Plan: The United States federal government should increase politcal party development to Turkey for the purpose of strengthening the Syrian National Council.

Syria is effectively a stale mate between Assad and the opposition; Assad will remain in power unless a unified opposition can replace him

Rabinovich, former ambassador of Israel to the US, 3-25-12

http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/25/forging-syrias-opposition/

Today's brutal stalemate is...key regional and international actors

Tipping point for the collapse of Assad is not the actual fall of the regime but the point at which his lack of legitimacy finally turns the country into a failed state, Assad ensures instability

ICS, International Crisis Group, 3-5-12

"Now or Never, A Negotiated Transition for Syria," Middle East Briefing

Even if the regime... claim to nationwide legitimacy

Syria on the brink- the longer Assad stays in power the more likely the opposition resorts to violence and sectarian warfare spreads- Syria will be next World War

Kraus, Chief Executive Office, Citizens for Global Solutions, 2-10-12

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/don-kraus/today-we-are-all-syrians_b_1258526.html?ref=syria

As the situation...the next World War

Second, civil war in Syria will set Iraq on fire, condemning any chance for a political solution in Baghdad- Sunni-Shia war will be inevitable

Pollack, Director Saban Center for Middle East Policy, 1-31-12

http://www.brookings.edu/opinons/2012/0131_syria_pollack.aspx

We should expect...banks of the Euphrates.

Civil war in Iraq destroys Iraqi oil production- causes global economic ripple effects

Terrill, SSI's Middle East Specialist, research  prof of National Security, Feb 05

http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/summary.cfm?q=595

Apart from the effect...both, of these countries

Extinction

Friedberg, prof of politics and international relations at Princeton, 08

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB12245507401235271.html

Pressure to cut defense spending...in the long march to prosperity

Political organizational support for the SNC is key

Maalouf, oversaw programs on democracy promotion for Freedom House, and Torbey, international lawyer and 15+ years experience in Mid East studies, 12-16-11

http://pomed.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/POMED-Policy-Brief_Maalouf.pdf-POMED

The situation in Syria has...bloodshed and humanitarian crisis

Assistance to unify the opposition is the number one precondition to oust Assad, political groups can't be excluded

Slim, adjunct research fellow at the New America Foundation and a scholar at the Middle East Institute, 2-24-12

http://www.mei.edu/content/unite-syrias-opposition-first

There is a near-consensus...will hasten its demise

US-Turkish relations have stabilized, but Syria threatens to strain overall ties, cooperating on a mutual solution is key

Wilson, Director of the Patriciu Eurasia Center, 2-8-12

http://www.acuas.org/new_atlanticist/turkey-us-relations-dark-clouds-horizon

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet...and US-Turkish relations

Unilateralism by Turkey will harm relations- joint democracy assistance is key

Ulgen, visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe in Brussels, Dec 11

"From Inspiration to Aspiration- Turkey in the New Middle East," Carnegie Foundation for International Peace-Europe

The transformation of Turkey...and a lasting success story.

US-Turkey relations key to stabilizing Afghanistan and Pakistan

Werz, Center for American Progress, 11

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/06/turkey.html

Turkey is an important...both Afghanistan and Pakistan

Afghanistan instability risks sparking an Indo-Pakistan war

Foust, fellow at the American Security Project, 09

http://registan.net/index.php/2009/08/27/the-case-for-afghanistan-strategic-considerations/

It is possible that scaling back...to stay and do things right.

Extinction

Robock and Toon, Rutgers and Colorado professors of climatology and atmospheric sciences, 10

http://climate.envsci.rutgers.edu/pdf/RobockToonSciAmHan2010.pdf

Because as other nations continue...or between other regional nuclear powers.

High risk of Middle east war given tensions over Syria and Iran

Goodsped, 12-15-11

National Post, Peter, pfactiva

As Syrian dictator...polarized countries and their supporters.

Regional instability in the Middle East will inevitably go nuclear

Russell, Senior Lecturer, National Security Affairs, Spring 09

http://www.ifri.org/downloads/PP26_Russell_2009.pdf

Strategic stability in the region...substantial risk for the the entire

Middle East proliferation increases the risk of nuclear war- Cold War deterrence doesn't apply for numerous reasons

Bar, Institute of Policy and Strategy Director, 11

Http://www.herzliyaconference.org/eng_Uploads/dbsAttachedFiles/Bar_canColdWar/pdf

A nuclear Middle East will be...the tendency to opt for a first strike.

Opposition is behind the SNC but there are still disagreements amongst them on the issues

BBC, 3-28-12

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17533651

All but one of Syria's...settlement for Kurdish Syrians.

A2: Topicality

We Meet

Counter-Interp

its means "belonging to..." Google 11

AND For is "used as a function word..." Merriam-Webster 11

Pref our interp- context- democracy assistance depends on the type of regime receiving the aid

Mitchell and Phillips, project partners- the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, Jan 08

http://acus.org/files/publication_pdfs/65/Enhancing%20Democracy%20Assistance.pdf

In 2007, the US government... countries that aspire to membership

One step further- we are one form of topical assistance towards countries with authoritarian regimes

Mitchell and Phillips (same as above)

Today's democracy assistance must be calibrated...Country Report on Human Rights.

Empirics- Poland proves, the US can do democracy assistance to one country for another

White House 11

http://minsk.usembassy.gov/us_poland_joint_efforts.html

The following information was released...content and programming on democracy education.

A2 Israel Relations DA:

Non-Unique- New Tunisia government will be hostile to Israel

Inbar, Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies Director, Feb 12

"The 2011 Arab Uprisings and Israel's National Security," No. 95, page 9

For example, the new Tunisian government...from the US and its ally, Israel.

Turn- Israel fears decline in US-turkey relations jeopardizes its security

Inbar (see above) page 5

Israel is a de facto American...Israel's perspetive is deteriorating.

No link and turn: Israel views Assad's fall as inevitable and beneficial

Greenberg, Washington Post, 12-15-11

pA18factivaA18

In a shift, Israeli...in a post-Assad government.

No link- most recent evidence proves Israel favors removal of Assad

Harwell, Nov 28 11, pfactiva

This seeming final opportunity...tension along the northern border.

No link- Israel perceives Assad overthrow as inevitable

Hartwell (see above)

Defence Minister Ehud Barak...dwindled considerably since October.

Case Extension to answer Russia DA:

Civil war in Syria spills over to Russia- causes Russia to implode

Hearst, staff writer for the Guardian, 12-2-11

David, "Why Russia is Backing Syria," Guardian Web Archive

Russia's fears about a civil...the ground more cautiously.