Ending Financial Havens for Islamic State (Debating)

[Deus Naturae]

Everything but section 5 is fine. Section 5 is a terrible idea.

Wait, what? You support Atlasian troops occupying the Middle East? I thought you were a Ron Paul supporter?

[Deus Naturae]

I can support everything, except s 5.

Why do you oppose Section 5?

[Deus Naturae]

We have long-standing military presences in all of these countries and there's a big difference between withdrawing from a theatre of war and dismantling a full-blown military presence that has been established over many years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_to_tradition

[Deus Naturae]

Good lord.

This isn't theory, which might come as a shock, but dismantling established military presences DOES take time.

Your point being? It may take a while to get our troops out safely, but that in itself isn't an argument for keeping them there indefinitely. Sorry, but "It's been like this for a long time" is not a logically valid argument for anything.

Also, I have to ask, were you abused by some sort of academic theorist as a child? Because your repeated references to the evils of "theory," even in discussions where no one has referenced any sort of esoteric theory, are getting annoying.

[Deus Naturae]

What hypothetical conditions do you envision that would make it undesirable for us to remove our forces from Saudi Arabia?

I suspect that Senator TNF might be less suspicious of this amendment if the latest withdrawal date was set prior to the outcome of the next Presidential election.

[Deus Naturae]

Nay

[Deus Naturae]

AYE

The tone of this debate has gone beyond the point of reasonable.

You need to stop trying to paint everyone who disagrees with you as some sort of extremist or ideological zealot. It's getting tiresome. Especially considering that you, a self-proclaimed realist, still have yet to answer my question and give a realistic situation in which we might have to delay the removal of forces.

[Deus Naturae]

They're still an Atlasian company that employs multiple Atlasian nationals. There are also a number of financial institutions, international law firms, research organisations, food companies... etc. I'm aware this isn't necessarily a list of your favourite groups - but they are Atlasian organisations, who pay (too little) tax in Atlasia and employ many Atlasians here and there.

What's the relevance of all that here? How do these companies benefit from the presence of Atlasian troops in Saudi Arabia?

[Deus Naturae]

How many Atlasian are employed in Saudi Arabia? The odds of some sort of violent uprising are incredibly low to begin with...and the number of Atlasians who would become unemployed because of such a hypothetical uprising is probably similarly miniscule.

Besides, as Sen. TNF said, it isn't the government's job to cover every risk that comes with foreign ventures. Should we ensure every foreign investment made by Atlasian citizens? Should we provide security guards to every Atlasian who goes on a foreign vacation? Sorry but the risks of an uprising actually happening in SA are so low that there is no reason we should be spending money to hypothetically prevent such a frivolous hypothetical from befalling a few companies. Atlasian oil companies have already contracted with private security providers for their own protection in volatile Middle Eastern regions. Regardless of what you think about them, it's clear they are in no need of special protection.

[Deus Naturae]

Aye