Syria 1AC - Inherency
Inherency: Obama continues to not confront the Assad regime and stands idly by not assisting the protesters
Washington Post Editorial, 11 (Editorial, “Shameful U.S. Inaction on Syria’s Massacre’s” http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/shameful-us-inaction-on-syrias-massacres/2011/04/22/AFROWsQE_print.html)
For the Past five weeks...In Syria, he has not kept his word.
Plan
Thus the Following Plan: The United States federal government should have the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) organize opposition groups in Syria
Advantage 1 is Human Rights
The Syrian people are experiencing the some of the worst treatment by the Assad regime.
Posner and Feltman 11 (Michael H., Asst Sect Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Jeffery D., Asst Sect Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, “Statement Before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia”, Axis of Abuse: U.S. Human Rights Policy toward Iran and Syria: Part 1, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/rm/2011/169180.htm)
In Syria, a committed, peaceful grassroots opposition...that victims had lethal head,neck and chest wounds.
38 types of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment have occurred in Syria despite constitutional guarantees of Syria
US Department of State 4/8/2011, “2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices,”, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, (http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/nea/154473.htm).
The law prohibits such practices, and the penal code provides punishment of a maximum imprisionment of three years...defendants' claims of torture were almost never investigate
The situation in Syria constitutes a crime against humanity
HRW 11(Human Rights Watch, “We’ve Never Seen Such Horror”: Crimes against Humanity by Syrian Security Force shttp://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Full_Report_998.pdf
Since the beginning of anti-government protests in March 2011, .... Exact numbers are impossible to verify given the information blockade imposed by the Syrian government.
Only a firm commitment to human rights can avoid extinction
Copelon 98 (Rhonda, Professor of Law and Director of the International Women's Human Rights Law Clinic at the City University of New York School of Law, New York City Law Review, /99, 3 N.Y. City L. Rev. 59)
The indivisible human rights framework survived the Cold War ...it is imperative that we bring the human rights framework to bear on both domestic and foreign policy.
We have a moral obligation to respond to our government support for atrocities in Syria
Filice, Professor and Chair of Philosophy SUNY Geneseo, 90
(Carlo, “On the Obligation to Keep Informed about Distant Atrocities”, Human Rights Quarterly, Vol|. 12, No. 3 Aug., pp. 397-414, JSTOR)
Has the average citizen contributed to a tiny degree...And while such major evils will not be confined to distant atrocities, some of these atrocities will surely fall under this most stringent category.
Advantage 2 is Sovereignty
Syria is violating Lebanon sovereignty
Naharanet 10/12/11 (Naharnet is the leading Lebanese news destination, breaking the news as it happens, March 14 Syrias violation of Lebanese territory must be presented at international forums”, http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/17278-march-14-syrias-violation-of-lebanese-territory-must-be-presented-at-international-forums) BAL
The March 14 General Secretariat condemned on Wednesday the Syrian army’s...Resorting to the state is enough to thwart strife and establish the reality that the Egyptian youth have strived for,” it added.
Syria military in Lebanese sparks controversy
Naharnet October 7, 2011 (Naharnet is the leading Lebanese news destination, breaking the news as it happens, Syrian army inflirtration creates fear of crisis spilling over to Lebanon”, http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/16839-syrian-army-infiltration-creates-fears-of-crisis-spilling-over-to-lebanon) BAL
A heated debate rose in Lebanon on Friday over the controversial Syrian infiltration into the Lebanese territories in the eastern Bekaa valley....An estimated 5,000 Syrians have sought refuge in Lebanon in recent months, among them deserting soldiers and members of the opposition.
Syrian troops are violating Lebanese sovereignty
Naharnet 10/12/11 (Naharnet is the leading Lebanese news destination, breaking the news as it happens, “Syrian violations of Lebanese territory distrurbing”, http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/17341-gemayel-syrian-violations-of-lebanese-territory-disturbing) BAL
Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel expressed his concern over the repeated Syrian violations of the Lebanese territories which have become disturbing on the national, security and sovereign levels. ...The issue has nothing to do with internal differences, but about the country's sovereignty and security", Gemayel explained. He added:"Is the Syrian army's entry to Lebanon, and his set up bases acceptable to the March 8 and March 14?"
Letting Sovereignty expand is oppressive because women, the impoverished, and minorities become reduced to bare life. The Terminal impact Genocide.
Arnold 4 (Kathleen, Lecturer on Social Studies at Harvard University, “Asceticism, Bio-power and the Poor,” March 11th)
In fact, in an era of increasing economic globalization, it is conventional wisdom that the nation-state is disappearing and government is left merely to administer what the market cannot...Mill is critiquing Christianity in this passage, he predicts the conditions for prerogative power’s regular deployment, where the state of exception or the state of emergency becomes permanent.
Contention 2 is Solvency
The Syrian People need to be organize their efforts in order to fully collapse and overthrow the Assad Regime
CNN August 17,2011 (http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/17/syrian-opposition-working-to-unify-get-its-act-together/) BAL
As international pressure against the Bashar al-Assad regime intensifies, the Syrian opposition says it has been taking steps to better organize its efforts....On Tuesday, a group of Syrian activists and energy experts met with administration officials and presented an assessment on the impact that possible U.S. sanctions against Syrian oil and gas sectors would have on the regime.
MEPI has the resources available to do this
Powell 02’ (Sec. of State Colin Powell: American statesman, retired four-star general in U S Army, “THE MIDDLE EAST PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE: PROMOTING DEMOCRATIZATION IN A TROUBLED REGION” Pg. 82, http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/intlrel/hfa85842.000/hfa85842_0f.htm] BAL
The MEPI seeks to lay a foundation for stability and freedom by promoting programs that (1) encourage economic reform and private and public sector development;...and promote women's rights; and (3) provide more access to higher education for young people and raise the quality of education in local schools.
MEPI provides all key elements to organize the opposition groups
MEPI 11’ (Middle East Partnership Initiative, U.S Organization, The Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) is a regional program that helps citizens in the Middle East and North Africa develop more pluralistic, participatory, and prosperous societies, “Encouraging participatory Government”, http://mepi.state.gov/mepi/english-mepi/what-we-do/encouraging-participatory-politics.html)
MEPI supports citizens in their efforts to have a voice ...fostering more participatory societies throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
MEPI is key to help create Civil Societies and promote democratic change
Bloomberg 11’( Bloomberg builds on that foundation - everything we do connects decision makers in business, finance and government to a broad and dynamic network of information, news, people and ideas that enables faster, more effective decisions, July 4, 2011, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-05/obama-has-tools-to-turn-words-into-action-in-middle-east-view.html) BAL
Given the need to act quickly, the administration shouldn’t spend time inventing ...a group working to encourage democratic change in Syria, used a $6 million MEPI grant to set up a satellite
MEPI solves for Human rights, woman rights, civil society, judicial reform, governance, and media monitoring
Humanrights 11 (A governmental website dedicating to listing the different organization that qualify or provide help in the field of human rights, http://www.humanrights.gov/tag/mepi/) BAL
During the past eight years, MEPI has worked strategically with Bahraini partners on a reform ...conducting trainings on disability rights, strengthening civil society, governance and transparency, human rights and media monitoring, and training for female candidates.
Assad has lost all legitimacy the Syrian want him gone and will continue protesting for free elections, modern civil constitution, and equal rights.
Guardian 11 (Guardian post is an online article dedicated to reporting current events, “Assad myth need some busting”, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/03/assad-myth-needs-busting) BAL
When President Bashar al-Assad came to power all the international, regional and national communities ...free elections and a modern civil constitution in which all citizens – men and women – are equal. This is what the Syrians want, and what they are on course to achieve.
US must take a stand on human rights
Brown, 2000(Seyom, Politics Professor at Brandeis, Human Rights in World Politics, pg. 149)
This is not to say that the United States can dictate the rules and determine the outcome of struggles in the international human rights arena....that these preferences will impact heavily on international deliberations and frequently also on the domestic policies of many countries.
