The US pursues internet assistance for the topic countries
New York Times 11 Feb 14, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/world/15clinton.html
Similarly, social … events in Tunisia and Egypt.
But, the State department is too slow and doesn’t have enough money to ensure internet freedom. More funding and a shift to the Broadcasting Board of Governors solves.
New York Times 11 Feb 14, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/world/15clinton.html
Critics say the administration has held back $30 million …The progress does not satisfy critics.
We’re at the tipping point of funding cuts. The status quo will gut international broadcasting and internet freedom projects
Nextgov.com 11 Feb 15, William Matthews, http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20110215_3747.php
Internet broadcasts and social networking services … its budget frozen at the 2010 level, she said.
A switch to the BBG ensures both internet security and a thriving culture of journalism in the topic countries. This is democracy assistance at its best.
Nextgov.com 11 August 23, Joseph Marks, http://cima.ned.org/agency-uses-circumvention-tools-advance-democracy
As humorless border guards and red-penned press censors … beaming in international news broadcast.
The United States Federal Government should fully fund international broadcasting and Internet freedom initiatives for Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen, shifting financing and implementation from the State Department to the Broadcasting Board of Governors.
Escalating sectarian violence is on the brink throughout the topic countries —democratic stabilization now checks conflict and critically dampens Iranian regional influence
Nasr 11 Vali Nasr, professor at Tufts University and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, “If the Arab Spring Turns Ugly,” New York Times, 8/27/2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/28/opinion/sunday/the-dangers-lurking-in-the-arab-spring.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
THE Arab Spring is a hopeful chapter … responding to President Assad’s provocations.
Conflict breakout in the Middle East escalates globally and goes nuclear
Primakov 10 Yevgeny Primakov, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and member of the editorial board of Russia in Global Affairs, “The Fundamental Conflict,” New Eastern Outlook, 1/2/2010, http://www.journal-neo.com/?q=node/102
The Middle East conflict is unparalleled in terms … Obama’s position does not completely rule out such a possibility.
Plan keeps Syrian protests peaceful, ensures democratic transition, prevents US military intervention
Ziadeb 11 Radwan Ziadeh is a former Reagan-Fascell fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy, June 8, http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2011/06/democracies-must-support-the-most-liberal-and-western-friendly-of-arab-spring-uprisings/
President Bashar al-Assad’s father brutally suppressed … friends who might someday become allies.
That stabilizes the region and offsets Iran’s regional influence
Satloff 11 By Dr. Robert Satloff, Executive Director, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy Testimony prepared for delivery to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Thursday, June 23, 2011 “Iran and Syria: Next Steps”
Nowhere is this more the case than with Syria… an issue of such strategic importance as Syria is not leading at all.
Internet access key to prevent wars caused by the digital divide
Hallams 10 Dr. Ellen, King's College London, Joint Services Command and Staff College, DIGITAL DIPLOMACY: THE INTERNET, THE BATTLE FOR IDEAS & US FOREIGN POLICY. Paper presented to the Political Studies Association Annual Conference, Edinburgh, 30 March
For people like Ross and Cohen, digital diplomacy is the future … advance US interests and counter enemy propaganda.
US soft power in the Middle East is at a crossroads. Obama’s credibility is collapsing due to perceived lack of commitment to democracy. Current US government media outlets are outdated and losing ground to local alternatives. Concrete policy change is needed to salvage our influence.
Khatib 11 August 25, CPD Research Fellow, 2010-2012 and Program Manager at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (Linda, THE ARAB SPRING CASTS OBAMA AS UNITED STATES PUBLIC DIPLOMACY MESSENGER, http://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/index.php/newswire/cpdblog_detail/the_arab_spring_casts_obama_as_united_states_public_diplomacy_messenger/)
What should President Barack Obama do next as a U.S. public diplomacy … condemned to falling on deaf ears in the Arab world.
Funding broadcasting bolsters US soft power
Wexler 09 Robert, Chair, House of Representatives, subcommittee on europe, committee on foreign affairs, July 23, “Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty And Voice of America: Soft Power And The Free Flow Of Information”
While there is certainly a place for constructive and critical debate … suppress freedom of expression and press, especially on the Internet.
Providing internet access is literally the definition of soft power. Failure to vote aff ensures US adversaries can avoid our hard power and win future conflicts.
Hallams 10 Dr. Ellen, King's College London, Joint Services Command and Staff College, DIGITAL DIPLOMACY: THE INTERNET, THE BATTLE FOR IDEAS & US FOREIGN POLICY. Paper presented to the Political Studies Association Annual Conference, Edinburgh, 30 March
Such incidents highlight the extraordinary impact that the internet is having on US foreign … traditional, military means of countering Al-Qaeda.
US soft power key to solve multiple global wars and a laundry list of extinction scenarios
Nye 8 professor of international relations at Harvard University, (Joseph“American Power After the Financial Crises,” http://www.foresightproject.net/publications/articles/article.asp?p=3533)
Power always depends on context, and in today's world … realisation that even the largest country cannot achieve its aims without the help of others.
Net Access Is Key To Continued Democratic Resistance In MENA
Riley, 2011:
(SHEILA, RILEY. “Social Media One Key To The Arab Spring.” Investors Business Daily 31 Oct. 2011: A06. Business Source Complete. Web. 16 Dec. 2011. Journalist associated with Investors Business Daily).
The Arab Spring owes a debt to … mobilize and explain their positions,” Noorbaksh said.
Plan Is Not Confined To The Topic Countries; A successful anti-censorship industry in the U.S. spills over internationally.
GIFC, 2007:
(Global Internet Freedom Consortium, Defeat Internet Censorship: Overview of Advanced Technologies and Products
http://www.internetfreedom.org/archive/Defeat_Internet_Censorship_White_Paper.pdf
The Global Internet Freedom Consortium is a consortium of organizations that develop and deploy anti-censorship technologies for use by Internet users in countries whose governments restrict Web-based information access.)
Though the majority of these technologies and products are tuned for users in China… endeavoring to get the word out to the world when the junta jammed the Internet.
But, Makers Of Anti-Censorship Technologies Are Losing The Resource War With Censors; Plan Funding Is Key
GIFC, 2007:
(Global Internet Freedom Consortium, Defeat Internet Censorship: Overview of Advanced Technologies and Products
http://www.internetfreedom.org/archive/Defeat_Internet_Censorship_White_Paper.pdf
The Global Internet Freedom Consortium is a consortium of organizations that develop and deploy anti-censorship technologies for use by Internet users in countries whose governments restrict Web-based information access.)
As the anti-censorship technologies mature… back up these heroic efforts.
Following The Presidential Election Protests, Iran Intensified Its Censorship Of Digital Media, Hamstringing Political Opposition
Calingaert, 2010:
(CALINGAERT, DANIEL. “Authoritarianism Vs. The Internet.” Policy Review 160 (2010): 63-75. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Dec. 2011. Deputy Director Of Programs At Freedom House)
The internet in Iran is, however, subject to harsh controls… their family members in Iran
Iranian Resistance Groups Are Already Organized Through The Internet. Successful anti-censorship technology Gives Them Crucial Redundant Communication And Prompts Government Overreaction, Undermining The Regime
Pollack & Takeyh, 2011:
(Kenneth M. Pollack is the Director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. Ray Takeyh is a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. The Washington Quarterly (34:4). Fall.)
A critical component of any strategy, however…especially since it has proven fruitful so far.
The Window Is Closing. Only An Energized Iranian Opposition Forces Regime Moderation And Negotiation With The West
Pollack & Takeyh, 2011:
(Kenneth M. Pollack is the Director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. Ray Takeyh is a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. The Washington Quarterly (34:4). Fall.)
What this adds up to is the sense that the United … endangered—and therefore constructive—interlocutor.
Left Unchecked, Iran Will Become The Regional Hegemon
Brookes, 2007:
(Iran Emboldened: Tehran Seeks To Dominate Middle East Politics. As senior fellow for national security affairs, Peter Brookes develops and communicates The Heritage Foundation’s stance on foreign and defense policy through his research and writing, media and public appearances and congressional testimony. http://www.heritage.org/research/commentary/2007/04/iran-emboldened-tehran-seeks-to-dominate-middle-east-politics)
With the creeping possibility of a nuclear breakout…Tehran may pull it off.
Regional Hegemony Causes Multiple Scenarios For War- Instability, Israel-Palestine, Terrorism, Oil Shocks, And Regional War
Yoo, 2012:
(John Yoo is a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, January 3, http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/286953/unavoidable-challenge-john-yoo?pg=2&comments=yes&page=1)
Even realists who criticize a pro-democracy … with little fear of direct retaliation.