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Plan: The United States Federal Government should provide open internet for Syria. Funding and enforcement through normal means.

Contention One is Inherency:

First, Syrian authorities have restored internet to the country for now, but have proven willing to turn it off at anytime to thwart dissidents

Rock 2011

(Margaret, writer for Mobiledia, “Syrian Internet Restored” July 8^th, 2011 ) MattG

And, restoring internet was not a benign action – Syria opened the internet in order to catalogue, track, and eliminate political opposition.

Fontaine and Rogers 2011

(Richard Fontaine is a Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security, Will Rogers is a Research Associate at the Center for a New American Security. “Internet Freedom – A Foreign Policy Imperative in the Digital Age” ) MattG

And, the U.S. internet freedom agenda is not keeping up with advances by governments to repress electronic communication

Dale and Zuckerman in 2011

(Helle C., Senior Fellow for Public Diplomacy, and Jessica, Research Assistance in the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, “UAE Ahead of All Arab states in ICT Use”, http://www.i-policy.org/2011/06/page/2/, rcheek)

Contention Two – Queerness

First, Public Media is under constant surveillance and the regime uses its ability to surveil the internet to track, hunt, blackmail, and murder gay Syrians.

Hamwi 2011

(Sami Hamwi - Syria Editor at Gay Middle East, “In Syria, "anti-regime gay people" are being "hunted" August 10^th, 2011) http://sdgln.com/news/2011/08/10/syria-anti-regime-gay-people-are-being-hunted)MattG

And, LGBT individuals are discouraged from gathering in person because they are subjected to discriminatory violence and scapegoating – the only avenue left is internet freedom.  However, the Syrian Electronic Army patrols the internet searching for LGBT members– this sustains heteronormativity and prevents queerness in the revolution.

Canning 2011 (Paul, LBGT Asylum News, May 10^st 2011, “Gay reporters/bloggers face danger as Syrian crackdown intensifies” ) MattG

Internet and mobile phone freedoms are crucial to the success of queer movements in extra-national environments. Queering the revolution breaks down sexual and geopolitical boundaries that cement conceptions of “Queers” and “Arabs”

Moawad and Qiblaw in 2011

(Nadine, active with gender and tech initiatives and has co-founded Nasawiya feminist collective in Beirut, Lebanon, and Tamara, journalist who writes about socioeconomic issues and is working on starting up a gender resource center at Nasawiya in Beirut, Lebanon, “Who’s afraid of the big bad internet?”, EROTICS: Sex, rights, and the internet, http://www.genderit.org/sites/default/upload/erotics_finalresearch_apcwnsp.pdf#page=109, rcheek)

Independently, these misconceptions of the “arab” world make war and violence inevitable

Marrouchi in 1998

(Mustapha, professor of postcolonial literature at LSU, “Counternarratives, Recoveries, Refusals,” boundary 2, vol. 25, no. 2, p. 205-257)

The internet creates a space to challenge oppression and oppose heteronormative power structures. Regulation and censorship threaten to undermine the liberatory potential of cyberspace. The aff is a key site of contestation and struggle for democratic participation.

Kee in 2011

(Jac Sm, EROTICS editor and coordinator, “Emerging threads and common gaps: A synthesis”, http://www.genderit.org/sites/default/upload/erotics_finalresearch_apcwnsp.pdf#page=109, rcheek)

An open internet is a critical space for the proliferation of multiple discourses that can act to challenge and rupture heteronormativity

Kee in 2011

(Jac Sm, EROTICS editor and coordinator, “Emerging threads and common gaps: A synthesis”, http://www.genderit.org/sites/default/upload/erotics_finalresearch_apcwnsp.pdf#page=109, rcheek)

And, heteronormativity is a powerful form of normalization which is the site of all violence.

Yep et al in 2003

(Gust, Karen Lovass, and John Elia, Professors @ San Francisco University, Journal of Homosexual Studies, Vol. 45, No. 2/3/4,, pp. 18)

Contention Three is Solvency –

First, shadow internet devices have been developed but still need to be deployed. Plan is key to Internet freedom in Syria

Glanz and Markoff in 2011

(James, Baghdad bureau chief of The New York Times, and John, journalist, “U.S. underwrites Internet detour around censors”, New York Times, June 12, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/12/world/12internet.html?pagewanted=all, rcheek)

And, we must act now- recent scandal over the “Gay Girl in Damascus” highlights the need for enabling authentic queer Syrian voices in cyberspace. We cannot separate the demand for a freer internet from queer activism in the “Arab Spring” – doing so ensures the failure of both

Moawad and Qiblaw in 2011

(Nadine, active with gender and tech initiatives and has co-founded Nasawiya feminist collective in Beirut, Lebanon, and Tamara, journalist who writes about socioeconomic issues and is working on starting up a gender resource center at Nasawiya in Beirut, Lebanon, “Who’s afraid of the big bad internet?”, EROTICS: Sex, rights, and the internet, http://www.genderit.org/sites/default/upload/erotics_finalresearch_apcwnsp.pdf#page=109, rcheek)

And, action in Syria is uniquely key – it’s critical to break through the geopolitical influences that sustain internet censorship in the region

Moawad and Qiblaw in 2011

(Nadine, active with gender and tech initiatives and has co-founded Nasawiya feminist collective in Beirut, Lebanon, and Tamara, journalist who writes about socioeconomic issues and is working on starting up a gender resource center at Nasawiya in Beirut, Lebanon, “Who’s afraid of the big bad internet?”, EROTICS: Sex, rights, and the internet, http://www.genderit.org/sites/default/upload/erotics_finalresearch_apcwnsp.pdf#page=109, rcheek)

Finally, our affirmative spills over into a rights based approach to internet freedom. Inclusion of sexuality in the debate enables social justice and queer activism that can overcome the criminalization and discrimination of status quo content regulation.

Kee in 2011

(Jac Sm, EROTICS editor and coordinator, “Emerging threads and common gaps: A synthesis”, http://www.genderit.org/sites/default/upload/erotics_finalresearch_apcwnsp.pdf#page=109, rcheek)

And, U.S. State Department Office of the Coordinator for Cyber Issues is normal means

Clinton in 2011

(Hillary, Secretary of State, “Remarks on the Release of President Obama Administration’s International Strategy for Cyberspace”, May 16, http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2011/05/163523.htm, rcheek)

Contention One is our artifact:

First, an Orientalist meta-narrative governs U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and North Africa in the status quo. Traditional affirmation is a legitimization of both neoliberal and neoconservative fantasies to control the outcome of the uprisings and revolutions in the topic countries

Marmot in 2011

(Angry, intelligent blogger, “Orientalism, Modernity & the Arab Spring”, Eyes on Egypt and the Region, http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/07/963252/-Orientalism,-Modernitythe-Arab-Spring)

If there is a single book which I would denote as required reading for …. "mind-forg'd manacles—all too easily made, applied and guarded" (2003: 328.)

And, “Arab Spring” rhetoric has its roots in Eurocentric discourse. William Shakespeare provided the seasonal master metaphors that were borrowed and applied to the People’s Springtime of European revolutions starting in the 19^th century.

Zimmer in 2011

(Ben, executive producer of the Visual Thesaurus and editor of the online magazine and he has worked as editor for American dictionaries at Oxford University Press and as a consultant to the Oxford English Dictionary, “The "Arab Spring" Has Sprung”, http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/2855/, rcheek)

Yesterday, President Obama gave his much-anticipated "Arab spring" ….. Here he is talking seasons with the president (Jack Warden) and his confidant, a wealthy businessman (Melvyn Douglas).

And, the term “Arab Spring” was employed after September 11^th to describe the end-goal of U.S. military intervention in the Middle East for the purpose of creating pro-American regimes

Packer in 2003

(George, American journalist, novelist and playwright, “Dreaming of Democracy”, New York Times Magazine, March 02, http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/02/magazine/dreaming-of-democracy.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm, rcheek)

The idea is sometimes referred to as a new domino theory, with tyrannies collapsing on top of one another. … as soon as you say it, you realize there's a mile between the beginning and end of that sentence.''

And, the rhetoric of the “Arab Spring” as a hope for democratization in the Middle East was eventually internalized by the non-Western media

Ibrahim in 2005

(Saad Eddin, an Egyptian pro-democracy and peace activist, is a Professor at the American University in Cairo and heads the Ibn Khaldun Center, “Democracy on the Nile?”, , rcheek)

The surprise decision by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak …. in an Arab spring of freedom, one long overdue.

And, while avoiding the Arab Spring metaphor, George W. Bush called for outright revolt in the Middle East against those that stand in the way of democratization of the region. Here, the Orientalist meta-narrative separates the good, pro-democratic Muslims from the bad anti-Western “terrorists” and “authoritarians”

Bush in 2008

(George W., former President of the United States, “President Bush Attends World Economic Forum”, May 18^th, http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/05/20080518-6.html, rcheek)

Freedom is also the basis for a democratic system …. and young people grow up with hope in the future.

And, in his now famous “Arab Spring” speech, Obama continues to promote the Orientalist meta-narrative through stark contrast of the modernization and progressive Western world of democracy versus the backwards and authoritarian Middle East and North Africa.

Obama in 2011

(Barak, President of the United States, “A Moment of Opportunity”, http://www.therightscoop.com/watch-obamas-speech-on-the-arab-spring/, rcheek)

The story of this Revolution, …... And their voices tell us that change cannot be denied.

Contention two is our theory:

First, Orientalist rhetoric constructs an Arab/Islamic Other that legitimizes U.S. imperial policy

Cherkaoui in 2010

(Tarek Cherkaoui  has a Masters degree in international relations and is currently studying a Phd in Communication Studies at AUT University, “ORIENTALISM. PAN-ARABISM. AND MILITARY-MEDIA WARFARE: A COMPARISON BETWEEN CXX AND ALJAZEERA COVERAGE OF THE IRAQ WAR”, pg. 100, Jikeda)

Another example of 1990s Orientalist writing is ….U.S. imperial policy since the suicide bombings of September 2001.

And, U.S. democracy assistance is a tool of U.S. imperialism

Yom in 2008

(Sean, Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Government at Harvard University, “The Dilemmas of American Democracy Promotion in the Arab World”, Yale Journal of International Affairs | Volume 3, Issue 1: Winter 2008, pg. 132-133, Jikeda)

Yet the resilience of Arab authoritarianism …. Washington's political interests and military demands.7

And, Orientalism is a function of intellectual domination over the Other. Non-westerners are dehumanized in a strategy of commodification of the Other.

Shome in 1996

(Raka, Visiting Scholar in the Social and Cultural Analysis Department @ New York University, “Postcolonial Interventions in the Rhetorical Canon: An “Other” View”, Communication Theory, Volume 6, Issue 1, pp. 40-59, rcheek)

For Said (1978), Orientalism is a function of “intellectual power” …. if the task of discursive colonization is to be made manageable.

And, that makes extinction inevitable

Said in 2003

(Edward, former Professor of English and Comparative Literature @ Columbia University, “An Unacceptable Helplessness”, http://www.counterpunch.org/said01182003.html, rcheek)

In this entire panorama of desolation, …., those two symbols of vacant power and overweening arrogance? I hope someone is listening.

Our advocacy:

Vote affirmative to embrace our rhetorical criticism of the Orientalist meta-narrative as a prerequisite to topical action.

Contention Three is our Method:

First, we must challenge the neocolonial assumptions within our discipline to open spaces for marginalized voices

Shome in 1996

(Raka, Visiting Scholar in the Social and Cultural Analysis Department @ New York University, “Postcolonial Interventions in the Rhetorical Canon: An “Other” View”, Communication Theory, Volume 6, Issue 1, pp. 40-59, rcheek)

The solution, however, is not merely to do more rhetorical studies …. and racist circumstances of our present time.

And, Imperialism operates discursively and subtly. Our task as rhetorical critics is to examine the rhetorical strategies through which neocolonialism establishes its hegemony

Shome in 1996

(Raka, Visiting Scholar in the Social and Cultural Analysis Department @ New York University, “Postcolonial Interventions in the Rhetorical Canon: An “Other” View”, Communication Theory, Volume 6, Issue 1, pp. 40-59, rcheek)

A promising collusion between rhetoric and postcolonialism ….  are best suited to engage in as well as contribute to.

And, our aff is key to reversing the Eurocentric intellectual domination of the status quo

Shome in 1996

(Raka, Visiting Scholar in the Social and Cultural Analysis Department @ New York University, “Postcolonial Interventions in the Rhetorical Canon: An “Other” View”, Communication Theory, Volume 6, Issue 1, pp. 40-59, rcheek)

So far. I have presented a theoretical overview of postcolonialism ….. from emerging, and continues a pattern of Eurocentric intellectual domination.

And, Rhetorical criticism of Orientalist discourse is critical to open up spaces for resistance

Shome in 1996

(Raka, Visiting Scholar in the Social and Cultural Analysis Department @ New York University, “Postcolonial Interventions in the Rhetorical Canon: An “Other” View”, Communication Theory, Volume 6, Issue 1, pp. 40-59, rcheek)

Second, the postcolonial critique of western discursive imperialism …. adequately engage in the present historical and social conditions.

Finally, refusal to critique the rhetoric of Orientalism makes racism and neocolonialism inevitable

Shome in 1996

(Raka, Visiting Scholar in the Social and Cultural Analysis Department @ New York University, “Postcolonial Interventions in the Rhetorical Canon: An “Other” View”, Communication Theory, Volume 6, Issue 1, pp. 40-59, rcheek)

In recent times, the discipline of rhetorical studies - a discipline that for years … . . without the self-consciousness that must be the point of departure for all critical understanding” (Dirlik, 1990, p. 395).

Contention One:  Occupy Tahrir

Tahrir Square was the focal point of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution against former president Hosni Mubarak. The square became established as a focal point and a symbol for the ongoing Egyptian democracy demonstrations.  The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil disobedience, and labour strikes. Grievances of Egyptian protesters were focused on legal and political issues including police brutality, state of emergency laws, lack of free elections and freedom of speech, uncontrollable corruption, and economic issues including high unemployment, food price inflation, and low minimum wages.

Thus we draw our relation to the topic – Tahrir square was the focal point of the Egyptian revolution.  Individuals turned a massive place of commercial transfer into a temporary autonomous zone that embodied a collective dream for “little d” democracy

Shabrawy 2011

(Nevine El, managing editor at local English-language lifestyle publications and Egyptian activist, “Streets of Cairo: Tahrir Square”  Sun, 13/02/2011 - 22:24 www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/318060 ) MattG

Although Tahrir is usually round-a-bout with …..  embodied a collective dream for a national project in which democracy, equality and freedom reign.

However, the framers have called upon us to ignore the triumphant struggles of the Egyptian people and to “assist” them in establishing the proper form of “Capital D” democracy. The resolution is backwards. The success of the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions indicates that it is the United States that must learn from our Egyptian and Tunisian counterparts – voting affirmative allows democracy to flourish and export according to its own terms

Jahshan in 2011

(Paul, Ph.D. in English Literature, Associate Professor of the Humanities @ Notre Dame University, “The 2011 Arab Uprisings and the Persistence of Orientalism”, The Arab World Geographer, Volume 14, Issue 2, rcheek)

Not all Western media deserve to be judged similarly, however. ….. and to set a sterling example of how to get rid of the baltagiy.ya,  wherever they may be.

So, rather than discuss how to “fix” the revolution, we’d like to discuss with you what made the revolution successful in the first place.  It’s a term called “acephelous,” or “headless.”  The Egyptians did not appoint a leader to their movement.  There was no Achilles to lead them into battle.  Rather, a few individuals posted youtube videos, set up facebook pages, and tweeted dates and locations. Welcome to 21^st century protests.  We do not have a head for you to chop off and a single tweet can spark a revolution.  Will you join our Occupation?

Niman in 2011 [really long]

(Michael I., Assistant Professor of Journalism and Media Studies in the Communication Department at Buffalo State College, “#OCCUPY Your Dreams”, http://www.truth-out.org/occupy-your-dreams/1318862245, rcheek)

Liberate your imagination, understand your revolution.  ….  It’s up to us, everywhere, to take it from here.

Contention Two is #Occupy Wall Street

We begin with a quote from the 99 percent: [1]

As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.

    • They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.

    • They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless nonhuman animals, and actively hide these practices.

    • They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.

    • They have sold our privacy as a commodity.

    • They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.

    • They have donated large sums of money to politicians supposed to be regulating them.

    • They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.

    • They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.

    • They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts.

    *These grievances are not all-inclusive.

You have just heard the proclamation of the Occupy Wall Street movement.  This document has proliferated throughout the country and indeed the world.  Just a few days ago, the Occupy movement reached our small town of Ogden, Utah and is now taking place in over 82 countries, and 2,464 cities and towns world-wide.

While the mathematics might be wrong, the “99 %” slogan is accurate.  The vast majority of people are subordinate to a system run by and for a tiny ruling elite.  While all our grievances may not form a coherent step-by-step strategy, the initiation of the discussion is what sparks institutional transformation.

Bureau of Public Secrets in 2011

(Bureau of Public Secrets, “The Awakening in America”, http://www.bopsecrets.org/recent/awakening.htm, rcheek)

Almost as clueless are those doctrinaire radicals ….  from both of the major political parties.

We are told that what we demand for is impossible, that structural inequities cannot be eliminated, leaderless utopias are not and never will be a reality.  We are told to go home and quit wasting our time.  We disagree.  We demand the impossible.

Butler in 2011

(Judith, professor in the Rhetoric and Comparative Literature departments at the University of California, Berkeley, “Text from Judith Butler’s Speech Via The People’s Mic (10/23)”, http://occupywsp.tumblr.com/post/11864142132/text-from-judith-butlers-speech-via-the-peoples-mic, rcheek)

I’ve come here to lend my support  and offer my solidarity  ….  we are here  time and again  persisting  enacting the phrase  We the People

Contention Three – Occupy Wake

We come to you at a time when debates’ pedagogical mission has been corrupted by the wealthy elite.  Schools like Northwestern, Harvard, and Emory dominate our community with armies of coaches, near infinite budgets, and legions of card cutters.  The top of the high school community is not equitably distributed but rather flocks to and is purchased by these same squads. We gather to stand in solidarity with the global democratic movement to end corruption in all of its forms.  Thus, we have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known:

·         Money controls ballots – there is neither transparency nor cap on debate budgets which decimates any level playing field between big and small programs.

·         High School debate camps are farm systems for the elite by establishing tiered systems that privilege wealthy, private school debaters and sentence poor, public school debaters to second-class status.

·         Coaches’ poll signals the elite voting for the elite and is run by the elite.  Success is determined by the successful.

·         NDT bid system is corrupt and anti-democratic.

·         Planet debate and cross-ex represent the market structure of the activity – the system of buying and selling academic work is antithetical to pedagogy.

·         Buying judges/selling rounds to maximize coaching.

*These grievances are not all inclusive.

What do our grievances mean to you?  How do you evaluate the round? Your ballot signals an acceptance of a Coffee and Convo style Occupy Discussion.  We are not policymakers.  We are not inaccessible intellectuals but rather a motivated group of students who hunger for democratic community but have been given corrupt elitist bullshit. 

Our initiation of the debate over Occupy is a critical starting point to the creation of a democracy without the façade

Petersen in 2011

(Dan, “Coffee and Conversation: Students debate Occupy Boston”, The Daily Free Press, http://dailyfreepress.com/2011/10/26/coffee-and-conversation-students-debate-occupy-boston/, rcheek)

Thirty Boston University students gathered …. group agreed that students would benefit more from engaging in small discussions.

We are corporatized, dependent upon money for success.  Scholarship is becoming corrupted and defends market needs over democratic ones, turning the activity into an adjunct personnel office in the name of corporate interests.  This represents the very literal destruction of the potential of debate and obliterates the educational value of our pedagogy.

Giroux, Global TV Network chair professorship at McMaster University in the English and Cultural Studies Department, 2009

[Henry, Democracy’s Nemesis: The Rise of the Corporate University, vol 9, no 5, October, p. 680] MattG

Why should we care? Colleges and universities do not simply produce knowledge and new perspectives for students; ….  corporate logo, or adjunct to corporate interests.

You, as a university educator, serve a unique function to be particularly vocal and militant in challenging the corporatization of education.  Thus we ask you to vote affirmative to Occupy Wake.

Your ballot demands the use of debate as an activity to guarantee the most inclusive form of democracy.

Giroux, Global TV Network chair professorship at McMaster University in the English and Cultural Studies Department, 2009

[Henry, Democracy’s Nemesis: The Rise of the Corporate University, vol 9, no 5, October, p. 680] MattG

As university leaders increasingly appeal to the corporate world for funding, engage in money-making ventures as a measure of excellence, and ignore that the line between for-….  knowledge can be used for amplifying human freedom and promoting social justice, and not simply for creating profits.

Contention Four is Occupy Everything.

The similiarities cannot be denied – the democratic politic of Occupy carries a strong relationship with the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions.   Shared spaces became an epicenter of cultural and social change, largely because these spaces were made Temporary Autonomous Zones.  These allow for a more rapid sense of power to develop and lead to a more horizontal arrangement of power within the movement.

Harvey 2011

(Ryan, organizer with the Civilian-Soldier Alliance and a member of the Riot-Folk musician collective, ““Globalization” Is Coming Home” Tuesday 11 October 2011 http://www.truth-out.org/globalization-coming-home/1318358930) MattG

Though it reads like a mystical story of upheaval, …. .  Perhaps they will, as Egypt’s Tahrir Square has, become both the symbols and sites of global revolt against the neoliberal economies of the corporate-era.

TAZ is an uprising that doesn’t have to engage in the state.  We occupy an area, and dissolve to reformulate elsewhere. The state cannot recognize our TAZ because history has no definition of it. We need to stop waiting for the revolution, and occupy the vacancies of the omnipresent state.

Bey 91

(Hakim, American Political Writer, “The Temporary Autonomous Zone, Ontological Anarchy, Poetic Terrorism” , http://hermetic.com/bey/taz_cont.html, Dil)

In short, we're not touting the TAZ as an exclusive end in itself, …. The first step is somewhat akin to satori--the realization that the TAZ begins with a simple act of realization.

CONTENTION ONE IS INHERENCY

First, after significantly contributing to the success of the overthrow of Gadaffi, women have been excluded from decision making in the new Libya. Patriarchal and gendered hierarchies remain persistent in both public and private life.

Spellman-Poots in 2011

(Kathryn, Associate Professor at the Aga Khan University’s Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, “Women in the new Libya: challenges ahead”, December 23^rd, http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/kathryn-spellman-poots/women-in-new-libya-challenges-ahead, rcheek)

The seven month long … used for political leverage?

And, current efforts to push gender-based solutions in Libya have failed

Santini in 2011

(Ruth Hanau, Visiting Fellow with the Brookings Center on the United States and Europe, “What Women’s Rights Tell Us About the Arab Spring”, Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings, November 10^th, http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2011/1110_arab_awakening_women_santini/1101_arab_awakening_women_santini.pdf, rcheek)

The U.S. and Europe have … met with little success.

And, now is a key time- Libya is in a state of transition that opens the possibility for gender-focused intervention

Spellman-Poots in 2011

(Kathryn, Associate Professor at the Aga Khan University’s Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, “Women in the new Libya: challenges ahead”, December 23^rd, http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/kathryn-spellman-poots/women-in-new-libya-challenges-ahead, rcheek)

PLAN TEXT:

The United States federal government should deploy gender focused rapid response teams to Libya.

CONTENTION TWO IS POLITICAL FEMINISM

First, gender-focused RRTs provide a unique feminist perspective to post-conflict regions such as Libya

UAF in 2003

(Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights, “Gender Focused Rapid Response Teams: A Preliminary Discussion of the Concept and Potential for Implementation”, Report of Expert Consultation Held November 2002 Including Background Paper, May 2003, http://urgentactionfund.org/assets/files/uaf-pubs/RRT%20Report_Final.pdf, rcheek)

Participants envisioned already … the situation at hand.

And, feminism is key to successful Libyan democratic transition

Ivanov in 2011

(Georgi, graduate student in political science and international affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, “Political Feminism Will Pave Path For Libyan Democracy”, http://www.policymic.com/article/show?id=1677&op=, rcheek)

In Libya, feminism offers the …for the sake of preserving a unified Libyan state.

And, feminism is a critical starting point for democracy in Libya. Absent a gender-based paradigm of access, Libya will return to a patriarchal, authoritative government

Ivanov in 2011

(Georgi, graduate student in political science and international affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, “Political Feminism Will Pave Path For Libyan Democracy”, http://www.policymic.com/article/show?id=1677&op=, rcheek)

Libya’s Colonel Muammar … that can be voiced.

And democratization is key to prevent omnicide

Rummel, Professor Emiritus at University of Hawaii, 1994

[“Death By Government”, http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/DBG.CHAP1.HTM]

[Power kills, absolute Power … Century Book of the Dead.]

And, patriarchy makes extinction inevitable

Warren & Cady 1994

(Karen & Duane, “Feminism and Peace: Seeing Connections”, Hypatia Volume: 9. Issue: 2, pp 4,)

Operationalized, the evidence of … and global contexts.

CONTENTION THREE IS WAR RAPE

First, mass rape was used as a weapon of war by Gadaffi. US policymakers have an obligation to help victims of sexual violence in Libya

Marcus in 11

(Elizabeth, Reporter, “Rape and the Arab Spring: The Dark Side of the Popular Uprisings in the Middle East”, Center for American Progress, http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/12/arab_spring_women.html, BMW)

Despite the prominent … associated with being a rape victim.

And, mass rape makes war pharmakotic. Victims are purged like a disease from the body politic in an effort to restore the political health of the nation, which makes all atrocity possible

Diken and Lausten 05

(Bulent and Carsten, Doctorate in Sociology/PS, “Becoming abject: Rape as a weapon of war”, Body and Society, 11, 111 – 128, http://www.staff.amu.edu.pl/~ewa/Diken%20and%20Lausten,%20Becoming%20Abject.pdf, Dil)

We have shown that bodily … like a lynching’ (George, 2002: 165).

Libyan rape victims are at risk of being murdered in honor killings

Zawati in 2012

(Hilmi M., president of the International Legal Advocacy Forum and an international criminal law jurist and human rights advocate, “Hidden deaths of Libyan rape survivors”, The National Law Journal, 1/9/12, rcheek)

Notwithstanding the consequences …for "bringing shame on the family."

Honor killings are a confluence of biopolitical and necropolitical violence. Women are reduced to bare life and suffer a social death as their existence is erased to restore the honor of their families

Ahmetbeyzade in 2008

(Cihan, a cultural anthropologist, “Gendering Necropolitics: The Juridical-Political

Sociality of Honor Killings in Turkey”, Journal of Human Rights, 7:187-206, rcheek)

Honor killing is then a … urban locations in Turkey.

And, Libyan women are demanding assistance for mass rape victims

Gumuchian 11-26-11

(Marie-Louise, Writer for Alert Net, “Libyan women demand support for war rape victims”, http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libyan-women-demand-support-for-war-rape-victims/, Dil)

TRIPOLI, Nov 26 (Reuters) - About 100 Libyan … those who have no voice."

And, RRTs can help victims of mass rape

Helie-Lucas and Sajor in 2003

(Marieme, co-founder of Women Living Under Muslim Laws, and Indai Lourdes, internationally renowned human rights defender and educator in the field of women's human rights, “Gender-Focused Rapid Response Teams: A Concept Paper”, http://urgentactionfund.org/assets/files/uaf-pubs/RRT%20Report_Final.pdf, rcheek)

RRTs need to consider the … might not be involved.

Specifically, RRTs can help victims overcome despair, which destroys value to life

UAF in 2003

(Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights, “Gender Focused Rapid Response Teams: A Preliminary Discussion of the Concept and Potential for Implementation”, Report of Expert Consultation Held November 2002 Including Background Paper, May 2003, http://urgentactionfund.org/assets/files/uaf-pubs/RRT%20Report_Final.pdf, rcheek)

There may be a … middle of a crisis.

CONTENTION FOUR IS SOLVENCY

First, the U.S. should lead the international community to stand firm against gender based violence. Plan expands the role of rapid response teams to include sexual violence used as a tool of political repression, which builds support for civil society groups and is key to spillover of feminist consciousness.

Marcus 2011

(Elizabeth, Intern with the National Security Team at the Center for American Progress, December 8th “Rape and the Arab Spring: The Dark Side of the Popular Uprisings in the Middle East”, http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/12/pdf/arab_spring_women.pdf) MattG

In the face of the use … countries’ social contract.

And, gender-focused RRT’s should be initiated in Libya

UAF in 2003

(Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights, “Gender Focused Rapid Response Teams: A Preliminary Discussion of the Concept and Potential for Implementation”, Report of Expert Consultation Held November 2002 Including Background Paper, May 2003, http://urgentactionfund.org/assets/files/uaf-pubs/RRT%20Report_Final.pdf, rcheek)

The Concept Paper offers …various regions of the world.

And, gender-focused RRTs are critical to achieving international solidarity against gender based violence. Foreign aid comes with hidden agendas that demobilize support.

Helie-Lucas and Sajor in 2003

(Marieme, co-founder of Women Living Under Muslim Laws, and Indai Lourdes, internationally renowned human rights defender and educator in the field of women's human rights, “Gender-Focused Rapid Response Teams: A Concept Paper”, http://urgentactionfund.org/assets/files/uaf-pubs/RRT%20Report_Final.pdf, rcheek)

The RRTs are committed … South-North solidarity.

And, gender focused RRT’s are key to end the silence surrounding gender based violence in post conflict regions and ensure women’s rights globally

Helie-Lucas and Sajor in 2003

(Marieme, co-founder of Women Living Under Muslim Laws, and Indai Lourdes, internationally renowned human rights defender and educator in the field of women's human rights, “Gender-Focused Rapid Response Teams: A Concept Paper”, http://urgentactionfund.org/assets/files/uaf-pubs/RRT%20Report_Final.pdf, rcheek)

It was only in 1993 that the … human rights  movement.

And, we have a moral obligation to deploy gender-focused RRTs to provide solidarity, presence and continued reassurance to victims of gender based violence

Helie-Lucas and Sajor in 2003

(Marieme, co-founder of Women Living Under Muslim Laws, and Indai Lourdes, internationally renowned human rights defender and educator in the field of women's human rights, “Gender-Focused Rapid Response Teams: A Concept Paper”, http://urgentactionfund.org/assets/files/uaf-pubs/RRT%20Report_Final.pdf, rcheek)

Human rights and … itself, an achievement.

And, rapid response teams are democracy assistance

State Department in 2007

(“Near East”, http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/60654.pdf, rcheek)

Democratic Change: MEPI’s …Civil Society Dialogues. 

Finally, promotion of women’s rights and addressing gender based violence is an integral part of democracy assistance

Ban in 2010

(Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General, “Guidance Note of the Secretary-General on Democracy”, http://www.un.org/democracyfund/Docs/UNSG%20Guidance%20Note%20on%20Democracy.pdf, rcheek)

Empowering women and … in democratic processes.