Tournament: Fort Smith | Round: 1 | Opponent: Person Unknown | Judge: Slenderman
DISCLAIMER: This is not necessarily the aff Wes and I are running, I'm posting them because I've run it before in a previous tournament
Plan
Plan: The United States federal government should authorize companies to provide services for the development of Cuban offshore oil resources.
Contention: Solvency
President has the authority to license American companies to develop offshore oil
Pascual and Huddleston, 9 – Carlos, VP and Director of Foreign Policy, Brookings Institute, and Vicki, Visiting Fellow (“CUBA: A New policy of Critical and Constructive Engagement”, April, http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2009/4/cuba/0413_cuba.pdf)
Licensing U.S. companies … oil and gas.
Cuba welcomes U.S. investment in oil development
CDA, 11 – Center for Democracy in the Americas, nonprofit devoted to changing U.S. policy towards the countries of the Americas, (“As Cuba plans to drill in the Gulf of Mexico, U.S. policy poses needless risks to our national interest,” http://democracyinamericas.org/pdfs/Cuba_Drilling_and_US_Policy.pdf)//AK
6. Cuba would welcome … for partners elsewhere.
General licensing is key to ensuring companies have full access to U.S. technology and personnel in case of a spill
CDA, 11 - Center for Democracy in the Americas, nonprofit devoted to changing American policy towards the countries of the Americas, (9/9, “Cuba Drilling and U.S. Policy,” http://democracyinamericas.org/pdfs/Cuba_Drilling_and_US_Policy.pdf) AK
As Robert Muse … manage a blowout.
Environment Advantage – 1AC
Advantage : Environment
Cuban attempts at offshore drilling are inevitable – only a rapid U.S. response can prevent spills
Bert and Clayton 12 – Melissa, 2011-12 Military Fellow, U.S. Coast Guard, and Blake, Fellow for Energy and National Security (“Addressing the Risk of a Cuban Oil Spill,” March, http://www.cfr.org/cuba/addressing-risk-cuban-oil-spill/p27515)//SEP
Defending U.S. Interests … this time from Cuba.
Status quo efforts are insufficient to stop an oil spill – general and pre-approved licenses are needed to solve
CDA, 12 – Center for Democracy in the Americas, nonprofit devoted to changing American policy towards the countries of the Americas (“Not Like Oil and Water: Cuba and the U.S. Can Cooperate on Drilling,”http:cubacentral.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/not-like-oil-and-water-cuba-and-the-us-can-cooperate-on-drilling/)SEP
The Environmental Defense … significant oil spill.
Alternative methods of spill containment fail in Cuban waters – only U.S. techniques solve
Bert and Clayton, 12 – Melissa, 2011-12 Military Fellow, U.S. Coast Guard, and Blake, Fellow for Energy and National Security (“Addressing the Risk of a Cuban Oil Spill,” March, http://www.cfr.org/cuba/addressing-risk-cuban-oil-spill/p27515)//SEP
Washington cannot count …containment booms ineffective.
Oil spills are very likely without advanced U.S. drilling technology – which no country can use under the embargo
Davenport, 11 (Coral, National Journal, “Drill, Bebe, Drill,” 7/28, http://www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/will-sloppy-drilling-off-the-coast-of-cuba-threaten-florida-gulf-beaches~-~-20110728)//SEP
But the potential … despite the embargo.
Cuban oil spill devastates Florida’s ecosystem without U.S. intervention
Stephens and Colvin, 11 – Sarah, Executive Director of the Center for Democracy in the America, and Jake, VP for Global Trade Issues at the National Foreign Trade Council
(“US-Cuba policy, and the race for oil drilling,” 9/29, http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/184661-us-cuba-policy-and-the-race-for-oil-drilling)//SEP
To protect the … crisis involving Cuba.
Oil spill casts the final blow to Florida’s coral reefs– even a few days delay would be catastrophic
Thompson, 11- Freelance writer focused on science, environmental, and outdoor stories
(Kaylee, “ What if Cuba’s Offshore Oil Project, Only 100 Miles From Florida, Goes Wrong?”, Popular Mechanics, November 2, 2011, http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/coal-oil-gas/what-if-cubas-offshore-oil-project-only-100-miles-from-florida-goes-wrong)//TWR
Cuba’s enormous offshore …pollution in U.S. waters."
Ocean biodiversity key to survival
Craig, 3 - Attorneys’ Title Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Environmental Programs at Florida State University (Robin Kundis, “ARTICLE: Taking Steps Toward Marine Wilderness Protection? Fishing and Coral Reef Marine Reserves in Florida and Hawaii,” McGeorge Law Review, Winter 2003, 34 McGeorge L. Rev. 155)
Biodiversity and ecosystem … in the world.
Relations – 1AC
Advantage : Relations
Now is key – China is shoring up influence in Cuba
Boston Globe, 2/9 (“Cuba’s reforms pave way for new US policy, too”, 2013, http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/02/09/cuba-reform-create-opportunity-drag-policy-into-century/xER2NTTXGsxdLej0miHwFM/story.html)
Relations between the … agenda with Cuba.
Cooperative drilling is critical for relations – energy has strategic significance for both countries
Grogg, 12 – IPS (Patricia, citing Luiz Rene Fernandez, Senior Research and Professor at University of Havana in International Economics, “Cuba: Oil Drilling Opens Up New Possibilities”, 2/16, http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/02/cuba-oil-drilling-opens-up-new-possibilities/)//SEP
The search for oil … them,” Fernández concluded.
.
Cooperative drilling boosts U.S. stature and influence in Latin America and prevents Chinese incursion
Benjamin-Alvadaro, 6 – Professor of Political Science at University of Nebraska at Omaha
(Jonathan, Report for the Cuban Research Institute, “The Current Status and Future Prospects for Oil Exploration in Cuba: A Special,” http://cri.fiu.edu/research/commissioned-reports/oil-cuba-alvarado.pdf)
Given that there … of all parties involved.
Chinese influence in Latin America causes Taiwan war
Fergusson, 12 – Researcher at Royal Society for the Arts, Master of Science, China in the International Arena, University of Glasgow (Robert, “The Chinese Challenge to the Monroe Doctrine,” http://www.e-ir.info/2012/07/23/does-chinese-growth-in-latin-america-threaten-american-interests/)
Taiwan – domestic, or … Taiwan, perhaps by force.
Taiwan is uniquely likely to escalate to nuclear war – risk of miscommunication and misunderstanding is high
Lowther, 3/16 (William, Taipei Times, citing a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, “Taiwan could spark nuclear war: report,” http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2013/03/16/2003557211)
Taiwan is the … quite possibly devastating.”