Iran Diplomatic Focus DA1NC Shell
Kerry focused on Iran now Obamas directive provesRosen 9/26
(James, 9/26/13, International Relations Analyst, Kerry and Iranian
counterpart meet, set stage for new round of nuclear negotiations,
Fox News,
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/09/26/kerry-and-iranian-counterpart-meet-set-stage-for-new-round-nuclear-negotiations/)Secretary
of State John Kerry, along with fellow diplomats, met briefly
Thursday with his Iranian counterpart, marking the highest-level
meeting between the two countries since the Iranian revolution of
1979. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton later described the
talks as substantial and said they had set the stage for a new
round of negotiations over Irans nuclear program Oct. 15-16 in
Geneva. Speaking to reporters later, Kerry warned there was still a
lot of work to be done but added he welcomed the change in tone.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said he was "satisfied with
this first step." Kerry sat next to Zarif at the meeting, the
Associated Press reported. Others attending were the five permanent
members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany. The diplomats met
on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, amid
mixed signals about how serious Iran was about coming back to the
negotiating table over its nuclear program. Iranian President
Hassan Rouhani said before the U.N. on Tuesday that he was ready to
engage in time-bound talks on Tehrans nuclear program, hours after
Obama said he had directed Kerry to once again pursue diplomacy
with Iran. The U.S. president noted indications of a more moderate
course from Irans new leader.
Effective Latin American diplomacy drains KerryValencia 13
(Robert, 2/11/13, Research Fellow at the Council on Hemispheric
Affairs and is a contributing writer for Global Voices. Diplomatic
efforts in Latin America require fresh faces, World Policy Blog,
http://www.worldpolicy.org/blog/2013/02/11/diplomatic-efforts-latin-america-require-fresh-faces,
//SJ)While the global press largely focused on Iran, China, and the
Middle East during the lead-up to the appointment of John Kerry as
the new secretary of state, Kerry's comments revealed the
possibility of a revamped American diplomatic approach to Latin
America. With Latin America in a transitional moment, stronger U.S
engagement is critical. To reenergize the effort, Kerry will need a
new, knowledgeable team in Washington as well as diplomats on the
ground. Most importantly, the role of the U.S. assistant secretary
must be given enough power that the person can be recognized and
respected among Latin Americas diplomatic entourage. Kerry will
embark on, what is sure to be, a rugged road toward re-establishing
friendlier relations with Latin America. He has already experienced
a bit of an introduction to this struggle in the form of harsh
criticism in Caracas after commenting that the situation in
Venezuela was uncertain due to Hugo Chavezs illness. A stated
commitment toward Latin America will be refreshing to a waning U.S.
presence in the region, but in order to accomplish anything there,
Washington needs fresh faces associated with this region. In the
last three decades, many of the ambassadors have been mired in
turbulent relationships. One clear example was Myles Frechette, the
U.S. ambassador to Colombia in the mid-1990s, who strongly
criticized then-Colombian President Ernesto Sampers connections
with the Cali Cartel, which financed his 1994 presidential
campaign. Frechettes position against Samper, as well as his
disavowing of Colombias fight against narco-trafficking, earned him
numerous rebukes from then-Interior Minister Horacio Serpa who
called him a gringo maluco (disagreeable)." WikiLeaks cables, for
better or worse, revealed the adversity several U.S. ambassadors
have faced in dealing with Latin American affairs. For instance, in
2011 U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Carlos Pascual, questioned the
Mexican Armys effectiveness in tackling drug cartels. Mexican
President Felipe Calderon expressed his discomfort regarding these
comments, which led to Pascuals resignation in order to assuage
U.S. Mexican relations. In the last two years, hemispheric affairs
have deteriorated because of a lack of an active, knowledgeable
diplomatic corps.
Uniqueness
2NC U/Q Wall2NC Link U/Q Cuba2NC Link U/Q Mexico2NC Link U/Q -
VenezuelaA2: NoKo ThumperA2: UN SolvesA2: France SolvesA2: G-20
Summit SolvesLinks2NC Link Wall
No link claims just prove the Aff doesnt solve Any and all focus
in Latin America would end up trading off due to a lack of
effective allocation no way the aff solvesGeneric Links
And, Foreign policy focus is zero sum plan trades offAnderson
01(Terry and Bishop, The Greening of Foreign
Policy,http://www.perc.org/pdf/ps20.pdf)Greater international
environmental regulation can increase international tension.
Foreign policy is a bag of goods that includes issues from free
trade to arms trading to human rights. Each new issue in the bag
weighs it down, lessening the focus on other issues and even
creating conflicts between issues. Increased environmental
regulations could cause countries to lessen their focus on
international threats of violence such as the sale of ballistic
missiles or border conflicts between nations. As countries must
watch over more and more issues arising in the international policy
arena, they will stretch the resources necessary to deal with
traditional international issues. As Schaefer (2000, 46) writes,
Because diplomatic currency is finite . . . it is critically
important that the United States focus its diplomatic efforts on
issues of paramount importance to the nation. Traditionally, these
priorities have been opposing hostile domination of key geographic
regions, supporting our allies, securing vital resources, and
ensuring access to foreign economies.
Diplomatic capital is finite issues trade off. Schaeffer 2k
(Brett, Fellow in the Center for International Trade at Heritage
Foundation, The Greening of U.S. Foreign Policy, page 46)Diplomacy
is the first option in addressing potential threats to U.S.
national interests and expressing U.S. concerns and priorities to
foreign nations. The daily conduct of diplomacy through U.S.
missions and representatives is essential in articulating U.S.
interests and eliciting cooperation and support for those interests
abroad. Because diplomatic currency is finiteclearly, foreign
countries and officials cannot be expected to endlessly support and
promote U.S. concernsit is critically important that the United
States focus its diplomatic efforts on issues of paramount
importance to the nation. Traditionally, these priorities had been
opposing hostile domination of key geographic regions, supporting
our allies, securing vital resources, and ensuring access to
foreign economies (Holmes and Moore 1996, xi-xvii).
Diplomatic resources are finite focus on the plan trades off
Anderson & Grewell, 2k2 [Terry is a professor of economics at
Montana State and J. Bishop is a Research Associate and Political
Economy research Center, http://www.perc.org/pdf/ps20.pdf] Greater
international environmental regulation can increase international
tension. Foreign policy is a bag of goods that includes issues from
free trade to arms trading to human rights. Each new issue in the
bag weighs it down, lessening the focus on other issues and even
creating conflicts between issues. Increased environmental
regulations could cause countries to lessen their focus on
international threats of violence such as the sale of ballistic
missiles or border conflicts between nations. As countries must
watch over more and more issues arising in the international policy
arena, they will stretch the resources necessary to deal with
traditional international issues. As Schaefer (2000, 46) writes,
Because diplomatic currency is finite . . . it is critically
important that the United States focus its diplomatic efforts on
issues of paramount importance to the nation. Traditionally, these
priorities have been opposing hostile domination of key geographic
regions, supporting our allies, securing vital resources, and
ensuring access to foreign economies.Latin America LinksLatin
America Links
Effective Latin American diplomacy drains Kerry no link claims
just prove the Aff doesnt solve Valencia 13 (Robert, 2/11/13,
Research Fellow at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs and is a
contributing writer for Global Voices. Diplomatic efforts in Latin
America require fresh faces, World Policy Blog,
http://www.worldpolicy.org/blog/2013/02/11/diplomatic-efforts-latin-america-require-fresh-faces,
//SJ)While the global press largely focused on Iran, China, and the
Middle East during the lead-up to the appointment of John Kerry as
the new secretary of state, Kerry's comments revealed the
possibility of a revamped American diplomatic approach to Latin
America. With Latin America in a transitional moment, stronger U.S
engagement is critical. To reenergize the effort, Kerry will need a
new, knowledgeable team in Washington as well as diplomats on the
ground. Most importantly, the role of the U.S. assistant secretary
must be given enough power that the person can be recognized and
respected among Latin Americas diplomatic entourage. Kerry will
embark on, what is sure to be, a rugged road toward re-establishing
friendlier relations with Latin America. He has already experienced
a bit of an introduction to this struggle in the form of harsh
criticism in Caracas after commenting that the situation in
Venezuela was uncertain due to Hugo Chavezs illness. A stated
commitment toward Latin America will be refreshing to a waning U.S.
presence in the region, but in order to accomplish anything there,
Washington needs fresh faces associated with this region. In the
last three decades, many of the ambassadors have been mired in
turbulent relationships. One clear example was Myles Frechette, the
U.S. ambassador to Colombia in the mid-1990s, who strongly
criticized then-Colombian President Ernesto Sampers connections
with the Cali Cartel, which financed his 1994 presidential
campaign. Frechettes position against Samper, as well as his
disavowing of Colombias fight against narco-trafficking, earned him
numerous rebukes from then-Interior Minister Horacio Serpa who
called him a gringo maluco (disagreeable)." WikiLeaks cables, for
better or worse, revealed the adversity several U.S. ambassadors
have faced in dealing with Latin American affairs. For instance, in
2011 U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Carlos Pascual, questioned the
Mexican Armys effectiveness in tackling drug cartels. Mexican
President Felipe Calderon expressed his discomfort regarding these
comments, which led to Pascuals resignation in order to assuage
U.S. Mexican relations. In the last two years, hemispheric affairs
have deteriorated because of a lack of an active, knowledgeable
diplomatic corps. Cuba LinksGenericThe focus is on the Middle East
now Cuba policy *specifically* trades off Luxner 12 (Larry is a
news editor for The Washington Diplomat Cuba Welcomes Pope, As U.S.
Slams Door on Easing Embargo 2/29/12
http://www.washdiplomat.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8222:cuba-welcomes-pope-as-us-slams-door-on-easing-embargo&catid=1484:march-2012&Itemid=497)SCWilkerson,
who just returned from a trip to Havana, is a visiting professor of
government and public policy at the College of William & Mary
in Williamsburg, Va. Before being appointed Powell's chief of staff
from 2002 to 2005 and associate director of the State Department's
Policy Planning Staff, he served 31 years in the Army. The problem
today, he explained, is that Cuba policy isn't a priority for an
administration consumed with the war in Afghanistan, Iran's nuclear
aspirations and continuing economic strife. "People don't care
about Cuba, and you can't blame them," he said. "After all, we've
got Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and a financial situation in this
country that I think is as profound as the Great Depression. So
it's very difficult to get Americans' attention about 11.5 million
people living on an island 90 miles off the Florida Strait." That's
even more so in a presidential election year like 2012, said the
retired colonel. "Karl Rove once told Colin Powell, 'Don't touch
Cuba because we want Florida's 27 electoral votes,'" he recalled.
"Dick Cheney also knew our Cuba policy was idiotic, but even he
knew that you don't touch Cuba policy. The Obama administration is
the first to get into the White House without the hard-line Cuban
vote in Florida, so they have a little more flexibility with regard
to that reality. However, it's still a very difficult move for the
Democrats to make."
Cuban Embargo
Cuban engagement is a huge diplomatic undertaking it bumps other
foreign priorities Leogrande, 13 Prof @ American U (William M.,
professor in the Department of Government, School of Public Affairs
at American University in Washington, D.C., The Danger of
Dependence: Cuba's Foreign Policy After Chavez, WPR World Politics
Review, April,
http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/12840/the-danger-of-dependence-cubas-foreign-policy-after-chavezObama
took some early steps that augured well. In April 2009, he ended
restrictions on Cuban-American remittances and family travel and
subsequently eased regulations limiting cultural and academic
exchange. At Washington's initiative, the United States and Cuba
resumed bilateral talks on migration, suspended by President George
W. Bush in 2004. The two governments also began discussions on
other issues of mutual interest, such as Coast Guard cooperation
and drug interdiction. But the momentum in Washington soon
dissipated in the face of more pressing foreign policy priorities,
opposition from Congress, even among some Democrats, and resistance
from an inertial State Department bureaucracy more comfortable with
the familiar policy of the past -- its failure notwithstanding --
than the risk of trying something new. As a former senior State
Department official explained, high-visibility foreign policy
changes of this magnitude only happen if the president demands that
they happen, and Obama's attention was focused elsewhere. In
December 2009, Cuba's arrest of Alan Gross, a consultant for the
U.S. Agency for International Development's "democracy promotion"
programs, brought all progress to a halt. At the end of Obama's
first term, relations with Cuba were not much better than at the
start.
Cuban Energy
Energy transformation and poverty initiatives require immense
diplomatic capitalempirics prefer our ev, its from Hillary Clinton
12 (Hillary Rodham, Former US Secretary of State and Future
President of the USA swag, Energy Diplomacy in the 21st Century,
Speech Delivered at Georgetown University 10/18/12,
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2012/10/199330.htm)//LA I want to
mention one additional diplomatic challenge were focused on: how to
manage resources that cross national boundaries. Boundaries are not
always clearly delineated, especially at sea. If oil or gas is
discovered in an area two countries share or where boundaries are
inexact, how will they develop it? Earlier this year, after a long
negotiation led by the State Department, the United States and
Mexico reached a groundbreaking agreement on oil and gas resources
in the Gulf of Mexico, and we will be sending it to Congress for
action soon. The agreement clearly lays out how the United States
and Mexico will manage the resources that transcend our maritime
boundary. Now, in addition to these examples of energy diplomacy,
were also focused on our second area of engagement: energy
transformation helping to promote new energy solutions, including
renewables and energy efficiency, to meet rising demand, diversify
the global energy supply, and address climate change. The
transformation to cleaner energy is central to reducing the worlds
carbon emissions and it is the core of a strong 21st century global
economy. But we know very well that energy transformation cannot be
accomplished by governments alone. In the next 25 years, the world
is going to need up to $15 trillion in investment to generate and
transmit electricity. Governments can and will provide some of it,
but most will come from the private sector. Now, thats not only a
huge challenge, but a huge opportunity. And I want to make sure
that American companies and American workers are competing for
those kinds of projects. After all, American companies are leaders
across the field of energy leaders in renewables, high-tech,
smart-grid energy infrastructure, bioenergy, energy efficiency. And
in the coming decades, American companies should have the chance to
do much more business worldwide, and by doing so, they will help to
create American jobs. Now, governments can do several things to
promote energy transformation, like educate our citizens about the
value of energy efficiency and clean technology. But perhaps the
most important thing we can do is enact policies that create an
enabling environment that attracts investment and paves the way for
large-scale infrastructure. In many parts of Central America and
Africa, and in India and Pakistan, USAID supports training programs
to help put power utilities on sounder commercial footing. And the
Millennium Challenge Corporation is negotiating new compacts with
several countries that would help them undertake wholesale,
systemic energy reforms. And with the right business climate,
agencies like the Export-Import Bank and the Overseas Private
Investment Corporation can help seal the deals that allow U.S.
exports to flow. As an example, let me tell you what were doing
with our neighbors in Latin America. Earlier this year, at the
Summit of the Americas, Colombia launched a new initiative it is
leading with the United States called Connecting the Americas 2022.
It aims to achieve universal access to electricity by the year 2022
through electrical interconnection in the hemisphere, linking
electrical grids throughout the hemisphere from Canada all the way
down to the southern tip of Chile, as well as extending it to the
Caribbean. The Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, all
the countries in the Organization of American States have joined
this project. It stems from a broader effort called the Energy and
Climate Partnership of the Americas, which I launched in 2010,
which has sparked a wave of innovative partnerships across the
hemisphere. Interconnection will help us get the most out of our
regions resources. It seems simple, but if one country has excess
power, it can sell it to a neighbor. The climate variability across
our region means that if one country has a strong rainy season, it
can export hydropower to a neighbor in the middle of a drought.
Plus, by expanding the size of power markets, we can create
economies of scale, attract more private investment, lower capital
costs, and ultimately lower the costs for the consumer. Theres
another goal here as well. Thirty-one million people across the
Americas lack access to reliable and affordable electricity. That
clearly holds them back from making progress in so many areas. So
one aim of Connect 2022 is to make sure that those 31 million
people now do have power. With this single project, we will promote
energy efficiency and renewable energy, fight poverty, create
opportunity for energy businesses, including U.S. businesses, and
forge stronger ties of partnership with our neighbors. It really is
a win-win-win, in our opinion. Now, theres another aspect of energy
transformation that I think is important to mention. To achieve the
levels of private sector involvement that we need, it takes a level
playing field so all companies can compete. But you know very well
in some parts of the world, the playing field is hardly level. Some
countries dictate how much national content must be used in energy
production, or they give subsidies to their nations companies to
give them an edge. And that can be very challenging for American
businesses to break through. So every day, in many parts of the
world, our diplomats are out there fighting on behalf of American
businesses and workers, taking aim at economic barriers and unfair
practices. This September, we achieved a major breakthrough when
the members nations of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
community agreed to cut tariffs on 54 key environmental goods,
clearing the way for more trade in clean energy technology. At the
same time that were pursuing energy transformation, however, we
have to take on the issue of energy poverty. And thats the third
area of engagement I will mention. Because for those 1.3 billion
people worldwide who do not have access to a reliable, sustainable
supply of energy, it is a daily challenge and struggle. It also
runs counter to energy transformation, because these people are
burning firewood, coal, dung, charcoal, whatever they can get their
hands on. Theyre using diesel generators, and no electricity is
more expensive than that. And besides, these are dirty forms of
energy bad for peoples health, bad for the environment. But it
doesnt have to be that way. We have the technology and know-how
that can help people leapfrog to energy that is not only reliable
and affordable, but clean and efficient. So energy transformation
and ending energy poverty really do go hand in hand.
MexicoGeneric
Engagement with Mexico is empirically zero-sum with other
priorities status quo talks focus on drug-trafficking and not
relation-building like the Aff Lanham, 10. Kipp Lanham is a
political communications strategist who has worked on Capitol Hill
and K Street as an intern and communications professional. Kipp has
been published in The Washington Post, The Washington Times, and
The Hill. U.S.-Mexico relations: No spring break, The Daily Caller,
3-23,
http://dailycaller.com/2010/03/23/u-s-mexico-relations-no-spring-break/.
The timing of the meeting in Merida comes at a tenuous time for
foreign policy in the United States. Relations with Israel and
Russia have been rough due to settlement and nuclear issues.
President Barack Obama had to delay his trip to Indonesia and
Australia due to health care legislation on the verge of potential
passage in Congress. The State Department emphasized in a press
release that the meeting had been previously planned over many
months. Relations with Mexico only add to the difficulties as both
sides try to overcome the shadow cast from the violence in Ciudad
Juarez. Espinosa and Clinton plan to discuss the shared goals of
breaking the power of drug trafficking organizations; strengthening
the rule of law, democratic institutions and respect for human
rights; creating a 21st century border; and building strong and
resilient communities. Excluded from these shared goals is
resumption of the Cross-Border Trucking Services Demonstration
Program as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Last year, the U.S. suspended this program unilaterally. In
response, Mexico suspended trade benefits for a number of U.S.
products. Mexico seeks that the U.S. comply with NAFTA and resume
the Cross-Border Trucking Services Demonstration Program. Is
unilateralism the smart power enacted by the State Department under
Secretary Clinton and President Obama? Robert Kagan, a senior
associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace,
commented in his recent column that the Obama Administration has
worse relations overall with American allies than George W. Bush
did in his second term. Kagan stated that U.S. foreign policy is
becoming more neutrality rather than multilateralism. The results
of this U.S. foreign policy with Russia, Iran, or Israel do smart.
The new START treaty has yet to be signed. Iran continues on its
path toward nuclear weapons without new sanctions from the United
Nations. Secretary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden chastised
for building homes in Jerusalem. What can be expected from the
Merida meeting? The focus of the meeting will most likely be on
stopping the violence and drug trafficking rather than resetting
trade relations. President Obama already appears confident in
Mexican President Felipe Calderns efforts as he has been invited to
a state dinner in May. Meanwhile, Congressmen from near the
Texas-Mexico border have already been involved in talks with Mexico
as they met with Arturo Sarukhan, Mexican Ambassador to the U.S.
Congressman including Solomon P. Ortiz, Harry Teague, Silvestre
Reyes, Ciro Rodriguez, Henry Cuellar and Ruben Hinojosa expressed
their commitment to assisting Mexico with drug-related violence on
the U.S.-Mexico border. The U.S. has also pledged around $1.4
billion in aid to Mexico to fight drug trafficking.
Mexican Energy
Energy reform in Mexico requires DOS effortunderstaffing
triggers tradeoffsGoldwyn 4/11 (David L., President of Goldwyn
Global Strategies, The Impact of the Tight Oil and Gas Boom on
Latin America and the Caribbean: Opportunities for Cooperation,
Presented to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; Subcommittee
on the Western Hemisphere, 4/11/13,
http://docs.house.gov/meetings/FA/FA07/20130411/100622/HHRG-113-FA07-Wstate-GoldwynD-20130411.pdf)//LA
The Department of State has significantly increased its
capabilities to conduct energy diplomacy through the establishment
of the Energy and Natural Resources Bureau, led by Ambassador
Carlos Pascual. Its programs should be robustly funded. We should
also deepen the international energy diplomacy capacity of the
Department of Energy. The Department of Energys relationships with
civil servants in ministries across the globe provide a bridge
across changes in government here and there. They can talk when the
politics of non-energy issues obstruct dialogue among the foreign
ministries. It is easier to get Energy Ministers together for
regular meetings than Secretaries of State. Their staff should be
expanded and serious program budget established to make our
cooperation more than rhetorical. For true reform to be achieved,
foreign ministers and heads of government will have to be involved,
as this will be the key to integrating energy security into foreign
policy. The three countries that need robust attention at this time
are Mexico, Brazil and Venezuela. Mexico is considering major
reforms and we have much we can share at a technical level on gas
markets, unconventional oil and gas technology, safe regulation of
the deepwater, and energy efficiency. We should create a quiet
bilateral mechanism for sharing this information with Mexican
ministries, its nascent regulator and PEMEX. Changing global
markets also impact Brazil, and we should ensure that the Strategic
Energy Dialogue is reactivated as soon as new officials are on
board at the Department of Energy. Venezuela is trickier because it
is in political transition and there is a great deal of rhetorical
hostility. But the US had a technical dialogue with Venezuela that
lasted over 30 years. We need to know the new officials at the
Ministry and PdVSA and to share our view of market realities, even
if we may not agree on them. Sometime in 2013, after the Venezuelan
elections, this technical dialogue should be revived, perhaps at
the Assistant Secretary, or Deputy Assistant Secretary level.
Mexican LNG
Empirics prove the DOS would be involvedprefer our evidence its
from a DOS insiderSullivan 7 (Daniel S., Former Assistant Secretary
for Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs, Energy and U.S. Foreign
Policy: Security Through Diplomacy, Speech @ Energy Council's
Federal Energy & Environmental Matters Conference Meeting
Jointly with Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) and
Leadership of Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER), 3/9/7,
http://2001-2009.state.gov/e/eeb/rls/rm/2007/82171.htm)//LA On
natural gas there are several proposed LNG terminals in the U.S.
and some in Canada and Mexico designed to serve the U.S. market. Of
course we do have significant reserves of natural gas in the U.S.
particularly in Alaska. The Department of State will play a role in
bringing North Slope gas to the lower 48 markets. In February of
last year, we in concert with other federal agencies worked out an
M.O.U. that establishes a framework for cooperation among
participating federal agencies with responsibilities related to the
approval of an Alaska natural gas transportation project. It
requires each agency to prepare and to submit an implementation
plan, to coordinate with FERC, to share data and to maintain
coordination with other agencies in connection with the project.
The Department would negotiate any side letters/agreements with the
Government of Canada concerning Alaska natural gas transportation
projects, including the negotiation of new agreements or any
modifications to existing agreements. This effort is in keeping
with our larger work to actively promote greater energy integration
and facilitate cross border energy trade with two of our four
largest oil suppliers, Canada and Mexico. We are also doing so
trilaterally through the North American Energy Working Group, which
is part of our broader Security and Prosperity Partnership we have
with Canada and Mexico. We also have an annual strategic dialogue
bilaterally with Canada called the Energy Consultative Mechanism.
Its purpose is to explore how our two governments can enhance and
facilitate the largest cross border energy relationship in the
world.
Mexican Renewables
Energy transformation and poverty initiatives require immense
diplomatic capitalempirics. Also, prefer our ev, its from
HillaryClinton 12 (Hillary Rodham, Former US Secretary of State and
Future President of the USA swag, Energy Diplomacy in the 21st
Century, Speech Delivered at Georgetown University 10/18/12,
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2012/10/199330.htm)//LA I want to
mention one additional diplomatic challenge were focused on: how to
manage resources that cross national boundaries. Boundaries are not
always clearly delineated, especially at sea. If oil or gas is
discovered in an area two countries share or where boundaries are
inexact, how will they develop it? Earlier this year, after a long
negotiation led by the State Department, the United States and
Mexico reached a groundbreaking agreement on oil and gas resources
in the Gulf of Mexico, and we will be sending it to Congress for
action soon. The agreement clearly lays out how the United States
and Mexico will manage the resources that transcend our maritime
boundary. Now, in addition to these examples of energy diplomacy,
were also focused on our second area of engagement: energy
transformation helping to promote new energy solutions, including
renewables and energy efficiency, to meet rising demand, diversify
the global energy supply, and address climate change. The
transformation to cleaner energy is central to reducing the worlds
carbon emissions and it is the core of a strong 21st century global
economy. But we know very well that energy transformation cannot be
accomplished by governments alone. In the next 25 years, the world
is going to need up to $15 trillion in investment to generate and
transmit electricity. Governments can and will provide some of it,
but most will come from the private sector. Now, thats not only a
huge challenge, but a huge opportunity. And I want to make sure
that American companies and American workers are competing for
those kinds of projects. After all, American companies are leaders
across the field of energy leaders in renewables, high-tech,
smart-grid energy infrastructure, bioenergy, energy efficiency. And
in the coming decades, American companies should have the chance to
do much more business worldwide, and by doing so, they will help to
create American jobs. Now, governments can do several things to
promote energy transformation, like educate our citizens about the
value of energy efficiency and clean technology. But perhaps the
most important thing we can do is enact policies that create an
enabling environment that attracts investment and paves the way for
large-scale infrastructure. In many parts of Central America and
Africa, and in India and Pakistan, USAID supports training programs
to help put power utilities on sounder commercial footing. And the
Millennium Challenge Corporation is negotiating new compacts with
several countries that would help them undertake wholesale,
systemic energy reforms. And with the right business climate,
agencies like the Export-Import Bank and the Overseas Private
Investment Corporation can help seal the deals that allow U.S.
exports to flow. As an example, let me tell you what were doing
with our neighbors in Latin America. Earlier this year, at the
Summit of the Americas, Colombia launched a new initiative it is
leading with the United States called Connecting the Americas 2022.
It aims to achieve universal access to electricity by the year 2022
through electrical interconnection in the hemisphere, linking
electrical grids throughout the hemisphere from Canada all the way
down to the southern tip of Chile, as well as extending it to the
Caribbean. The Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, all
the countries in the Organization of American States have joined
this project. It stems from a broader effort called the Energy and
Climate Partnership of the Americas, which I launched in 2010,
which has sparked a wave of innovative partnerships across the
hemisphere. Interconnection will help us get the most out of our
regions resources. It seems simple, but if one country has excess
power, it can sell it to a neighbor. The climate variability across
our region means that if one country has a strong rainy season, it
can export hydropower to a neighbor in the middle of a drought.
Plus, by expanding the size of power markets, we can create
economies of scale, attract more private investment, lower capital
costs, and ultimately lower the costs for the consumer. Theres
another goal here as well. Thirty-one million people across the
Americas lack access to reliable and affordable electricity. That
clearly holds them back from making progress in so many areas. So
one aim of Connect 2022 is to make sure that those 31 million
people now do have power. With this single project, we will promote
energy efficiency and renewable energy, fight poverty, create
opportunity for energy businesses, including U.S. businesses, and
forge stronger ties of partnership with our neighbors. It really is
a win-win-win, in our opinion. Now, theres another aspect of energy
transformation that I think is important to mention. To achieve the
levels of private sector involvement that we need, it takes a level
playing field so all companies can compete. But you know very well
in some parts of the world, the playing field is hardly level. Some
countries dictate how much national content must be used in energy
production, or they give subsidies to their nations companies to
give them an edge. And that can be very challenging for American
businesses to break through. So every day, in many parts of the
world, our diplomats are out there fighting on behalf of American
businesses and workers, taking aim at economic barriers and unfair
practices. This September, we achieved a major breakthrough when
the members nations of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
community agreed to cut tariffs on 54 key environmental goods,
clearing the way for more trade in clean energy technology. At the
same time that were pursuing energy transformation, however, we
have to take on the issue of energy poverty. And thats the third
area of engagement I will mention. Because for those 1.3 billion
people worldwide who do not have access to a reliable, sustainable
supply of energy, it is a daily challenge and struggle. It also
runs counter to energy transformation, because these people are
burning firewood, coal, dung, charcoal, whatever they can get their
hands on. Theyre using diesel generators, and no electricity is
more expensive than that. And besides, these are dirty forms of
energy bad for peoples health, bad for the environment. But it
doesnt have to be that way. We have the technology and know-how
that can help people leapfrog to energy that is not only reliable
and affordable, but clean and efficient. So energy transformation
and ending energy poverty really do go hand in hand.
Mexican Transboundary
Empirics prove transboundary agreements require massive
diplomatic effort prefer our ev, its from HillaryClinton 12
(Hillary Rodham, Former US Secretary of State and Future President
of the USA swag, Energy Diplomacy in the 21st Century, Speech
Delivered at Georgetown University 10/18/12,
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2012/10/199330.htm)//LA I want to
mention one additional diplomatic challenge were focused on: how to
manage resources that cross national boundaries. Boundaries are not
always clearly delineated, especially at sea. If oil or gas is
discovered in an area two countries share or where boundaries are
inexact, how will they develop it? Earlier this year, after a long
negotiation led by the State Department, the United States and
Mexico reached a groundbreaking agreement on oil and gas resources
in the Gulf of Mexico, and we will be sending it to Congress for
action soon. The agreement clearly lays out how the United States
and Mexico will manage the resources that transcend our maritime
boundary. Specific Aff Links
Venezuela Generic Diplomatic row proves Venezuela engagement
gets heated quickly we control empirics Lopez 13 (Juan Carlos,
Catherine E Shoichet, CNN correspondents in Latin America, US
expels 2 Venezuelan diplomats, CNN, 3/11/13,
http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/11/us/venezuela-diplomats-expelled//SJ)
Washington (CNN) -- Diplomatic tensions between the United States
and Venezuela showed no signs of slowing Monday as the State
Department announced that two Venezuelan diplomats had been
expelled. Orlando Jose Montanez Olivares and Victor Camacaro Mata
were declared personae non gratae and ordered to leave the country
in response to the South American nation's decision to kick out two
U.S. officials last week, State Department spokeswoman Victoria
Nuland told reporters. "Around the world, when our people are
thrown out unjustly, we're going to take reciprocal action," she
said. "We need to do that to protect our own people." The expulsion
of the Venezuelan diplomats comes after Venezuelan officials --
just hours before announcing President Hugo Chavez's death last
week -- said they were expelling two U.S. Embassy officials and
accused them of plotting to destabilize the country. "In the day or
days that followed there was some pretty heated rhetoric coming in
our direction," Nuland said Monday. "I think I called it at one
point a page from the old 'Chavista' playbook that we were hoping
was going to change. ... There is work that we would like to do
together, particularly in the areas of counter-terrorism,
counternarcotics, economics and energy relations, but it's going to
take a change of tone from Caracas." The expelled Venezuelan
diplomats have left the United States, Nuland said. Camacaro worked
in the Venezuelan Consulate in New York, and Montanez worked at the
Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, she said. The expelled U.S.
officials, both air attaches at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, were
accused of having meetings with members of the Venezuelan military
and encouraging them to pursue "destabilizing projects," Venezuelan
Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said. "We will not allow any foreign
interference in our country," Jaua said last week. Nicolas Maduro,
then vice president and now Venezuela's interim leader, also
suggested as he criticized the U.S. Embassy officials last week
that someone had deliberately infected Chavez with cancer. State
Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell denied the accusations. "This
fallacious assertion of inappropriate U.S. action leads us to
conclude that, unfortunately, the current Venezuelan government is
not interested an improved relationship," he said. It isn't the
first time that diplomatic tensions have surged between the two
countries. Last year the State Department declared Venezuela's
consul general in Miami persona non grata -- Latin for unwelcome or
unacceptable person -- and expelled her from the United States. In
2008, Venezuela expelled the U.S. ambassador to the South American
country. A day later, the United States said it was expelling the
Venezuelan ambassador.
Venezuelan Energy
Energy reform in Venezuela required DOS effortunderstaffing
triggers tradeoffsGoldwyn 4/11 (David L., President of Goldwyn
Global Strategies, The Impact of the Tight Oil and Gas Boom on
Latin America and the Caribbean: Opportunities for Cooperation,
Presented to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; Subcommittee
on the Western Hemisphere, 4/11/13,
http://docs.house.gov/meetings/FA/FA07/20130411/100622/HHRG-113-FA07-Wstate-GoldwynD-20130411.pdf)//LA
The Department of State has significantly increased its
capabilities to conduct energy diplomacy through the establishment
of the Energy and Natural Resources Bureau, led by Ambassador
Carlos Pascual. Its programs should be robustly funded. We should
also deepen the international energy diplomacy capacity of the
Department of Energy. The Department of Energys relationships with
civil servants in ministries across the globe provide a bridge
across changes in government here and there. They can talk when the
politics of non-energy issues obstruct dialogue among the foreign
ministries. It is easier to get Energy Ministers together for
regular meetings than Secretaries of State. Their staff should be
expanded and serious program budget established to make our
cooperation more than rhetorical. For true reform to be achieved,
foreign ministers and heads of government will have to be involved,
as this will be the key to integrating energy security into foreign
policy. The three countries that need robust attention at this time
are Mexico, Brazil and Venezuela. Mexico is considering major
reforms and we have much we can share at a technical level on gas
markets, unconventional oil and gas technology, safe regulation of
the deepwater, and energy efficiency. We should create a quiet
bilateral mechanism for sharing this information with Mexican
ministries, its nascent regulator and PEMEX. Changing global
markets also impact Brazil, and we should ensure that the Strategic
Energy Dialogue is reactivated as soon as new officials are on
board at the Department of Energy. Venezuela is trickier because it
is in political transition and there is a great deal of rhetorical
hostility. But the US had a technical dialogue with Venezuela that
lasted over 30 years. We need to know the new officials at the
Ministry and PdVSA and to share our view of market realities, even
if we may not agree on them. Sometime in 2013, after the Venezuelan
elections, this technical dialogue should be revived, perhaps at
the Assistant Secretary, or Deputy Assistant Secretary
level.Venezuelan Oil
Empirics prove US state department will be involved in Oil
fights w/ VenezuelaPecquet 4/23 (Julian, The Hill, US clarifies
sanctions talk after Venezuela threatens to cut oil exports,
4/23/13,
http://thehill.com/blogs/global-affairs/americas/295595-us-backs-off-sanctions-talk-after-venezuela-threatens-to-cut-oil-exports)//LA
The State Department on Tuesday vehemently denied the United States
was considering sanctions against Venezuela after the oil-rich
country threatened to cut energy exports to the U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State for Latin America Roberta Jacobson told CNN's
Spanish channel over the weekend she did not know either way if the
Obama administration would consider sanctions if the country does
not have a full recount of last week's disputed presidential
election. Foreign Minister Elias Jaua responded with a promise to
retaliate if that happens, prompting State Department Spokesman
Patrick Ventrell's remarks on Tuesday. I think the Venezuelan side
may have looked at that and read into [it that] we're considering
something, Ventrell said at his daily press briefing. I'm saying
that that's not something that we're currently contemplating at
this moment. Jaua had promised to counter with trade, energy,
economic and political measures as we deem necessary to respond
forcefully to this unacceptable threat. We do not accept any empire
threats, he told Venezuela's Telesur. You can be sure that faced
with any kind of sanctions, we will respond with economic,
political, social and diplomatic actions to defend the sacred
rights of the Venezuelan people.Internal LinksCase TurnsImpact
Scenarios
