Professional Documents
Culture Documents
[Daniel, McClatchy press Washington bureau, Graham wants a role for Congress in Iran nuclear
talks, http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/11/13/4234101/graham-wants-a-role-forcongress.html#storylink=cpy] /Bingham-MB
He asked for the legislation to skip further committee discussion and go to a floor vote.
However, Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Conn., blocked Grahams legislative maneuver. Theres
going to be a legitimate question of what Congresss role is, Murphy said. But we wont know
that until we see the (negotiated) agreement. Murphy said the bill would undermine
negotiations with Iran at a critical point in the process. It would send a fairly chilling message
to our negotiators and those who are in the room, he said.
NSA
Appropriations Committee and chairs the Intelligence Committee. Her political roots took hold
at a time before bitter partisanship began to color every debate, and even relationships on
Capitol Hill. One of her closest friends has been Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Texas Republican who
left the Senate in January. And Feinstein has warm relations with many more lawmakers, in an
era fraught with political polarization. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., a staunch conservative who
serves alongside the liberal-leaning Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee, said that while they
disagreed on many issues, including the assault weapons ban, he admired her ability to forge
compromise. Id say on the 16 years Ive been on it, shes been one of the more effective
Democratic senators at reaching across the aisle on key issues, he said. She battles for what
she believes in, but shes also very able at finding common ground and solving problems.
2AC No Impact
Reform undermines diplomacy with alliesnot the other way around
Byman and Wittes, 2014
[Daniel and Benjamin, Foreign Affairs, Reforming the NSA,
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/141215/daniel-byman-and-benjamin-wittes/reformingthe-nsa] /Bingham-MB
Additionally, the recent debate over the NSA has focused too narrowly on counterterrorism.
That attention is understandable: U.S. government officials know that the easiest way to defend
the agency after Snowdens disclosures is to invoke its role in preventing terrorist attacks.
Moreover, the collection of bulk telephone metadata -- the most controversial program
Snowden revealed -- happens to be a counterterrorism program. But the NSA does vital day-today work in the realms of diplomacy and cybersecurity as well. By accessing the
communications of foreign leaders and officials, particularly of U.S. adversaries, the NSA
provides U.S. policymakers with insights into when a state might go to war, break a treaty, or
otherwise make a dramatic (or subtle) policy shift. NSA activities allow U.S. officials to
negotiate more effectively by tipping them off to the positions of foreign officials . That
advantage applies even to relationships with allies, with whom the United States maintains
extensive intelligence-sharing arrangements. The intelligence gathered by the NSA can
confirm the accuracy of information that allies voluntarily share with Washington. Even
friendly states sometimes choose to shade the facts or share partial information with
Washington in an attempt to avoid embarrassment or shape U.S. policy.
1AR No Impact
NSA reform crushes alliancesthats Bymancritical information is used in
diplomatic negotiations and to build allianceswithout it crushes the US
position
Reform failsundermines the NSA which is the foundation of intelligence
gathering in the USthats McLaughlin
Reform causes delays in intel gathering that crush counterterrorism
McLaughlin, 1-2-2014
[John, John McLaughlin teaches at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
He was deputy director and acting director of the CIA from 2000 to 2004. NSA intelligencegathering programs keep us safe, http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/nsa-intelligencegathering-programs-keep-us-safe/2014/01/02/0fd51b22-7173-11e3-8b3fb1666705ca3b_story.html] /Bingham-MB
So what makes sense going forward? Clearly, the widespread perception that there is at least
the potential for abuse when the government holds information even as limited as telephone
call metadata must be addressed. The recent presidential commission recommended adding a
public privacy advocate to the deliberation process of courts that approve warrants one
proposal that would do no harm. But as the administration contemplates reform, it must
reject any ideas that add time and process between the moment the NSA picks up a lead
overseas and the time it can cross-check records to determine whether there is a domestic
dimension to overseas plotting . As our debate continues, the terrorist threat is not receding
but transforming. The core leadership of al-Qaeda has been degraded and remains under
pressure, but robust al-Qaeda affiliates have multiplied. With the decline of central
government authority in the Middle East and North Africa in the wake of the Arab Spring and
the war in Syria, terrorists have the largest havens and areas for operational planning in a
decade. If anything, the atomization of the movement has made the job of intelligence more
labor-intensive, more detail-oriented and more demanding. Now is not the time to give up
any tool in the counterterrorism arsenal.