payload of weapons internally and on wing pylons.

These planes have demonstrated a successful record both in historical conflicts and in current hunts for narco subs, which makes them the ideal platform for executing this mission.

Now that we’ve shown exactly how our plan functions, we’ll address the advantage of this policy.

Advantage 1 – Combating terrorism

A ) Justifications – 1. Submarines could be used as weapons

The respected intelligence magazine Jane’s Defense Weekly wrote in 2008,

Jane’s Defense Weekly (With more than 100 years of experience, IHS Jane’s holds an unrivalled reputation for the reliability, accuracy and impartiality of our information and advice, trusted and relied upon by business, government and military decision-makers worldwide.  In the specialist fields of defence, security, public safety, transport and law enforcement, IHS Jane’s intelligence is a ‘must have’ resource for our clients, who can trust our intelligence over that from any other open source.), June 16^th, 2008, “Insurgent submersibles”, http://www.janes.com/products/janes/defence-security-report.aspx?ID=1065927051

A terrorist submarine attack might seem like a James Bond scenario, but drug smugglers linked to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia: FARC) are already using semi-submersible vessels to transport multi-tonne cargoes of cocaine.  Up to 40 such vessels left South American shores in 2007 and more are expected in 2008.

While these vessels are developed specifically for and financed by the illicit narcotics trade, it is not inconceivable that similar craft could be used in suicide attacks on targets such as warships or fuel tankers.  A dramatic submersible strike would certainly appeal to Al-Qaeda, although small cells of jihadists would almost certainly find the technical and financial burdens difficult to overcome.  With its history of innovation, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is the group most likely to deploy such weapons and tactics.

The involvement of Colombia's largest insurgent group raises the possibility of an attack being launched with [a submarine] an SPSS vessel. If a single cocaine smuggling [submarine] SPSS can carry 10 tonnes of cargo, a small model would easily be able to carry enough high explosives to cause significant damage to any target vessel.

In addition, narco subs could easily be used to ferry terrorists into the United States.  These, however, are just two potential ways that narco subs could be used for terror.  The vessels already supply many of the funds that terrorists use in foreign countries.

2. Subs finance terrorism

Again, from Avi Jorisch in 2012,

Avi Jorisch (Avi Jorisch is the founder of the Red Cell Intelligence Group, a consulting and training firm that specializes in national security issues relating to terrorism, illicit finance and radical Islam. In addition, he is an Adjunct Scholar at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Previously, Mr. Jorisch served as a Policy Advisor at the Treasury Department’s office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, a liaison to the Department of Homeland Security and an Arab media and terrorism consultant for the Department of Defense. Mr. Jorisch holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Binghamton University and a master’s degree in Islamic history from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 2000 and 2001, he studied Arabic and Islamic Philosophy at the American University in Cairo and al-Azhar University, the preeminent institution of Sunni Islamic learning. Mr. Jorisch has traveled extensively in the Middle East and written at length about illicit finance, radical Islam and counter- terrorism.), The Daily Beast (The Daily Beast was founded in 2008 as the vision of Tina Brown and IAC Chairman Barry Diller. Curated to avoid information overload, the site is dedicated to breaking news and sharp commentary. In 2011, The Daily Beast became the online home of Newsweek magazine, which has served as the world’s preeminent conversation starter since its founding in 1933. Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and Talk, serves as editor-in-chief of both publications. The combined operation now regularly attracts over 18 million unique online visitors a month and the magazine reaches millions more through its tablet and international editions.), May 13^th, 2012, “Drug War at Sea: Rise of the Narco Subs”, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/05/13/the-drug-war-at-sea-rise-of-the-narco-subs.html

Over the past few years, law-enforcement officials have received reports that terrorist organizations, such as the FARC in Colombia and the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, have been constructing semi-submersible narco subs to fund their activities.  So too have drug-trafficking organizations such as Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa Cartel.

3. Atrocities of FARC

Human Rights Watch revealed in 2012 that Colombian rebels have been culpable in many crimes against natural rights.

Human Rights Watch (Human Rights Watch is a nonprofit, nongovernmental human rights organization made up of more than 280 staff members around the globe.  Its staff consists of human rights professionals including country experts, lawyers, journalists, and academics of diverse backgrounds and nationalities.  Established in 1978, Human Rights Watch is known for its accurate fact-finding, impartial reporting, effective use of media, and targeted advocacy, often in partnership with local human rights groups.  Our on-the-ground researchers constantly monitor human rights conditions in some 80 countries around the world.  These researchers create the foundations of our work by talking with people who were either abused or who witnessed abuse.  Human Rights Watch also speaks with local human rights advocates, journalists, country experts, and government officials.), 2012, “World Report 2012: Colombia”, http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/colombia

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) continue[s] to commit serious abuses against civilians.  The FARC especially is often involved in killings, threats, forced displacement, and recruiting and using child soldiers. On May 22, 2011, presumed FARC members attacked a boat traveling down the Atrato River in Choco department, killing three civilians and injuring another two.  The FARC and ELN frequently use[s] antipersonnel landmines and other indiscriminate weapons.  The government reported 16 civilians killed and 104 injured by landmines and unexploded munitions between January and August 2011.  On July 9, 2011, the FARC set off a car bomb and fired homemade explosives in the town of Toribio in Cauca department, killing three civilians, injuring 122, and destroying dozens of homes.

FARC has been documented to prey upon not only Colombians but also American citizens, which establishes them as a direct enemy of the United States.  This revelation, above all others, demands immediate action against the rebels’ drug revenue.

B ) Solvency – 1. Plan cuts income

By enacting our plan and increasing U.S. Navy presence around our borders, Congress would take a major step towards permanently disabling the cocaine trade through narco submarines.  According to the Atlantic Wire in 2012, tons of drugs are successfully transported by submarine each year.

The Atlantic Wire (The Atlantic Wire is a sister site of TheAtlantic.com that aggregates news and opinions from print, online, television and radio outlets. When The Atlantic Wire first launched in 2009, it curated op-eds from across the media spectrum and summarized significant positions in each debate.), September 9^th, 2012, “The Feds Can't Catch the Cartels' Cocaine-Filled Submarines”, http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2012/09/feds-cant-catch-cartels-cocaine-filled-submarines/56662/

With three-quarters of potential cocaine shipments sliding under their noses, United States authorities are having a hard time keeping up with the Latin American drug cartels.  Part of the problem, a new report in The New York Times says, is the fact that the famously daring and elusive drug-running submarines aren't just operating in the Pacific Ocean any more.  These diesel-powered vessels have taken the Caribbean by storm, and the technology powering them is getting more sophisticated.  Although they captured 129 tons of cocaine on its way to the U.S. last year, the Coast Guard thinks that close to 500 tons could now be making it through.

Since one ton of cocaine fetches anywhere between $7 million in Mexico and $25 million in the United States, the evidence indicates that up to 12 billion dollars in drug profits could be flowing into the hands of terrorists every year.  Dismantling these submarine operations would deprive the Colombian insurgents of billions of dollars, impeding their ability to purchase explosives and firearms to turn upon innocent civilians.

2. Eliminate submersible weapons

Once the Navy starts to aggressively subdue these narco subs, such boats will no longer be a feasible method for drug trafficking and many cartels will cease to build them.  This would prevent homemade submarines from being used as underwater bombs, making travel safer for Americans and all seafarers.

C ) Impact - Decline in terrorism

All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.  Right now the U.S. is doing nothing, but with an affirmative vote, evil’s triumph may yet be thwarted.

EXIT 1AC

The rest is adapted for the blog from backup materials.  The original 41-page file is available as a Word document for fellow debaters who request it.

I have neither the patience nor the time nor the incentive to answer the dozens of topicality points thrown at this obviously topical case by teams who themselves twist the resolution into the most contorted positions imaginable.  Let it simply be said that this case uses the United States military to subdue a foreign, terrorist threat that it heretofore has not confronted for extended periods of time.  In short, it is the very epitome of this season’s topic.  Nor will I bother to argue with my opponents over whether the thousands of children exploited by FARC, the rivers of American and Colombian blood spilt by their hands, or the hundreds of tons of cocaine delivered unto our shores by their ships comprise a transgression significant enough to warrant this debate.  As for the numerous solvency ‘arguments’ my opponents have raised, I’ll stress once and only once that this plan does not aim to eliminate all communist terror activity, nor to completely dam the flowing tide of drugs into the United States, but only to mitigate the extent of these harms and address problems that the negative team would ignore and continue to suffer.  The mindset that it’s better to grin and bear the damage of crimes like illegal immigration, the drug trade, voter fraud, and international jihad or to acquiesce to societal ills like unemployment, welfare addiction, and illiteracy than to make a sincere, resolute effort to alleviate said issues is patently illogical and anti-debate, for if our inability to perfect human society precludes all attempts to improve it, then we debaters should be immediately dismissed as this very discussion is pointless, all governments should be disbanded in favor of anarchy, and no man should ever think of politics again.  Our plan takes a major step in the right direction for the free world by disrupting the revenue and, by extension, the violent operations of the Colombian rebels, to whom the negative team would readily submit and give uninhibited access to 90% of the Caribbean and Pacific.

Before I proceed to refuting the disadvantages the opposition have presented, I must respond to one of their more outrageous solvency points: the advocacy contention.  Here they basically argued that my partner and I lack the knowledge and expertise to speak on this case and defend our own beliefs.  This obviously constitutes an ad hominem attack directed against our personal character and intelligence; while I would normally let it pass on that regard, these Files does not bind me to the same rules and customs as a debate round, so I’ll spare no energy in eviscerating this position.  The first reason to disregard the advocacy contention here and, further, in all debate rounds is that it’s fallacious, taking aim not at the logical reasoning and evidence supporting a case but at the quality of the persons arguing for it.  Not only is this ludicrous point completely irrelevant to the debate at hand, but it also represents a double standard such as those routinely employed by the mainstream media; the negative team demands that we name and rely on some self-proclaimed “expert” external to this room who recommends our particular course of action, but the negative team need not present a single proponent of the status quo’s blatant inadequacies in the act of rebutting our case.  The philosophy they exude on the burdens of each team is the same that Obama assumes when he chastises Mitt Romney for putting his dog on a car roof, neglecting that he himself has eaten a dog, or accuses him of destroying jobs during his term at Bain Capital, speaking as a career politician who hasn’t produced a single occupation in the private sector, let alone worked a day of his life in it, and verily exploited a rapidly inflating unemployment rate to his benefit during the last election cycle.  Thirdly, their assumption that debaters can’t think for themselves and come up with realistic solutions to real-world problems negates the entire purpose of this competition.  If they confess to finding this debate a waste of their time based on our age and perceived inability to make feasible bills comparable to those drafted by Congress, then this house shouldn’t hesitate to fill out a ballot for the affirmative team, as my opponents obviously won’t take offense at losing what they already regard as a joke anyway.  The fourth reason that compels all judges to discard their theory is that it fosters dependency and entitlement mentality.  Their stance is that we as the affirmative team should lean only on other politicians and military strategerists instead of thinking for ourselves and formulating our own answers to international conflicts.  This mindset, that most common Americans are too stupid to make their own decisions and must accordingly be force-fed ideologies as well as their physical sustenance by an alleged “expert” class, dates back to Woodrow Wilson and is fundamental to communism.  The negative team also degrades itself by nourishing a false sense of entitlement to debate a case that’s available in its exact form somewhere online by an author besides myself.  I could go on and on about the absurdity and hypocrisy of these children deriding their superiors in knowledge on narco subs, but for the other half-dozen responses I must refer this house to Section 1 of The Debater’s Manifesto.

Now on to the disadvantages.  My rivals’ first objection to this case was that it would inadvertently bolster the drug trade and terrorist operations by redirecting smugglers to land routes between Mexico and the United States.  Disregarding the extensive evidence I read in the 1AC proving this military action would decisively cut back on hundreds of tons of cocaine shipments, I’ll address this argument separately.  They claimed that around 90% of U.S.-bound cocaine is transported across the U.S.-Mexico border by land, but this ignores the fact that Mexico is merely a final transit zone for cocaine that originated in Colombia and was shipped by sea lanes into Central America.

1. 80% of cocaine imports are naval

Naval Aviation News (The third oldest military periodical and the oldest Navy periodical, Naval Aviation News traces its origin to the Weekly Bulletin published in letter format by the Chief of Naval Operations (Aviation), the first issue of which appeared on 15 December 1917. Later, under the Bureau of Aeronautics (BUAER), other names included: U.S. Naval Aviation Operations Report, Weekly News Letter, News Letter, and the BUAER News Letter, which debuted the magazine format in its 15 February 1943 edition. The first issue of Naval Aviation News appeared on 15 September 1943.  An unclassified bimonthly publication of the Director, Air Warfare Division, Naval Aviation News covers all aspects of naval air operations. Articles review the latest technological advances in aircraft and weapon systems and the influence of U.S. naval air power in global events. Issues include historical profiles of aircraft, aviation ships, important aviators, and organizations that affected the Navy’s control of the air.), October 26th, 2012, "Naval Air Hunts Narco Subs", http://navalaviationnews.navylive.dodlive.mil/2012/10/26/naval-air-hunts-narco-subs-2/

“More than 80 percent of the cocaine destined for U.S. markets is transported via sea lanes, primarily using littoral routes through Central America, “ said Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser, commander of U.S Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). “Working with our partner nations, we intend to disrupt their operations by limiting their ability to use Central America as a transit zone.”

2. Most U.S. cocaine from Colombia

U.S. Department of State (The Department of State‘s International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) has been prepared in accordance with section 489 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (the "FAA," 22 U.S.C. § 2291). The 2012 INCSR, published in March 2012, covers the year January 1 to December 31, 2011 and is published in two volumes, the second of which covers money laundering and financial crimes.  In attempting to evaluate whether countries and certain entities are meeting the goals and objectives of the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the Department has used the best information it has available. The 2012 INCSR covers countries that range from major drug producing and drug transit countries, where drug control is a critical element of national policy, to small countries or entities where drug issues or the capacity to deal with them are minimal.), March 2012, “International Narcotics Control Strategy Report Volume I: Drug and Chemical Control”, http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/187109.pdf

Colombia remains one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of cocaine, as well as a source country for heroin and marijuana.  According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s 2010 Cocaine Signature Program, 95.5% of the cocaine seized in the United States originates in Colombia.

Although the negative team tries to downplay the role of communist rebel groups in the cocaine trade by stating that most narcotics are carried into America across the Mexico border, their statistics conveniently ignore that these drugs were first transported into Mexico by Colombian insurgents.  Quite simply, if not for the United States’ overall neglect of narco submarines and go-fast boats, these staggering quantities of cocaine would never have reached Mexico at all.

Even granting my opponents that this action will motivate the Colombian rebels to invest more resources in land-based drug trade, such a response on their part will also play into the United States’ hands because of recent improvements in border security that have made it ever harder for smugglers to cross the border.

Land trade is more vulnerable

The Hill (Through print, online and events, The Hill's powerhouse of vehicles signal the important issues of the moment, and together have earned the reputation of being a complete and comprehensive source of Congressional news.  The Hill serves to connect the players, define the issues and engage Washington's decision makers in the debate.  Since 1994, The Hill has reported on the intersection of politics and business, connecting Capitol Hill, K Street, Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue for non-partisan coverage of all factors in legislative decisions. It offers objective and in-depth coverage of Congress, the Administration, business and lobbying, campaigns and more.  The Hill has a print circulation of above 24,000 -- with the largest circulation on Capitol Hill -- and is read by opinion leaders, including 100% of Congressional offices, the White House, political pundits, association executives, lobbyists and corporate leaders.), December 18^th, 2011, “Border Patrol: Increase in drug seizures, decrease in border-crossers in 2011”,  http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/200145-border-patrol-increase-in-drug-seizures-decrease-in-illegal-border-crossers-in-2011

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said an increase in illegal drug seizures and a decrease in illegal border-crossers in fiscal year 2011 is due to one of the largest upticks in manpower and resources along the country’s borders.  Apprehensions along U.S. borders were down 53 percent — to about 340,000 —since fiscal year 2008. More than 87,000 of those had criminal histories. The decrease is due to a more secure border, which results in less people attempting to cross into the U.S. illegally, the CBP said in a statement.  Drug seizures jumped by 20 percent — to 5 million pounds of narcotics — since the last fiscal year, with the CBP confiscating $126 million in undeclared currency.  Over the past fiscal year, CBP has added 886 Border Patrol agents to its 21,444-strong force, with a bulk of them deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border in an effort to stymie illegal drug, weapon, money and human smuggling. 

Next they deplored the cost of this particular bill, which would constitute up to $200 million allotted annually from the Navy’s $150B + budget.  This leads me to the case’s second advantage, a direct turn of their objection.

Advantage 2 – Cutting wasteful spending

A) 1. Low deployment cost for destroyers

James Hagerty (Lieutenant, U.S. Navy), Pauleen Stevens (Captain, U.S. Marine Corps), and Bryan Wolfe (Lieutenant, U.S. Navy), December 2008, “DDG 1000 vs. DDG 51: An Analysis of U.S. Navy Destroyer Procurement”, http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a494009.pdf

In 2005, the CBO estimated the average procurement cost for a 10 ship DDG 1000 class would be approximately $3.5 billion per copy, with the initial ship costing  $4.7 billion.  The CBO also estimated that buying one DDG 51 per year would cost roughly $1.8 billion per copy and that buying two per year would cost $1.4 billion per copy.  Annual operating costs for a[n] DDG 51[Arleig-Burke class destroyer] were estimated at $34 million based on historical Navy data.

2. 48 devices already obtained

The Wall Street Journal (The Wall Street Journal is an international daily newspaper founded in 1889.  It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal.  The Journal is the largest newspaper in the United States, by circulation. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 2.1 million copies (including 400,000 online paid subscriptions), as of March 2010, compared to USA Today's 1.8 million.  The newspaper version has won the Pulitzer Prize thirty-three times.), December 21^st, 2012, “Raytheon awarded $158.6 million for Airborne Low Frequency Sonar”, http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20121221-914184.html

Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) is being awarded a $158 [million],571,809 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of 48 MH-60R Full Rate Production Airborne Low Frequency Sonar (ALFS) systems, including associated program management support.  The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.  This contract was announced by the Department of Defense on Dec. 20, 2012, and was awarded in Raytheon's fourth quarter.

3. Huge economic cost of cocaine

The National Drug Intelligence Center (The National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) was established by the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1993 Placed under the direction and control of the Attorney General, NDIC was established to "coordinate and consolidate drug intelligence from all national security and law enforcement agencies, and produce information regarding the structure, membership, finances, communications, and activities of drug trafficking organizations."  The mission of NDIC is to provide strategic drug-related intelligence, document and computer exploitation support, and training assistance to the drug control, public health, law enforcement, and intelligence communities of the United States in order to reduce the adverse effects of drug trafficking, drug abuse, and other drug-related criminal activity.), April 2011, "The Economic Impact of Illicit Drug Use on American Society", http://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs44/44731/44731p.pdf

The National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) prepares an annual National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA) that provides federal policymakers and senior officials with a comprehensive appraisal of the danger that trafficking and use of illicit drugs pose to the security of our nation.  The assessment is conducted within a Cost of Illness (COI) framework that has guided work of this kind for several decades.  As such, it monetizes the consequences of illicit drug use, thereby allowing its impact to be gauged relative to other social problems.  In 2007, the cost of illicit drug use totaled more than $193 billion.  Direct and indirect costs attributable to illicit drug use are estimated in three principal areas: crime, health, and productivity.

4. Billions spent to combat drugs
Jeffrey A. Miron (Jeffrey A. Miron is a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute and the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Economics at Harvard University. His area of expertise is the economics of libertarianism, with particular emphasis on the economics of illegal drugs. Miron has served on the faculty at the University of Michigan and as a visiting professor at the Sloan School of Management, M.I.T. and the Department of Economics, Harvard University. From 1992-1998, he was chairman of the Department of Economics at Boston University. He is the author of Drug War Crimes: The Consequences of Prohibition and The Economics of Seasonal Cycles, in addition to numerous opeds and journal articles. He has been the recipient of an Olin Fellowship from the National Bureau of Economic Research, an Earhart Foundation Fellowship, and a Sloan Foundation Faculty Research Fellowship. Miron received a B.A., magna cum laude, from Swarthmore College in 1979 and a Ph.D. in economics from M.I.T. in 1984.) February 2010, "The Budgetary Implications of Drug Prohibition", http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/miron/files/budget_2010_final_0.pdf

This section estimates federal expenditure on drug prohibition enforcement [for 2008] to be $16.5 billion in 2007.  Adjusting this number for inflation between 2007 and 2008 gives an estimate of $17.1 billion for 2008.  As with state and local revenue, this figure should be adjusted downward by the revenue from seizures and fines.  The Appendix indicates that this amount has been at most $1.5 billion in recent years, implying a net savings of [was] about $15.6 billion.  Table C allocates this $15.6 billion to different drug categories using the percentage of DEA drug arrests by drug.  The fourth line of Table C shows that approximately $3.4 billion of the federal expenditure on drug prohibition is due to marijuana prohibition, [approximately] $8.4 billion [of which was due] to cocaine and heroin, and $3.9 billion to other drugs.

Drug Policy Alliance (The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) is the nation's leading organization promoting alternatives to current drug policy that are grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights.  The Drug Policy Alliance was formed in July 2000 when The Lindesmith Center, an activist drug policy think-tank established in 1994, merged with the Drug Policy Foundation, a membership and grant-making organization established in 1987, to create the world’s leading drug policy reform organization of people who believe the war on drugs is doing more harm than good.), January 31st, 2013, "The Federal Drug Control Budget", http://www.drugpolicy.org/sites/default/files/DPA_Fact%20Sheet_Federal%20Drug%20War%20Budget.pdf

The federal drug war budget totaled more than $25 billion in 2012, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has requested an even larger budget for 2013.  In addition to the federal budget, [and] another $25 billion is spent at the state and local level on the war on drugs every year.

B) Plan cuts third of cocaine imports

The Associated Press (The AP is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, as a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members, it can maintain its single-minded focus on newsgathering and its commitment to the highest standards of objective, accurate journalism.  AP’s commitment to independent, comprehensive journalism has deep roots.  Founded in 1846, AP has covered all the major news events of the past 165 years, providing high-quality, informed reporting.  Since the Pulitzer Prize was established, in 1917, AP has received 50 Pulitzers.  AP, which is headquartered in New York, has over 3,700 employees—two-thirds of them journalists and editors—in more than 300 locations worldwide, including every statehouse in the U.S.), April 6th, 2009, "US law fighting cocaine submarine-like boats in Colombia", http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/law-fighting-cocaine-submarine-like-boats-colombia-article-1.360297

The [semi-submersible] vessels, hand-crafted in coastal jungle camps from fiberglass and wood, have become the conveyance of choice for large loads, humping nearly a third of U.S.-bound cocaine northward through the Pacific, said Coast Guard Rear Adm. Joseph Nimmich, commander of the Joint Interagency Task Force-South based in Key West, Fla.

C) $Billions saved

Our plan takes a strictly proactive approach to countering drug crime that stands in stark contrast to the failed reactive approach taken to this date.  By allocating a miniscule portion of the military’s budget to interdicting tons of cocaine and other illegal drugs before they enter the United States, Congress can avoid many of the colossal expenses associated with arresting, trying, and treating coke abusers.  It’s far more financially prudent to spend a small sum to prevent a problem from happening in the first place than to spend a large sum fixing that problem after it has come to fruition.  Eliminating this avenue of narcotics imports will also marginally increase economic productivity.

Next they argued that this policy would weaken relations with Mexico and Colombia.  This could not be further from the truth; in actuality, our plan will likely improve the United States’ foreign relations and international reputation.

Advantage 3 – Improving foreign relations

A) 1. Drug cartels plague Mexico

Fox News (FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well as political and business news.  A top five cable network, FNC has been the most watched news channel in the country for more than ten years and according to Public Policy Polling, is the most trusted television news source in the country.  Owned by News Corp., FNC is available in more than 90 million homes and dominates the cable news landscape, routinely notching the top ten programs in the genre.), March 3^rd, 2009, “U.S. Says Threat of Mexican Drug Cartels Approaching 'Crisis Proportions’”, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,504139,00.html

About 7,000 people have died in the last year — more than 1,000 in January alone — at the hands of Mexico's increasingly violent drug cartels.  Murders often involve beheadings or bodies dissolved in vats of acid.  The two most dangerous cartels are the Sinaloa cartel, nicknamed the "Federation" or "Golden Triangle" by law enforcement agencies, and "Los Zetas" (the Gulf Cartel).  They have been growing and are reportedly discussing a truce or merger to better withstand government forces, The Times reported.

Patrick Radden Keefe (Patrick Radden Keefe has been contributing to The New Yorker since 2006 and joined the magazine as a staff writer in 2012.  His book “The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream” grew out of an article in the magazine and was named one of the best books of 2009 by the Washington Post, the Christian Science Monitor, and the San Francisco Chronicle.  His articles have appeared in the Times Magazine, The New York Review of Books, New York, Slate, Wired, and other publications, and he has been the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a fellowship at the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers, at the New York Public Library. He is currently a fellow at the Century Foundation and at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and lives with his family in Washington, D.C.), The New York Times (The New York Times (NYT) is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 108 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any news organization. Its website is the most popular American online newspaper website, receiving more than 30 million unique visitors per month. The print version of the paper remains the largest local metropolitan newspaper in the United States, it is the third largest newspaper overall, behind The Wall Street Journal and USA Today. The New York Times is owned by The New York Times Company, which also publishes 18 other newspapers including the International Herald Tribune and The Boston Globe.), June 15^th, 2012, “Cocaine Incorporated”, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/magazine/how-a-mexican-drug-cartel-makes-its-billions.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

The Sinaloa has always distinguished itself by the eclectic means it uses to transport drugs. Working with Colombian suppliers, cartel operatives moved cocaine into Mexico in small private aircraft and in baggage smuggled on commercial flights and eventually on their own 747s, which they could load with as much as 13 tons of cocaine.  They used container ships and fishing vessels and go-fast boats and submarines — crude semi-submersibles at first, then fully submersible subs, conceived by engineers and constructed under the canopy of the Amazon, then floated downriver in pieces and assembled at the coastline. These vessels can cost more than a million dollars, but to the smugglers, they are effectively disposable. In the event of an interception by the Coast Guard, someone onboard pulls a lever that floods the interior so that the evidence sinks; only the crew is left bobbing in the water, waiting to be picked up by the authorities.

2. FARC terrorism rampant in Colombia

The Washington Post (The Washington Post is a leading American daily newspaper.  It is the most widely circulated newspaper published in Washington, D.C., and oldest extant in the area, founded in 1877.  Located in the capital city of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics.  The Post has won 47 Pulitzer Prizes.  This includes six separate Pulitzers awarded in 2008, the second-highest number ever given to a single newspaper in one year.  The Post has also received 18 Nieman Fellowships and 368 White House News Photographers Association awards, among others.  The newspaper is owned by The Washington Post Company, an education and media company that also owns Kaplan, Inc., and many media ventures besides The Post.), July 26^th, 2007, “Report Cites Rebels' Wide Use of Mines In Colombia”, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/25/AR2007072501093.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica

The report, nearly a year in the making, said the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which has been fighting the state since 1964, has sown antipersonnel mines throughout the country to slow an increasingly offensive-minded army.  The impact of FARC mines, as well as those laid by a smaller rebel group, the National Liberation Army, or ELN, has been devastating: The devices killed or hurt 1,113 people last year, nearly a third of them civilians, according to government tallies based on reported incidents.  The latest government statistics show that last year 320 civilians stepped on mines, 66 of them children.  Fifty-seven civilians died.  In 1996, 11 civilians were killed and 30 were injured. Some incidents likely have gone unreported, according to specialists.

CNN News (CNN is a U.S. cable news channel. CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States.), October 15^th, 2012, “Horrific use of child soldiers rising in Colombia, report finds”, http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/15/horrific-use-of-child-soldiers-rising-in-colombia-report-finds/

Stories about children kidnapped or forcibly recruited by guerrilla groups came back into focus in 2006 when the Colombian government released a video confiscated during an army raid. The video showed squads of young kids being trained as guerrilla warriors in the middle of the jungle.  A recent study suggests that in the years after the video was released, armed groups, including paramilitaries, guerrillas and drug cartels, have not only continued recruiting children, but have [dramatically] increased the number of minors in their ranks in a dramatic way.  The study called "Like Lambs Among Wolves" was authored by Natalia Springer, the dean of the law school at Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano in Bogota, Colombia.  Springer, who's also a political analyst and a human rights activist, has found that in the last four years, 18,000 children have been forced to join guerrilla groups and paramilitaries in Colombia.  The findings of her study are chilling. Springer says she [The study] found [that] 69 percent of those captured are 14 years of age or younger, some as young as eight. Ninety-eight percent reported they were abused or witnessed atrocities.

Springer says her team noticed what she calls an alarming new trend.  Whereas in the past the vast majority of the children captured by the armed groups were boys, the percentage of kidnapped girls has dramatically increased to 43 percent.  In addition to combat activities, Springer says these girls are subjected to sexual servitude.  "For them it's a duty to sexually serve their commanders so by serving their commanders they identify a number of activities that for them were humiliating and difficult to accept," Springer said.

B) U.S. fights other countries’ battles

Our policy of using the Navy to subdue narco sub activity not only benefits the United States but also does a favor for other countries in waging the wars they lack the capability to finish.  Cutting off the majority of FARC’s revenue will cripple its operations against the government and enable a swift conclusion to the civil war that has afflicted Colombia for many decades.

The Daily Mail (The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust.  First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun.  It had an average daily circulation of 1,991,275 copies in April 2012 and draws over 100 million unique visitors per month to its website.  The paper is generally critical of the BBC, which it says is biased to the left.), September 25^th, 2011, “That sinking feeling: Colombian drug cartel’s latest weapon is captured… a submarine that hasn't even been on its maiden voyage”, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2041685/That-sinking-feeling-Colombian-drug-cartels-latest-weapon-captured--submarine-maiden-voyage.html

Initially FARC - a Marxist revolutionary group opposed to U.S. 'imperialism' in the region - earned millions of dollars in revenue through protection and taxation rackets with cocaine growers.  But since the 1990s, it has increasingly become directly involved in the production and trafficking of cocaine and the vast majority of its estimated £200million annual revenue now comes from the drugs industry.

In addition, this plan aids Mexico by partially stemming the profits of the Sinaloa Cartel, whose activities have been thus far unchecked by Mexico’s military and law enforcement.

C) 1. Mexican, Colombian relations improve

2. U.S. global image strengthened

DEA Public Affairs, March 2006, “United States Charges 50 Leaders Of Narco-Terrorist FARC In Colombia With Supplying More Than Half Of The World's Cocaine”, http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/pressrel/pr032206a.html

Fifty leaders of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (the FARC) in Colombia have been indicted on charges of importing more than $25 billion worth of cocaine into the United States and other countries, the Department of Justice announced today.  “From their jungle hideaway, the FARC uses the drug trade to bankroll terrorism in Colombia, finance attacks on innocent citizens, and poison Americans,” said DEA Administrator Karen P. Tandy. “Today’s indictment challenges that lawlessness, and the FARC leadership should prepare to face the justice that they have long denied to so many.”  According to the indictment, the FARC currently supplies more than 50 percent of the world’s cocaine and more than 60 percent of the cocaine that enters the United States.

Because FARC accounts for approximately half of the world’s cocaine trade, striking at their narco submarines and other vessels would target the root of civilized nations’ drug-related ills and significantly aid the United States’ standing around the globe.  Not only would it prove our military’s might and determination to defend our borders against invasion, but it would also solidify America’s commitment to peace, justice, and the rule of law.

Nevertheless, let’s assume for the sake of debate that siccing the Navy on drug lords would aggravate Mexico and other Central American nations, upsetting formerly stable relations.  This contention lacks any impact or weight in this round unless the negative team can show that Mexico has even the slightest value to American interests.  Quite to the contrary, Mexico’s main contributions to America’s landscape are 1) driving millions of illegal aliens into our states who then eat up taxpayer-funded food stamps and job training loans and 2) smuggling untold quantities of controlled substances into our states which then wind up in the hands of teenagers, causing declining school grades, violent behavior, gang membership, addiction, and ultimately new droves of Democrat voters dependent on government for their needs.  Even if this house buys the negative team’s worst case scenario, viz. an outbreak of war, Mexico’s military is so weak that the U.S. Armed Forces could crush it underfoot in a matter of weeks.  Their army relies overwhelmingly on U.S. funds and training through the Merida Initiative yet still concedes defeat to a bunch of squabbling drug gangs.  That alone is a telling sign of their ineptitude.

With that said, I move now to the final reason for adopting this policy.

Advantage 4 – Reducing drug-related crime

A ) Harms – 1. Cocaine induces violent crime

National Drug Intelligence Center (The National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) was established by the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1993 Placed under the direction and control of the Attorney General, NDIC was established to "coordinate and consolidate drug intelligence from all national security and law enforcement agencies, and produce information regarding the structure, membership, finances, communications, and activities of drug trafficking organizations."  The mission of NDIC is to provide strategic drug-related intelligence, document and computer exploitation support, and training assistance to the drug control, public health, law enforcement, and intelligence communities of the United States in order to reduce the adverse effects of drug trafficking, drug abuse, and other drug-related criminal activity.), June 2007, “Drug-Related Crime”, http://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs23/23932/crime.htm

High levels of violent and property crime in Houston are often associated with the distribution and abuse of illicit drugs, particularly crack cocaine and methamphetamine.  Crack cocaine is the drug most associated with violent and property crime. Gangs and other crack distributors commonly commit assaults, carjackings, drive-by shootings, home invasions, robberies, and firearms violations to protect and expand their drug operations. In addition, crack cocaine abusers often commit property crimes such as burglary to support their addictions.

2. Adverse health effects of cocaine

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA's mission is to lead the Nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction.  This charge has two critical components. The first is the strategic support and conduct of research across a broad range of disciplines. The second is ensuring the rapid and effective dissemination and use of the results of that research to significantly improve prevention and treatment and to inform policy as it relates to drug abuse and addiction.), Updated September 2010, “Cocaine: Abuse and Addiction”, http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/cocaine-abuse-addiction/what-are-short-term-effects-cocaine-use

There also can be severe medical complications associated with cocaine abuse.  Some of the most frequent are cardiovascular effects, including disturbances in heart rhythm and heart attacks; [and] neurological effects, including strokes, seizures, headaches, and coma; and gastrointestinal complications, including abdominal pain and nausea. In rare instances, sudden death can occur on the first use of cocaine or unexpectedly thereafter.  Cocaine-related deaths are often a result of cardiac arrest or seizures followed by respiratory arrest.  In addition research has also revealed a potentially dangerous interaction between cocaine and alcohol.  This mixture is the most common two-drug combination that results in drug-related death.

B ) Solvency – Plan significantly cuts cocaine imports

McClatchy Newspapers (The McClatchy Company is the third-largest newspaper company in the United States and a leading digital publisher dedicated to the values of quality journalism, free expression and community service.  The McClatchy Company today owns 30 daily newspapers in 29 U.S. markets, which are growing much faster than the U.S. average.  McClatchy's newspapers have won 52 Pulitzer Prizes over their histories, including 13 Gold Medals for Public Service, widely recognized as the most prestigious Pulitzers of them all.), July 18^th, 2008, “At $2 million each, subs become the drug transport of choice”, http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2008/07/18/44739/at-2-million-each-subs-become.html

And Department of Homeland Security spokesman William Knocke reported that drug trafficking organizations had used the subs, known as SPSS, for self-propelled semi-submersibles, at least 45 times in the first six months of 2008 to transport cocaine."SPSS now account for 32 percent of all maritime cocaine flow" between Latin America and the United States," he said.  "Many SPSS are built in sites in Colombia several miles upstream in river tributaries under the cover of jungle canopy."

Thus, removing the illegal drug trade by narco submarines eliminates a third of naval cocaine imports to the United States.  This will cause the drug to become less obtainable and raise its price on the black market, two effects which will cut down on violent drug-related crime.

C ) 1. Less violent crime

      2. Fewer drug-related deaths

Then again, you can't stop all terrorism, nor you can stop all drug trafficking, child exploitation, landmine casualties, or sexual enslavement, so this house might as well recognize the futility of trying to check evil and vote down this idealistic legislation.  Absolutist solvency arouses the sharpest nostalgia for the Holocaust era, when those with the power to liberate the oppressed stood by and watched their persecution idly, resigned to let others suffer indescribable atrocities against God and man partly because the impossibility of ending all cruelty intimidated them out of ending some.  Those were the days...