US-Korean+Relations+Debate+11-12

HJ +JINA OPENING STATEMENT media type="file" key="HJ Jin & Jina Kim E Block Opening Statement.m4a" width="300" height="50" Despite the fact that the United States placed army bases in Korea for the sake of stability, they have all but been promoting peace. From sexual harassment of Korean women by US soldiers to the Jeju island fire incident, US army bases have rather spurred more disturbance in the Korean peninsula. In terms of tourism, the army bases have been seen using environmentally harmful chemicals, warding away possible tourist revenues. The most detrimental impact of having these bases in Korea is that they have heightened tensions between North and South Korea and a potential instigator for another Cold War. Under the eyes of the US government, Korea is a battleground, and the United States must have some sort of foothold in it. South Korea, however, is an independent nation, one that can stand and take care of itself without the intervention of a foreign nation; it has its own military force consisted of its own Korean citizens.There is no need for outside aid to take care of a problem that is inherently Korea's. Rather, an increased number of foreign troops in South Korea will aggravate North Korea and strain inter-Korean relations. Recent weaponry testings—such as missiles and nuclear power—and maritime attacks—the sinking of the 천안함 (in March 16, 2010)—indicate how North Korea has taken on a more aggressive stance. The money that is spent to support US army bases can be put to better use, such as improving our Wehrkraft -kräfte. Henceforth, due to their adverse impact on both the welfare of South Korea and its diplomatic relations with North Korea, US army bases should be removed from South Korean soil.

__PETER AND CHRIS OPENING STATEMENT__ media type="file" key="debate.mp3" width="240" height="20"

HJ AND JINA FIRST REBUTTAL

media type="file" key=" .mp3" width="240" height="20" Preparing itself for a war that may not even occur is an economically costly move on the part of South Korea. There are many other problems that have to be dealt with, of them including the harmful environmental effects and sexual assaults carried out by the US army personnel. Furthermore, the actions of South Korea should not be determined simply by adhering to past events. The presence of US army bases in Korea should be judged with consideration of the current times, taking into account inter-Korean relations and the welfare of South Korea’s society. First of all, the possibility of another war occurring exists. Yet responding to that slight possibility by stationing foreign troops in Korea soil only endangers the peace in the Korean peninsula. No matter what they are claimed to be, US soldiers in Korea will be seen as threats of war by North Korea. The end result would be a more armed North Korea that will be more willing to instigate violence. The opposition stated that the United States have caused several countries to become communist, but just because the US has taken part in having several countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq turn to communism, it does not mean that it will do so for South Korea as well. That is confirmation bias. There have been plenty of countries where direct intervention by the United States did not result in their transition to communism. Again, two or three out about 250 countries does not speak for the fate of other countries. Also, the opposition stated that North Korea will not use nuclear bombs if there are US army bases in South Korea, as it may deter them from attacking a world superpower. However, that is based on the assumption that North Korea can be bargained with. During the rocket firing incident that took place in April 13th, 2012, North korea did not adhere to the warnings of the US when the United States threatened to cut off humanitarian aid if it were to fire its rockets. Threats do not affect the actions of North Korea, and this makes it all the more dangerous and unpredictable.

In addition, though the opposition asserts that having US bases in Korea will create more jobs for Koreans, the costs for maintenance as well as their environmentally harmful wastes do more harm than good to the Korean economy. Rather than having US army bases, installing more Korean bases will provide more space for Korean soldiers and more citizen involvement. Therefore, if we were to have more working space, we would be able to replace the us soldiers with korean citizens taking the job.Most importantly, the bases do not benefit the politics or the economy of South Korea. Instead, they harm them. The misbehavior of US soldiers have created outrages on a national scale, causing great political turmoil and strained relations between South Korea and the United States. Moreover, according to the United States Forces Korea (USFK) these bases only provide security only to the extent which the Korean government allows them to. Therefore, with or without them, the state of South Korea’s national security will remain the same.

__PETER AND CHRIS FIRST REBUTTAL__ media type="file" key="rebuttle.mp3" width="240" height="20"

HJ INDIVIDUAL REBUTTAL The opposition again stated that recent investigations of 2012 of U.S officials the source is unreliable as it was stated by the US. No nation would like to oppose for what they are doing, saying that they are wrong. To be fair we need to look at the environmental level of pollutants that korea had to go through ever since the us army came in. According to the”Moneta”news article, the Korean army bases ever since 1980 40-50 tons. Also, there is always a reason why the protest takes place. The opposition has stated that there has not been any recent investigations that show that there has been no such factors as harming crops according to BBC. However, it has been stressed so much by the GAO that army bases in korea causes environmental issues in korea however,us news and world report in 1992.11.30 refused to report this because they felt they were disadvantaged. Second of all, it was stated by the opponent that us army bases actually help foreign countries and those include Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore. In many perspectives such as building capability to build up military modernization. however, there is no evident that it actually took place. Further more, it is evident that US is not the strongest country of all nations as referring back to the 9.11 incident, they were unprepared. Also, US attempts threaten North Korea saying that if they keep on giving nuclear bomb trials, us not will not give them aids such as food and medication. also, US had attempted to take over iraq because of the coal in iraq in the 2005. Most importantly,we would also remind the opponent to bring up an actual copy of articles as it does not seem reliable enough considering the contents.

JINA INDIVIDUAL REBUTTAL

Peter response to opponent's rebuttal

Chris response to opponent's rebuttal