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MILITARY PRESENCE
A. Interpretation.

The resolution states that the affirmative must reduce the military presence of the United States. The term military presence refers to troops stationed overseas in a non-combat function. Combat roles are not categorized by the military as presence. Bradford Dismukes, Center for Naval Analysis, 1999 [National Security Strategy and Forward Presence: Implications for Acquisition and Use of Forces, March 1994, http://cna.org/sites/default/files/research/2793019200.pdf p.75] Beyond the direct defense of the United States, U.S. conventional forces fulfill three strategic functions: overseas presence, immediate crisis response, and sustained, large-scale combat. The definitions of the three provide the framework for decision on forces. Dismukes continues: [p.76] A basic problem with overseas presence is that the term describes both a military posture (military means) and a military mission (military means and political objectives). In the case of presence as a mission, the objective is influence on behalf of a variety of U.S. political goals. This ambiguity is made worse by the fact that the term has been in use since at least the 1960s, but it has never been defined in the JCS dictionary of military terms. As a strategic task of the armed forces, overseas presence is here defined as the routine operation of forces forward (the means) to influence what foreign governments, both adversary and friend, think and do (the ends) without combat. Dismukes continues: [p.77] An important distinguishing characteristic of overseas presence the absence of combatplaces it on a continuum of increasing violence with the other strategic tasks, crisis response and sustained combat. Each form of the application of power aims to influence political behavior. Presence is nonviolent (though it is their potential for violence that makes forward forces influential); crisis response involves the threat, or the actual practice of limited violence; sustained combat seeks to change an adversary's behavior through large-scale violence aimed at destroying his armed forces in the field, denying him the means to control or continue to support his operations, and so on.

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B.

Violation.

(Afghanistan) The troops the affirmative plan removes from Afghanistan are on a combat mission. So the affirmative would not be reducing our military presence, they would be reducing our military combat forces. Newsweek Magazine, April 22, 2010 [http://www.newsweek.com/2010/04/22/a-surge-of-their-own.html] The influx appears to be a conscious militant "surge" that's bigger than any similar seasonal movement in the past. The new fighters are intended to bolster Afghanistan's insurgent forces in the south, which will soon face the additional 30,000 combat troops that President Obama is dispatching to the contested region. This movement through North Waziristan is only part of the Taliban's buildup for the heavy combat that's expected in the months ahead. This is supported by the evidence the affirmative reads on their case about how the current troop presence is there to fight the insurgency.

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C.

Standards 1. Topic limits.

The topic should be interpreted so that the affirmative ground is limited, so that debate remains focused, because focus promotes clash and provides incentives for greater preparation. The affirmative interpretation that any military force is a presence would make the topic much broader and would allow the affirmative to reduce any combat unit or weapon, which would greatly expand the topic and make it much more difficult for the negative team to be prepared. 2. Expert evidence.

The evidence for our interpretation comes from a military expert that was using words carefully in an attempt not only to define military presence but also to explain what that term included and what it excluded.

D.

Voting Issue. Topicality is a voting issue. 1. Fairness.

The judge must uphold the fundamental fairness of the activity as a precondition for encouraging participation. Having a limited topic is essential for fairness. 2. Education.

The primary focus of debate is the education of its participants. Without focused clash, there would be much less clash and preparation.

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James Thomason, Project Leader, Institute for Defense Analysis 2002 [Transforming US Overseas Military Presence: Evidence and Options for the DOD, p.17 http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download? doi=10.1.1.122.1144] US overseas military presence consists of all the US military assets in overseas areas that are engaged in relatively routine non-combat activities or functions. Collectively, these assets constitute one of a set of very important military instruments of national power and influence. It is regularly asserted within the Department of Defense that these overseas military presence activities promote key security objectives, such as deterrence, assurance of friends and allies, the provision of timely crisis response capabilities, regional stability and, generally, security conditions that in turn promote freedom and prosperity. MILITARY PRESENCE DOES NOT INCLUDE COMBAT TROOPS James Thomason, Project Leader, Institute for Defense Analysis 2002 [Transforming US Overseas Military Presence: Evidence and Options for the DOD, p.18 http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download? doi=10.1.1.122.1144] Our working definition of US overseas military presence is that it consists of all the US military assets in overseas areas that are engaged in relatively routine, regular, non-combat activities or functions.1 By this definition, forces that are located overseas may or may not be engaging in presence activities. If they are engaging in combat (such as Operation Enduring Freedom), or are involved in a one-time non-combat action (such as an unscheduled carrier battle group deployment from the United States aimed at calming or stabilizing an emerging crisis situation), then they are not engaging in presence activities. Thus, an asset that is located (or present) overseas may or may not be engaged in presence activities, may or may not be doing presence. THERE IS PLENTY OF AFFIRMATIVE GROUND UNDER OUR INTERPRETATION -- THERE ARE MANY PRESENCE FUNCTIONS

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James Thomason, Project Leader, Institute for Defense Analysis 2002 [Transforming US Overseas Military Presence: Evidence and Options for the DOD, p.18 http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download? doi=10.1.1.122.1144] Overseas military presence activities are generally viewed as a subset of the overall class of activities that the US government uses in its efforts to promote important military/security objectives [Dismukes, 1994]. A variety of recurrent, overseas military activities are normally placed under the umbrella concept of military presence. These include but are not limited to US military efforts overseas to train foreign militaries; to improve interoperability of US and friendly forces; to peacefully and visibly demonstrate US commitment and/or ability to defend US interests; to gain intelligence and familiarity with a locale; to conduct peacekeeping activities; and to position relevant, capable US military assets such that they are likely to be available sooner rather than later in case an evolving security operation or contingency should call for them.

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TOPICALITY AFFIRMATIVE MILITARY

PRESENCE

OUR TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN ARE A MILITARY PRESENCE The Sunday Times August 10, 2009 [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6789142.ece] If Mr Cordesmans recommendation reflects the view of General McChrystal, who recently presented the findings of a 60-day review of Afghanistan strategy to Washington, it would mean sending another nine combat brigades, comprising 45,000 American troops, in addition to the 21,000 already approved by President Obama. This would bring the total American military presence in Afghanistan to about 100,000, considerably closer to the force that was deployed for the counter-insurgency campaign in Iraq. THE AUTHOR OF THE TOPIC PAPER USED THE TERM MILITARY PRESENCE TO DESCRIBE THE FORCE IN AFGHANISTAN, SO THIS IS A PREDICTABLE AFFIRMATIVE Stefan Bauschard, Harvard University Debate, April 4, 2010 [http://www.planetdebate.com/blogs/view/819] Since 2001, the US has sustained this military presence in Afghanistan with substantial assistance from many North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies. Shortly after his election in 2008, Obama pledged to substantially increase the number of US troops in Afghanistan by 30,000 in order to back a troop surge strategy designed by Stanley McCrystal. The plan does establish July 2011 as the anticipated beginning of the end of the surge. There are now almost 150,000 troops in Afghanistan, with US soldiers making up nearly 100,000 of the deployed soldiers. PRESENCE MEANS BEING IN A CERTAIN SPACE The Free Dictionary.Com [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/presence] 2. the immediate proximity of a person or thing

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TOPICALITY AFFIRMATIVE MILITARY PRESENCE

MILITARY PRESENCE INCLUDES COMBAT FUNCTIONS American Observer, Journalism Magazine, November 10, 2009 [http://inews6.americanobserver.net/articles/us-military-presenceforeign-countries-exceeds-rest-world] While the effects of our military deployment impact those who know someone in uniform, many U.S. citizens rarely see the consequences, unless they make headline news. U.S. troops today are stationed throughout the Middle East, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey and Kuwait. While some countries are home to military bases, others require military disaster relief after a crisis, like a tsunami. Others have become battlefields, resulting in the deaths of U.S. soldiers and foreign civilians. Military presence is defined by any nation where the U.S. has a miitary base, where the U.S. is providing military aid, active duty military personnel, or where U.S. soldiers are engaged in combat theaters. THERE IS NO BRIGHT LINE BETWEEN COMBAT AND NON-COMBAT Lieutennant Colonel Henderson Baker, March 2006 [Women in Combat: A Culture Issue? March 14, 2006 p.9 http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA4490305] Today, the lines between combat and non-combat missions are becoming even more blurred, and it is quite difficult to distinguish where one begins and the other ends. Increasingly, front lines and support units are often just as susceptible to attack as ground combat units. "Today combat may occur in the desert or on Main Street," wrote retired Air Force Brigadier General Stephen M. Koper, president of the National Guard Association of the United States.53 In Iraq, both men and women are encountering and responding to hostile fire and are a target of opportunity by insurgents. THE DISTINCTION MEANINGLESS BETWEEN COMBAT AND NON-COMBAT IS

Center for Defense Information 1996 [http://www.cdi.org/issues/women/combat.html] Desert Storm was a huge turning point for women, much like Vietnam was for African-Americans, and it showed that modern war boundaries between combat and non-combat zones are being blurred. It makes no sense to cling to semantics (combat vs combat support) given the reality of war.

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PRESENCE MEANS BEING IN A CERTAIN SPACE The Free Dictionary.Com [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/presence] 2. the immediate proximity of a person or thing

TOPICALITY AFFIRMATIVE MILITARY PRESENCE

OUR TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN ARE A MILITARY PRESENCE The Sunday Times August 10, 2009 [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6789142.ece] If Mr Cordesmans recommendation reflects the view of General McChrystal, who recently presented the findings of a 60-day review of Afghanistan strategy to Washington, it would mean sending another nine combat brigades, comprising 45,000 American troops, in addition to the 21,000 already approved by President Obama. This would bring the total American military presence in Afghanistan to about 100,000, considerably closer to the force that was deployed for the counter-insurgency campaign in Iraq. THE AUTHOR OF THE TOPIC PAPER USED THE TERM MILITARY PRESENCE TO DESCRIBE THE FORCE IN AFGHANISTAN, SO THIS IS A PREDICTABLE AFFIRMATIVE Stefan Bauschard, Harvard University Debate, April 4, 2010 [http://www.planetdebate.com/blogs/view/819] Since 2001, the US has sustained this military presence in Afghanistan with substantial assistance from many North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies. Shortly after his election in 2008, Obama pledged to substantially increase the number of US troops in Afghanistan by 30,000 in order to back a troop surge strategy designed by Stanley McCrystal. The plan does establish July 2011 as the anticipated beginning of the end of the surge. There are now almost 150,000 troops in Afghanistan, with US soldiers making up nearly 100,000 of the deployed soldiers. MILITARY PRESENCE INCLUDES COMBAT FUNCTIONS American Observer, Journalism Magazine, November 10, 2009 2010 NAUDL Argument & Research Kit

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[http://inews6.americanobserver.net/articles/us-military-presenceforeign-countries-exceeds-rest-world] While the effects of our military deployment impact those who know someone in uniform, many U.S. citizens rarely see the consequences, unless they make headline news. U.S. troops today are stationed throughout the Middle East, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey and Kuwait. While some countries are home to military bases, others require military disaster relief after a crisis, like a tsunami. Others have become battlefields, resulting in the deaths of U.S. soldiers and foreign civilians. Military presence is defined by any nation where the U.S. has a miitary base, where the U.S. is providing military aid, active duty military personnel, or where U.S. soldiers are engaged in combat theaters.

TOPICALITY AFFIRMATIVE MILITARY PRESENCE

THERE IS NO BRIGHT LINE BETWEEN COMBAT AND NON-COMBAT Lieutenant Colonel Henderson Baker, March 2006 [Women in Combat: A Culture Issue? March 14, 2006 p.9 http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA4490305] Today, the lines between combat and non-combat missions are becoming even more blurred, and it is quite difficult to distinguish where one begins and the other ends. Increasingly, front lines and support units are often just as susceptible to attack as ground combat units. "Today combat may occur in the desert or on Main Street," wrote retired Air Force Brigadier General Stephen M. Koper, president of the National Guard Association of the United States.53 In Iraq, both men and women are encountering and responding to hostile fire and are a target of opportunity by insurgents. THE DISTINCTION MEANINGLESS BETWEEN COMBAT AND NON-COMBAT IS

Center for Defense Information, 1996 [http://www.cdi.org/issues/women/combat.html] Desert Storm was a huge turning point for women, much like Vietnam was for African-Americans, and it showed that modern war boundaries between combat and non-combat zones are being blurred. It makes no sense to cling to semantics (combat vs combat support) given the reality of war.

2010 NAUDL Argument & Research Kit