Tournament: Harvard | Round: 2 | Opponent: Michigan CH | Judge: Barouch
The Plan: the U.S. Congress should restrict indefinite detention by legislating these changes:
---U.S. citizens and resident aliens are not eligible for indefinite detention
---indefinite detention should conform with the Law of Armed Conflict and be restricted to individuals who cannot be adequately prosecuted in the criminal justice system
---individuals can be detained for providing substantial support only if it is necessary for the completion of a terrorist plot or the ongoing operation of a terrorist organization or a smaller sub-group thereof
---all individuals classified for prosecution by the Guantanamo Review Task Force Report of 2010, and who have not been formally charged, should receive criminal trials in federal court.
Contention One: The NDAA Allows for Indefinite Detention
The 2013 National Defense Authorization Act grants the president powers to indefinitely detain suspected terrorists, including U.S. citizens---it also prohibits prosecuting detainees at Guantanamo in federal court
Mack, 2013, Troubling NDAA Provisions—2013 Edition, January 4, ACLU Maine; Ryan, p. http://www.aclumaine.org/troubling-ndaa-provisionsE280942013-edition (accessed: 9-2-13)
President Obama has signed… prosecution in federal criminal court.
And, even if the government never detains US citizens, the public perceives and fears that it will
Chesney and Wittes, 2013, Protecting U.S. Citizens’ Constitutional Rights During the War on Terror, May 22, University of Texas law professor; Brookings Institution fellow; Robert; Benjamin, p. http://www.brookings.edu/research/testimony/2013/05/22-war-on-terror-chesney-wittes (accessed: 9-1-13)
But ironically, even as this strong… misleading those who wish to see it.
Contention Two: Non-State Actors
Counter-terrorism provisions of the NDAA harms domestic law enforcement in three ways---(1) it undermines intelligence gathering, (2) chills information sharing by law enforcement, and (3) reduces cooperation from the American Muslim community
Jenkins, 2012, Foreign Affairs, The NDAA Makes It Harder to Fight Terrorism, February 1, initiated the RAND Corporation's research program on terrorism in 1972 and currently serves as Senior Adviser to the President of RAND; Brian Michael, p. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/137070/brian-michael-jenkins/the-ndaa-makes-it-harder-to-fight-terrorism(accessed: 8-28-13)
Intelligence is critical… that cooperation may decline.
And, the NDAA will damage international counter-terrorism cooperation with our allies
Jenkins, 2012, Foreign Affairs, The NDAA Makes It Harder to Fight Terrorism, February 1, initiated the RAND Corporation's research program on terrorism in 1972 and currently serves as Senior Adviser to the President of RAND; Brian Michael, p. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/137070/brian-michael-jenkins/the-ndaa-makes-it-harder-to-fight-terrorism(accessed: 8-28-13)
Beyond the domestic complications… receive civilian trials.
Additionally, a consensus of experts conclude nuclear terrorism has a high probability---motivation and means exist
Brill and Luongo, 2012, New York Times, Nuclear Terrorism: A Clear Danger, March 15, former U.S. ambassador to the I.A.E.A.; president of the Partnership for Global Security; Kenneth, Kenneth, p. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/16/opinion/nuclear-terrorism-a-clear-danger.html?_r=0 (accessed: 8-30-13)
Terrorists exploit gaps in security… with a kilogram of this material.
A nuclear terrorist attack against the U.S. will collapse the global economy, undermine civil rights, and cause nuclear escalation leading to extinction
Daley, 2010, Apocalypse Never: Forging the Path to a Nuclear Weapon-Free World, J.D., Ph.D, heads the Abolishing War program of the Center for War/Peace Studies and former RAND Corporation member of the International Policy department; Tad, p. 52-55
The classic definition of… mind cannot comprehend."
And Mueller’s statistical analysis assigning low probability to nuclear terrorism is flawed
Zimmerman, 2009, Defence Against Terrorism Review, Fall, Dept of War Studies, King’s College, Peter, p. 4-5
Mueller chooses another set… barbaric torture followed by a gruesome death.
Contention Three: The Nation upon a Hill
Indefinite detention authorized by the NDAA undermines U.S. worldwide standing and violates international law
Tineh, 2012, The state of NDAA: Why it still matters, indefinitely, July 10, Government Affairs Intern at CAir Chicago; Aseal, p. http://www.cairchicago.org/2012/07/10/the-state-of-ndaa-why-it-still-matters-indefinitely/ (accessed: 8-29-13)
On December 31, 2011, President… upon kindly by other countries.
And, US allies care more about detention than drone strikes.
Bellinger 2013, John partner in the international and national security law practices at Arnold and Porter LLP in DC, Adjunct Senior Fellow in International and National Security Law at the CFR, "Peter Baker on Mounting Criticisms of Obama Administration CT Policies", February 10, www.lawfareblog.com/2013/02/peter-baker-on-mounting-criticisms-of-obama-administration-ct-policies/
One of Baker’s more interesting…. how the Administration will respond.
Detention policies damage U.S. legitimacy the most
Welsh 2011, University of New Hampshire Law Review, Procedural Justice Post-9/11: The Effects of Procedurally Unfair Treatment of Detainees on Perceptions of Global Legitimacy, March, J.D. from the University of Utah; David, p. 262-3
The Global War… legitimacy in the context of detention.
This standing remains critical to solving global warming
Ivaneishvili, 2012, Journal of Social Sciences, Obama Foreign Policy Doctrine: Preparing America to Succeed in Multipolar World, vol. 1, #1, Ph.D. Candidate in International Relations and Politics at the Faculty of Social Sciences, International Black Sea University; Baia, p. 29-30
The world still needs… authorization of international institutions.
Warming causes extinction
Comerford, 2013, A balance of questions: what can we ask of climate change economics?, Scottish Institute for Research in Economics Discussion Paper, January 6, School of Economics, University of Edinburgh; David, p.
There are multiple sources… extinction level catastrophe.
And, detention by the NDAA undermines US human rights leadership
Narine, 2012, Contemporary Southeast Asia: A Journal of International and Strategic Affairs, Volume 34, Number 3, December 2012, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations at St. Thomas University; Shaun, p. 382
The National Defence Authorization… on “critical issues” of human rights.
US leadership is key to advancing global human rights
Mendelson, 2009, The Washington Quarterly, Dusk or Dawn for the Human Rights Movement?, April, director of the Human Rights and Security Initiative at CSIS; Sarah, p. 109-111
Activists in many parts… wheel, there is no balance wheel.’’
Human rights violations spark global wars and harm the global economy
Trachtman, 2012, New York University Journal of International Law and Politics, From Rights to Reality: Mobilizing for Human Rights and Its Intersection with International Law: WHO CARES ABOUT INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS?: THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW, Spring, Professor of International Law, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; Joel, p. 856-61
It is true that human rights… increase total national welfare.
Contention Four: Solvency
First, only Congress can impose limits on indefinite detention---Courts always remain deferential to the executive
Hammond, 2012, Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT AND THE UNBOUND AUTHORITY TO DETAIN: A CALL TO CONGRESS, Fall, J.D. Candidate 2013, University of Southern California Gould School of Law; Kate, p.193-195
The NDAA also contained… for suspected terrorists.
Second, “substantial support” should be limited to detention for disrupting terrorist plots or ongoing operations
Hammond, 2012, Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT AND THE UNBOUND AUTHORITY TO DETAIN: A CALL TO CONGRESS, Fall, J.D. Candidate 2013, University of Southern California Gould School of Law; Kate, p.219-221
B. The Definition of Those…. criminal prosecution for terrorist suspects.
Third, Congress should require that criminal statutes are the first resort for prosecuting terrorists and that detention based on substantial support is available only for cases falling outside the criminal law
Hammond, 2012, Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT AND THE UNBOUND AUTHORITY TO DETAIN: A CALL TO CONGRESS, Fall, J.D. Candidate 2013, University of Southern California Gould School of Law; Kate, p.222
C. The Definition of Those Who… the executive's detention authority.
Fourth, requiring criminal prosecutions as the first resort will reduce erroneous detentions and restore U.S. legitimacy
Hathaway, et al., 2013, The Yale Journal of International Law, The Power To Detain: Detention of Terrorism Suspects After 9/11, Winter, Gerard C. and Bernice Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law, Yale Law School; Oona, p. 176-177
As the United States enters… most important weapon of all.
Fifth, civilian courts have a proven record in prosecuting high level terrorists
Rona and Wala, 2013, Guantanamo and Beyond: Exceptional Courts and Military Commissions in Comparative Perspective, eds., by F. Alolain and O. Gross, International Legal Director of Human Rights First; lawyer, Human Rights First; Gabor, Raha, p. 140-41
In this essay, we make… enforcement and intelligence methods alike.
Sixth, the Classified Information Procedures Act protects sensitive intelligence sources and methods
Rona and Wala, 2013, Guantanamo and Beyond: Exceptional Courts and Military Commissions in Comparative Perspective, eds., by F. Alolain and O. Gross, International Legal Director of Human Rights First; lawyer, Human Rights First; Gabor, Raha, p. 150-151
Although CIPA litigation can… developing its information protection measures.
