                               Aff Case - Extort This!  A Mafia 1AC

Introduction: Imagine a world of chaos, where instead of paying taxes to the government, you pay Leonid the Leg-breaker a cut of your businesses profit as "protection".  To ensure that your family's home is not blown up, you are forced to give up your car, as part of the Russian Mafia's extortion ring.  On every newscast, you hear about rampant corruption of you government officials.  This scenario is not fantasy.  This exact situation is being played out in Russia today, and if something is not done soon, it could spell disaster for Russia, the United States, and the rest of the world.  That's why we agree that the United States should substantially change its foreign policy towards Russia. 
We begin our argument in...

Contention I: 

Advantage I: 

Democracy: Currently, Russian organized crime is threatening democracy within Russia.

FIRST, PROFESSOR BOYLAN IN 1996 TELLS US THAT ORGANIZED CRIME IS DESTROYING DEMOCRACY IN RUSSIA.

According to Scott Boylan, Fordham International Law Journal, 1996

"Moreover, the crime wave has, indirectly, already had a strongly negative effect on democratic reforms.  Russians have become disheartened with democratic reforms, and have begun to equate democracy with lawlessness and a sharp decrease in personal safety and well-being."

SECOND, PROFESSOR DYE IN 1996 TELLS US THAT DEMOCRACY OUTWEIGHS ALL.

According to Thomas Dye, Structure, Theory and Practice, 1996, p. 32

"Mill placed great emphasis on the value of political participation.  Active persons are intrinsically better than passive ones... To Mill, participation, even in the smallest public function, is useful and good.  It has educational value and enhances one's feeling of self-respect.  In short, it was evident to Mill that popular government is superior to absolute government in advancing the welfare of the community, in improving the character of its citizens, and in realizing the greatest happiness for the greatest number.  In short, popular government is the most important factor in today's world."

Advantage Two: 

Nuclear Proliferation: Here we see that the Russian Mafia is able to steal and possibly use nuclear weapons from Russian stockpiles.

FIRST, THE WASHINGTON POST IN 1997 TELLS US THAT THE RUSSIAN MAFIA POSES A LARGER NUCLEAR THREAT THAN COLD WAR RUSSIA.

According to Douglas Farah, Washington Post, October 2, 1997, p A-18

"FBI Director Louis J. Freeh warned yesterday that Russian organized crime networks pose a menace to U.S. national security and asserted that there is now greater danger of a nuclear attack by some outlaw group in Russia than there was by the Soviet Union during the Cold War." 

SECOND, THE WASHINGTON POST IN 1997 TELLS US THAT RUSSIAN MAFIA'S NUCLEAR POTENTIAL THREATENS U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY.

According to Douglas Farah, The Washington Post, October 2, 1997, p. A-18

"'Russian organized crime constitutes a direct threat to the national security interests of the United States by fostering instability in a nuclear power,' the report said.  'Russian organized crime groups hold the uniquely dangerous opportunity to procure and traffic in nuclear materials."

Advantage Three: 

Russian Economic Growth: Here we see that the Russian Mafia is scaring away foreign investment.

FIRST, PROFESSOR MACKO IN 1997 TELLS US THAT THE RUSSIAN MAFIA REPELS FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN RUSSIA.

According to Steve Macko, Organized Crime is Bleeding Russia Dry, ENN, July 3, 1997

"In other words, if you were an American business why would you want to invest in the Russian market and put up with all these problems, when there are plenty of other markets to get involved with that don't have the problems that Russia has?  So, no new money is coming into Russia, and the Russian Mafia is sending huge amounts of money out of the country.  This is not good."

Now that we have established significance and harms, we can move onto...

Contention II: 

Inherency: Here we will see that attempts to control the Russian Mafia are Doomed to failure, and that Interpol isn't receiving sufficient funding for its Russian Mafia unit.

FIRST, PROFESSOR WALKER IN 1995 TELLS US THAT CURRENT U.S. ACTION TO HELP RUSSIANS STOP THE MAFIA ARE COUNTERPRODUCTIVE.

According to J. Michael Walker, Russia's Great Criminal Revolution, Dec. 4, 1995

"Three years ago, Mr. Yeltsin described his own country as 'the biggest Mafia state in the
World' and 'the superpower of crime.'  By looking the other way, and continuing to dole out aid, the United States and its allies have only made matters worse.  The aid, whose purpose is to help combat the crime, is simply falling into the hands of the corrupt law enforcement officials, who are essentially owned by the Russian Mafia.  That foreign aid ended up padding the Mafia's own coffers.  The situation is the same throughout Russia.  Any action that goes through the Russian government is bound to failure by the abundant corruption at the hands of the Mafia."

SECOND, THE EUROPEAN IN 1997 TELLS US THAT INTERPOL ISN'T RECEIVING NECESSARY FUNDING FOR ITS RUSSIAN MAFIA DIVISION.

According to Raymond Kendall, The European, November 11, 1997

"Kendall, who recently made an official visit to Moscow and St. Petersburg, told The European at Interpol headquarters in Lyon: "The initial response to my idea has been favorable. Politicians and senior police officers like the idea in principle.  The problem now is where to get the funding. Western nations, especially large contributor America, would most likely have to come up with about three or four billion dollars in funding for the sophisticated data systems and expanded infrastructure needed to strengthen the East-West crime fight.  Western nations appear to be unwilling to put that money in at this time.'"

Something must be done to halt the deadly, Russian Mafia.  To substantially change the United States foreign policy towards Russia, we would like to present the following:

Plan:
Plank I: Mandates: The United States will fill the funding request of the Interpol Russian Mafia unit, which is between three or four billion dollars.

Plank II: Funding: All needed funding will be diverted from the 5.2 billion dollar fund budgeted for Protection of already declassified Cold War documents regarding Russia.

Plank III: Intent: The intent of the affirmative team is to substantially change the foreign policy towards Russia by funding Interpol to defeat the skyrocketing organized crime.  We reserve legislative intent, meaning that all off-case positions be brought up in the first negative constructive.

Plank IV: Implementation: The policy will be overseen by the United States General Accounting Office.

Plank V: Enforcement: Enforcement will be through normal means.

Now we can move onto solvency, where we will see that Interpol, an international police force, is the only means of solving for the Russian Mafia.

Contention III: 

Solvency: Here we will see that Interpol can and will solve for the threat of the Russian Mafia.

FIRST, PROFESSOR SHABALIN IN 1995 TELLS US THAT ONLY AN EXTERNAL LAW ENFORCEMENT FORCE CAN SOLVE FOR THE RUSSIAN MAFIA.

According to Victor Shabalin, New Stage of the Fight Against Organized Crime in Russia, 1995

"At the same time, the judicial basis of the fight against especially dangerous criminals has become dated long ago.  The Russian criminal justice system doesn't even have definitions of organized crime and associations that reflect the new kinds of production, forms of property and capital, which came to being in Russia during the last five years.  The Russian law enforcement channels are simply too inexperienced, and too corrupt to solve for the threat of crime.  Perhaps only an outside force, not tied into the massive network of Russian corruption, would be able to put a halt to Russian crime. Such a force would be able to pursue traditional law enforcement measures, without being part of the corruption problem.  Such a force could make significant progress in putting an end to organized crime."

SECOND, THE EUROPEAN IN 1997 TELLS US THAT INTERPOL COULD COMPLETELY SOLVE FOR THE RUSSIAN MAFIA.

According to Raymond Kendall, The European, November 11, 1997
                                                  
"The agency's efforts to gain an on-ground presence in Russia and CIS will increase the pressure on leading organized crime figures.  Once Interpol can get contributions to cover this expansion, it will be 'the bane of the Russian Mafia.'  Avdienko said: 'I have full confidence that once Interpol begins increased operations dealing with Russian organized crime, that crime figures will plummet. Interpol is capable of decimating this Mafia threat to zero.'  Though Kendall was satisfied with Russian police training, he thinks that the sooner Russia and the CIS are fitted with an adequate force on the Interpol network, the better."

FINALLY, PROFESSOR MACKO IN 1997 TELLS US THAT NOT TAKING ACTION WILL ONLY ALLOW THE RUSSIAN MAFIA TO GROW IN POWER.

According to Steve Macko, Organized Crime is Bleeding Russia Dry, ENN, July 3, 1997

"Because organized crime has instituted an atmosphere of widespread corruption and bribe-taking among officials, it means that many legitimate businessmen must do the same thing in order to compete.  Allowing the Mafia situation to continue will cause a truly snowball effect that will eventually destroy Russia."

In conclusion, it is clear that by fully funding Interpol, it would solve for the worldwide threat of the Russian Mafia.  Organized crime poses a threat to the entire world, and action needs to be taken, before it's too late.  For this reason, to protect the world from further entrenchment in the web of Mafia related crime, we strongly urge an affirmative vote. 
