1

Economic engagement is distinct from diplomatic engagement Derrick 98 (Robert, Lieutenant Colonel US Army, ENGAGEMENT: THE NATIONS PREMIER GRAND
STRATEGY, WHO'S IN CHARGE?, 1998, http://www.dtic.mil/cgibin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA342695) Economic engagement covers a wide range of programs. Financial incentives are an effective engagement tool since countries usually interact with the US when money is involved. Whether it is obtaining funding for a national program; acquiring materiel, food or medicine; or maintaining Most Favored Nation 12Status, financial aide has always been a preferred way for the US to affect the behavior of others. Diplomatic engagement ranges from recognition of sovereign states and foreign governments, to presidential visits, to all aspects of the embassy itself. The mere existence of an embassy is an engagement tool. Through official diplomatic ceremonies, informal meetings, and embassy employees living among the locals, the Department of State's presence is engagement in and of itself. Similarly, "...overseas...forces embody global military engagement. They serve as role models for militaries in emerging democracies; contribute uniquely to the stability, continuity, and flexibility that protects US interests; and are crucial to continued democratic and economic development."14 In addition to our presence overseas, our military engagement consists of a variety of military to military and political to military events. U.S. and host nation defense forces conduct combined exercises to improve cooperation and strengthen ties. Much of the peacetime efforts of the DOS and DOD are engagement. This is in the form of forward presence, regional exercises, and infrastructure construction projects. The engagement tools of three of our five instruments of our National Power: Military, Economic and Political, (Geographical and National Will being the other two), listed below in Figure 3, are a few examples of how the US uses these powers to stay engaged. Military CJCS Exercises Depl for Trng (DFT) Intl Mil Ed & Tr (IMET) Counterdrug Spt (CD) Mobile Tr Teams (MTT) Diplomatic State Recognition Presidential Visits Demarshe Treaties & Agreements Economic Agcy for Intl Devi Econ Spt Fund (ESF) Fgn Mil Sales (FMS) Health Aid

Violation the aff is diplomatic engagement it is increasing diplomacy using American tourists Thats a voter for fairness and education 1. Limits engagement has such a broad definition in the literature that you have to limit to things that are primarily economic otherwise negs have to research whole other literature bases 2. Ground key generics rely on engagement actually being economic diplomatic engagement change links to Disads like politics and Credibility

2
Text: The President of the United States should issue an executive order to substantially increase its travel-based economic engagement towards the Republic of Cuba. The president has control over foreign affairs Prakash and Ramsey, University of San Diego School of Law, 2001 (Saikrishna B and Michael D, The Executive
Power over Foreign Affairs, http://www.yalelawjournal.org/pdf/111-2/PrakashFINAL.pdf, Accessed 7-813, RRR) We have amassed considerable evidence that in the eighteenth century, the executive power included authority over foreign affairs; that during the Articles era, Congress was understood to enjoy the executive power over foreign affairs; that the Department of Foreign Affairs was regarded as an executive department; and that the Framers and ratifiers recognized that the President would enjoy foreign affairs authorities beyond those specifically enumerated in Article II, Sections 2 and 3. On the other hand, we have explained that under the Constitution, Congress lacks a textual hook upon which it might lay claim to those residual powers over foreign affairs not otherwise granted to the President. Admittedly, Congress enjoys unquestioned foreign affairs authority over discrete foreign affairs matters (war, foreign commerce, marque and reprisal, and the law of nations). But these discrete powers are a far cry from the type of authority that might be thought to invest Congress with a sweeping residual power over foreign affairs. Indeed, during the drafting and ratification phases, no one suggested that Congress would enjoy anything close to plenary authority over foreign affairs as it had under the Articles. Nor did anyone suggest that Congress would enjoy all the foreign affairs authorities not allocated to the President. We believe these materials and arguments are sufficient to establish that the Presidents executive power grants the power to control foreign affairs except where the Constitution specifically allocates authority to Congress or requires that it be shared with the Senate.

Obama prez powers low Patten 8/31

(David Patten, staff writer, Bolton to Newsmax: Obama Shows Weakness Not Seen in Decades, Newsmax, 8/31/13, http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Bolton-Obama-Weakness-Syria/2013/08/31/id/523262)

President Obamas surprise announcement that he will seek congressional approval for any military action in Syria led former UN Ambassador John Bolton to declare the decision will hurt U.S. deterrence, emboldening Iran to march full steam ahead on its nuclear weapons program. I was stunned, Bolton told Newsmax in an exclusive interview. It was perhaps the worst decision that he could have made. But its one that follows 10 days of bad decisions, and indeed a year of bad decisions going back to the original red line statement. Bolton says he has opposed the use of force in Syria because the administration has planned such a limited response he feared it would actually encourage rather than dissuade, further military adventures by Syria and Iran. But even as somebody who doesnt support the use of force, said Bolton, what the president did today was display weakness of the kind we havent seen in an American leader in decades, if not since the 19th century. I just think the effect on Americas position in the Middle East and around the world is going to be very, very negative, Bolton added.

XOs are key to prez powers

Kenneth Mayer, 2001: [Kenneth Mayer, professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin, With the Stroke of a Pen. 2001, pg. 56. ]
Much of the time, analyses of the presidents constitutional power rely on historical evidence of how individual presidents viewed that power and how they put it into practice. Practice matters because of the importance of precedent to the expansion of presidential power, because the parameters of presidential authority have often been shaped by case-by-case judicial review, and because presidents have used their authority (often through executive orders_) in order to shape institutional patterns and processes that in turn enhance their ability to exercise administrative control. Each time a president relies on executive prerogative to take some type of action, it makes it easier for a future president to take the same (or similar) action. The boundaries between the three branches of government arestrongly affected of custom or acquiescence. When one branch engages in a certain practice and the other branches acquiesce, the practice gains legitimacy and can fix the meaning of the Constitution.

US leadership is dependent on presidential power - Exploiting advantages over Congress is essential Haas 95
Richard N. Haas, Director of National Security Programs, Council on Foreign Relations, 1/11/1995 (Paradigm Lost) p. lexis But no choice of ends and means will count for much if the United States is not able and willing to act in the world -- and do so consistently and reliably. The United States emerged from the Cold War as
the world's only superpower. But it will not remain one for long unless it harnesses its power to purpose. What is needed is not a new doctrine to take the place of containment, but a leadership dedicated to forging a new consensus around an augmented realism and what we as a nation will do to achieve it. This

will require sustained presidential involvement -- in making the case for liberal trade and necessary uses of force to the public, in approaching the Congress for adequate resources to support defense and aid programs, in cultivating political and military relations with key allies. The Republican triumph in the recent elections will make this more difficult for a Democratic president, but the president still enjoys important advantages in the conduct of foreign policy. The question is whether these advantages will be exploited. One hopes that they will, for U.S. leadership without presidential leadership is all but impossible.

Hegemony solves great power war Khalilzad 11 Zalmay Khalilzad, the United States ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, and the United
Nations during the presidency of George W. Bush and the director of policy planning at the Defense Department from 1990 to 1992, February 8, 2011, The Economy and National Security; If we dont get our economic house in order, we risk a new era of multi-polarity, online: http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/259024/economy-and-national-security-zalmay-khalilzad
We face this domestic challenge while other major powers are experiencing rapid economic growth. Even though countries such as China, India, and Brazil have profound political, social, demographic, and economic problems, their economies are growing faster than ours, and this could alter the global distribution of power. These trends could in the long term produce a multi-polar world. If U.S. policymakers fail to act and other powers continue to grow, it is not a question of whether but when a new international order will emerge. The

closing of the gap between the

U nited S tates and its rivals could intensify geopolitical competition among major powers , increase

incentives for local powers to play major powers against one another, and undercut our will to preclude or respond to international crises because of the higher risk of escalation. The stakes are high. In modern
history, the

longest period of peace among the great powers has been the era of U.S. leadership . By systems have been unstable, with their competitive dynamics resulting in frequent

contrast, multi-polar

crises and major wars among the great powers. Failures of multi-polar international systems produced both world wars. American retrenchment could have devastating consequences. Without an American security blanket, regional powers could rearm in an attempt to balance against emerging threats. Under this scenario, there would be a heightened possibility of arms races, miscalculation, or other crises spiraling into all-out conflict . Alternatively, in seeking to accommodate the stronger powers, weaker powers may shift their geopolitical posture away from the United States. Either way, hostile states would be emboldened to make aggressive moves in their regions. As rival powers rise, Asia in particular is
likely to emerge as a zone of great-power competition. Beijings economic rise has enabled a dramatic military buildup
focused on acquisitions of naval, cruise, and ballistic missiles, long-range stealth aircraft, and anti-satellite capabilities. Chinas strategic modernization is aimed, ultimately, at denying the United States access to the seas around China. Even as cooperative economic ties in the region have grown, Chinas expansive territorial claims and provocative statements and actions following crises in Korea and incidents at sea have roiled its relations with South Korea, Japan, India, and Southeast Asian states. Still, the United States is the most significant barrier facing Chinese hegemony and aggression.

3
Farm bill will pass and its key to solve food prices The Daily Journal, 12/5/13 (Farm bill talks continue with deadline approaching, http://www.dailyjournal.com/news/nation/farm-bill-talks-continue-with-deadline-approaching/article_b9a88d6f-37cc-589d-b8ed-c8c5f9ce1bdb.html, bgm)

House and Senate negotiators plan to meet again this week in hopes of finishing another complicated piece of legislation before a critical, fast-approaching deadline. In this case it is the farm bill, an omnibus measure that sets federal agricultural policy and spending on food aid. The legislation is one of several items lawmakers hope to cross off their to-do list in the coming weeks, including a new budget agreement, a defense authorization bill and the confirmation of top Obama administration appointees. Failure to meet a Jan. 1 deadline won't rattle stock markets or spoil the nation's credit rating, but a new farm bill is more than two years overdue, and congressional leaders have so far been unwilling to consider passing another short-term extension. Failure to meet the deadline or pass a stopgap measure would mean that "breakfast in the United States is going to be significantly more expensive," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack warned in a recent interview. The Agriculture Department is preparing to take steps that could prompt a series of changes affecting several commodities and grocery prices. Changes could begin shortly after New Year's Day with the price of milk, which could rise to more than $3 per gallon because federal dairy policy would revert to a 1949 law. Vilsack has warned that congressional inaction would eventually affect the price and supply of other staples, including rice, wheat and corn. But there seems to be little worry on Capitol Hill because lead negotiators believe they can meet the deadline and some of their aides suggest privately that a new farm bill could be passed as part of a broader budget agreement, which must be enacted by Jan. 15 to avoid another government shutdown. On Monday, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., didn't rule out packaging a farm bill with other must-pass legislation. "I'm taking this one step at a time. That's how we've gotten as far as we've gotten," she said in an interview. "I believe this can be done by the end of this year if there's the political will to do it." Stabenow and the lead Republican on her committee, Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., plan to cut short their two-week Senate recess and return to Washington. They hope to complete a bill by next week, according to aides familiar with the talks.

Liberalizing policy towards Cuba costs capital Congress will upset other items on the agenda LeoGrande 12
William, School of Public Affairs @ American University, Fresh Start for a Stale Policy: Can Obama Break the Stalemate in U.S.-Cuban Relations?, 2012, http://www.american.edu/clals/upload/LeoGrandeFresh-Start.pdf Where in the executive branch will control over Cuba policy lie? Political considerations played a major role in Obama's Cuba policy during the first term, albeit not as preeminent a consideration as they were during the Clinton years. In 2009, Obama's new foreign policy team got off to a bad start when they promised Senator Menendez that they would consult him before changing Cuba policy. That was
the price he extracted for providing Senate Democrats with the 60 votes needed to break a Republican filibuster on a must-pass omnibus appropriations bill to keep the government operating. For the next four years, administration officials worked more closely with Menendez, who opposed the sort of major

redirection of policy Obama had promised, than they did with senators like John Kerry (D-Mass.), chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, whose views were more in line with the president's stated policy goals. At the Department of State, Assistant Secretary Arturo Valenzuela favored initiatives to improve relations with Cuba, but he was stymied by indifference or resistance elsewhere in the bureaucracy. Secretary Hillary Clinton, having staked out a tough position Cuba during the Democratic primary campaign, was not inclined to be the driver for a new policy. At the NSC, Senior Director for the Western Hemisphere Dan Restrepo, who advised Obama on Latin America policy during the 2008 campaign, did his best to avoid the Cuba issue because it

was so fraught with political danger . When the president finally approved the resumption of peopleto-people travel to Cuba, which Valenzuela had been pushing, the White House political team delayed the announcement for several months at the behest of Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Any easing of the travel regulations, she warned, would hurt Democrats' prospects in the upcoming mid-term elections.43 The White House shelved the new regulations until January 2011, and then announced them late Friday before a holiday weekend. Then, just a year later, the administration surrendered to Senator Rubio's demand that it limit the licensing of travel providers in exchange for him dropping his hold on the appointment of Valenzuela's replacement.44 With Obama in his final term and Vice-President Joe Biden unlikely to seek the Democratic nomination in 2016 (unlike the situation Clinton and Gore faced in their second term), politics

will presumably play a less central role in deciding Cuba policy over the next four years. There will still be the temptation , however, to sacrifice Cuba policy to mollify congressional conservatives, both Democrat and Republican, who are willing to hold other Obama initiatives hostage to extract concessions on Cuba. And since Obama has given in to such hostage-taking previously, the hostage-takers have a strong incentive to try the same tactic again . The only way to break this cycle would be for the president to stand up to them and refuse to give in, as he did when they
attempted to rollback his 2009 relaxation of restrictions on CubanAmerican travel and remittances. Much will depend on who makes up Obama's new foreign policy team, especially at the Department of State. John Kerry has been a strong advocate of a more open policy toward Cuba, and worked behind the scenes with the State Department and USAID to clean up the "democracy promotion" program targeting Cuba, as a way to win the release of Alan Gross. A new secretary is likely to bring new assistant secretaries, providing an opportunity to revitalize the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, which has been thoroughly cowed by congressional hardliners. But even with new players in place, does Cuba rise to the level of importance that

would justify a major new initiative and the bruising battle with conservatives on the Hill? Major policy changes that require a significant expenditure of political capital rarely happen unless the urgency of the problem forces policymakers to take action.

Obamas political capital is keythe impact is food security Eva M. Clayton, 11/5-13, Former Congresswoman and former Assistant Director General of the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization, Huffington Post, Congressional and Presidential Leadership Needed for a Fair and Equitable Farm Bill, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eva-m-clayton/congressional-and-presidential_b_4221884.html, jj

Will Congress and the president demonstrate the leadership necessary to enact a strong, but fair Farm Bill that protects our agricultural economy and rural communities? Will it provide a "safety net" for our most vulnerable citizens? Hopefully,
the appointed Conferees will seek an opportunity to pass a strong Farm Bill that is fair and helpful to small and large farmers and will enable them to produce healthy and affordable food. The Farm Bill should empower our rural communities to develop and grow economically. Likewise, it must protect and provide food assistance to the millions of Americans in need. The leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate must instruct the Conferees to negotiate in the best interest of the American people. President

Obama must be

persistent in his leadership by calling on Congress to treat our most vulnerable citizens fairly, protect small and large farmers, and give rural

Another extension of the Farm Bill once again is unacceptable. Farmers and businesses, which have been devastated by the legislative uncertainty, are unable to plan for the next planting season, and cannot do so until Congress acts and the president signs a bill. This delay has hampered assistance for early generation farmers, minority farmers, and the rural small business sector who all suffer disproportionately without a signed bill. The Fair
communities an opportunity to grow economically. World Project reports that the majority of farm subsidies are paid to the most profitable companies in the U.S. and "ten percent of farms receive roughly 70 percent of all subsidies." This oversized government benefit reaped by large farms is a major factor in their ability to further expand, leading to increased concentration in the agriculture sector. These subsidies often drive land costs up and small farmers out. Yet, the conversation continues to be focused on cutting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This political gamesmanship puts us again at the crossroads of the "haves and have not's," while too many Americans depend on SNAP for it to be cut in the final bill. The House-passed Farm Bill cut $40 Billion over a ten-year period, mainly by cutting SNAP. The Tea Party and the extreme right wing of the Republican Party might see this as important part of its agenda to "cut spending," but such actions by the House have only resulted in ending 34 years of bipartisan cooperation on food and farm legislation. While Republicans in Congress continue to attack the Food Stamps program as an "easy place" to cut, they fail to recognize the needs of their own constituents and the contribution it provides our economy. Some fail to acknowledge, understand, or care that we had a recession and that Food Stamps were a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This bill, known as the 'Stimulus Package,' was scheduled to end November 1, 2013 and resulted in millions of people being dropped from the program. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), ending the Recovery Act will reduce benefits to approximately $1.40 per person per meal in 2014. Just think $1.40 per meal! Further, the vast majority of the 47 million SNAP recipients are children, seniors, and adults with disabilities. SNAP can be the bridge between living and survival, dignity and embarrassment. In fact over 900,000 veterans and 5,000 active duty service personnel currently receive food stamps. An example of this hardship was chronicled by the Food and Environment Reporting Network. Steven Johnson, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, was medically discharged from the military and was unable to find work as a result of his disability. To further complicate matters, there was significant lag time between the end of his military pay and the beginning of his disability benefits. The typical wait time for this benefit is 394 days for active duty veterans, and longer for non-active duty personnel. That is 394 days without a pay check. 394 days without the capacity to feed yourself or your family. To bridge this gap, Johnson relied on food stamps to help feed his family. As veteran Johnson said, "Food Stamps were the last resort we had." This is what is at stake for the Confrees and this President. Unfortunately, there have been anecdotal comments of fraud where "people are trading food stamps for cash." While these instances must be addressed, but it is simply unfair to use these anecdotes to characterize how the law functions. The Department of Agriculture has reported that as few as 1.3 percent of all benefits, were traded at a discount for cash. I agree that fraud is unacceptable concerning all government programs and laws. However, it is amazing how offensive it is for Republicans to use assistance for the poor as a political piata when fraud persists

Farm Bill is the single most important piece of legislation affecting the food we eat, the kinds of crops American farmers grow, and the environment in which they are grown. The Farm Bill is at the very essence of our nation's food security ." This could not be more accurate. The Conferees must put our country first to find success in their negotiations. A strong and fair Farm Bill will require Congressional and presidential leadership. The fate of our nation's food security depends on it.
on Wall Street or among big businesses. The Fair World Project rightly notes that the "

Extinction Lugar 2k Chairman of the Senator Foreign Relations Committee and Member/Former Chair of the
Senate Agriculture Committee (Richard, a US Senator from Indiana, is Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and a member and former chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. calls for a new green revolution to combat global warming and reduce world instability, pg online @ http://www.unep.org/OurPlanet/imgversn/143/lugar.html)

In a world confronted by global terrorism, turmoil in the Middle East, burgeoning nuclear threats and other crises, it is easy to lose sight of the long-range challenges. But we do so at our peril. One of the most daunting of them is meeting the worlds need for food and energy in this century. At stake is not only preventing starvation and saving the environment, but also world peace and security . History tells us that states may go to war over access to resources, and that poverty and famine have often bred fanaticism and terrorism. Working to feed the world will minimize factors that contribute to global instability and the proliferation of [ WMDs ] weapons of mass destruction. With the world population expected to grow from 6 billion people today to 9 billion by mid-century, the demand for affordable food will increase well beyond current international production levels. People in
rapidly developing nations will have the means greatly to improve their standard of living and caloric intake. Inevitably, that means eating more meat. This will raise demand for feed grain at the same time that the growing world population will need vastly more basic food to eat. Complicating a solution to this problem is a dynamic that must be better understood in the West: developing

countries often use limited arable land to expand cities to house their growing populations. As good land disappears, people destroy timber resources and even rainforests as they try to create more arable land to feed themselves. The long-term environmental consequences could be disastrous for the entire globe. Productivity revolution To meet the expected demand for food over the next 50 years, we in the United States will have to grow roughly three times more food on the land we have. Thats a tall
order. My farm in Marion County, Indiana, for example, yields on average 8.3 to 8.6 tonnes of corn per hectare typical for a farm in central

Indiana. To triple our production by 2050, we will have to produce an annual average of 25 tonnes per hectare. Can

we possibly boost output that much? Well, its been done before. Advances in the use of fertilizer and water, improved machinery and better tilling techniques combined to generate a threefold increase in yields since 1935 on our farm back then, my dad produced 2.8 to 3 tonnes per hectare. Much US agriculture has seen
similar increases. But of course there is no guarantee that we can achieve those results again. Given the urgency of expanding food production to meet world demand, we must invest much more in scientific research and target that money toward projects that promise to have significant national and global impact. For the United States, that will mean a major shift in the way we conduct and fund agricultural science. Fundamental research will generate the innovations that will be necessary to feed the world. The

United States can take a leading position in a productivity revolution. And our success at increasing food production may play a decisive humanitarian role in the survival of billions of people and the health of our
planet.

4
The United States federal government should normalize private economic relations with Cuba and not federally engage Cuba. The counterplan solves best including FEDERAL engagement corrupts solvency Huddleston 10 US Diplomat, was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Haiti, and Director
and Deputy Director of Cuban Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Prior to joining the U.S. Department of State, she was a Visiting Scholar at Brookings Institution (Vicki and Carlos Pascual, Learning to Salsa: New Steps in U.S.-Cuba Relations, p. 212)//BB A Cuban American opinion leader thought that the administration could avoid being denounced by hard-liners within the community if the White House, like the Republicans, used surrogates to forge policy, relying on select Cuban American organizations for this purpose. President Obama wouldn't have to be the architect of a controversial Cuba policy, because there are enough points of consensus within the Cuban American progressive community to allow the president to design and lead a more open and engaged approach to Cuba using surrogates. According to a Cuban American academic, a very robust cultural diplomacy strategy would be the top priority for policy. Fostering
the interaction of civil society on both sides of the Florida Straits is most likely to promote

diverse voices and reform in Cuba. Miami is already culturally engaged, but more is needed .
Mechanisms to expand and fund educational exchanges, promote the arts, and allow NGOs to interact freely with civil society in Cuba would need to be found. But no new policies can be effective if they

are linked to a strategy of regime change or state building, as has been the case with many of USAIDfunded activities , especially those tied to Cuban American groups that hold a specific ideology. The
Obama administration should therefore align itself with the progressive sector of the Cuban American community. This is the sector that voted for him and expects that he will spearhead a real change in policy, even if there is no consensus within the community.

5
Hurricane Gustav has devastated Cuba's tourism industry.
WarmIslands.com, a vacation news website, reports in 2008. In the Wake of Hurricane Gustav. http://www.warmislands.com/cruise/news/wake-hurricane-gustav/ accessed 10-13-08. //WC
Many regard Gustav as one of the most devastating hurricanes to ever hit the United States, with over three thousand combined deaths in the US and the Caribbean. Consequently, another heavy casualty of this disastrous 125 MPH, Category 3 hurricane is the tourism industry. On August 26, 2008, a tropical depression that started from the Lesser Antilles made
its way to Haiti, gaining strength until hurricane hunter aircrafts had to pronounce its 90 MPH winds a full-blown hurricane. From Haiti, Gustav continued moving toward Jamaica, and then to Cuba, and then to the Gulf of Mexico, gaining more strong, sustained winds as it went. It passed Louisiana, and then downgraded to a tropical depression once more over the Mississippi Valley, severely flooding it in the process. One can just imagine the blows that the tourism industry experienced while this tyrannical force of nature was wreaking havoc all over the place. Areas that are particularly vulnerable to flooding and landslides such as Haiti had to prepare in advance for the devastation sure to hit its people and properties. Storm

shelters were prepared, major flights were cancelled, and the red alert issued to Haitians to get ready for evacuation was issued. The results ranged from stranded travelers in airports to businesses closing earlier than usual through to deforested mountains. Meanwhile, in Jamaica, major cruise lines chose to divert ships to avoid maritime
mishaps during the storm, while its disaster preparedness organization pulled out all the stops to launch a hurricane watch to alert its people in case evacuation is needed to be done. On August 27, the Cayman Islands government closed down most offices to give time for its residents to prepare for the storm. Businesses came to a full stop as people boarded up their windows and roofs, using free plywood supplied by district offices. But it is in

Cuba and Louisiana where Hurricane Gustav seemed to have done the most damage. Nearly 200,000 people were evacuated as Gustav transformed into a Category 4 hurricane, destroying 90,000 homes and knocking down almost a hundred high voltage towers. Louisiana seemed to mirror these storm statistics. While Gustav
was still in Haiti, evacuations were already under way for what the New Orleans mayor called the storm of the century. Lite rally every tourism venture stopped in New Orleans, because all decks on hand were needed for what will go down in history as Louisianas biggest evacuation task force: an estimated 1.9 million people, 200,000 of which were New Orleans residents alone. Perhaps wary of a repeat of Hurricane Katrina, a concerted effort from the local government and the Louisiana National Guard transformed huge places of tourism such as the Louisiana Super Dome and the New Orleans Convention Center into emergency storm shelters. The aftermath of Hurricane Gustav has left hundreds of properties damaged, thousands dead, and hundreds of thousands homeless. Perhaps

still, these incredible statistics wont be able to paint a picture of the real devastation that has occurred in these hard-hit places tourism industry.

Lifting the travel ban would dramatically increase American tourism to Cuba.
Weissert, journalist for the Associated Press, reports in 2007. Will Weissert has written articles published in The Independent (Associated Press Writer), The Guardian, The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday. Americans flout U.S. Travel Ban to see Cuba. USA Today, 9/12/07. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2007-09-12-american-travel-to-cuba_N.htm accessed 8-23-08. //WC
The U.S. Treasury Department issued 40,308 licenses for family travel last year, almost all to Cuban Americans, and the Cuban government counts these travelers as Cubans, not Americans. Separately, Cuba said 20,100
Americans visited the country through June of this year, almost all presumably without U.S. permission. Other than family members, the U.S. government granted permission 491 times for people involved in religious, educational and humanitarian projects. Some other Americans including journalists and politicians can come without licenses, though few do. Cuba said about 37,000 Americans not of Cuban origin came in 2006 down from the more than 84,500 it reported in 2003, before the latest restrictions. The American Society of Travel Agents recently estimated that

nearly 1.8 million Americans would visit in the first three years following an end to the travel ban.

Tourism generates prostitution and subjects entire classes of women to degradation.

Facio, professor of Ethnic Studies, et al. argue in 2004. Elisa Facio is an associate professor of Ethnic Studies at UC Boulder. Maura Toro-Morn and Anne Roschelle are professors of

Sociology at Illinois State University and SUNY New Paltz, respectively. Tourism, Gender, and Globaliation: Tourism in Cuba During the Special Period. Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems: Vol. 14:119, Spring 2004. www.uiowa.edu/ifdebook/conferences/cuba/TLCP/Volume%201/Facio.pdf accessed 10-13-08. //WC
However, jineterismo has not been eliminated. In fact, our research indicated that many men employed in the tourism industry use their positions to procure prostitutes for clients. We found, for example, that if a tourist pays the hotel doorman fifty dollars he will look the other way when the guest sneaks a jinetera into the hotel. During our research, we discussed the reemerging problem of prostitution with a focus group. One young man stated that tourism is very important these days but it generates/brings about prostitution. We have to deal with it because tourism is our major source of income. For example, in Varadero they have eliminated prostitution, but what actually happened is that they [prostitutes] are more discreet.67 We asked the young men present how they felt about Cuban women being involved in prostitution. One of the men present stated, I see that [prostitution] as disastrous. Im telling you this because I have si sters, daughters, a mother, and I would not like to see any of them do it. A young, female Afro-Cuban doctor was present, and she shared the following comments with us: Here everybody does it. Here it is a lot easier to sell your body, but it is so disgusting, truly disgusting. First, because as a woman I feel bad; it is a dirty thing. I stopped going to the disco because of this reason, and I love to dance.68 Because she is Afro-Cuban, men frequently assume she is a prostitute and

approach her for sexual services. Thus, the racialization and sexualization of Afro-Cuban women, constructed by the tourist industry, subjects Afro-Cuban women who frequent tourist sites to being degraded as jineteras or prostitutes.

Prostitution is dehumanization and is not an inevitable part of the human condition.

Barry, a prominent sociologist, argues in 1996. Kathleen Barry is Professor Emerita of Penn State University. A feminist and sociologist, she is the author of Female Sexual Slavery, Prostitution of Sexuality: Global Exploitation of Women, and Susan B. Anthony: A Biography of a Singular Feminist and is now completing Expendable Lives, a new book on masculinity and war. The Prostitution of Sexuality: The Global Exploitation of Women. NYU Press, 1996, p.71. Accessed on Google Books. //WC
For women who promote prostitution, neutralization of it requires internalization of all that women who simply survive prostitution have distanced themselves from, have dissociated from themselves, going through each of the steps from distancing to disembodiment and then internalizing their opposite, treating the sex as their own spontaneous experience of it. It is the embodiment of prostitution sex even as prostitute women are disembodied while doing it. Women who experience everything from distancing to disembodiment are not rejecting that which for some few women in prostitution is accepted. As

prostitution is sexual exploitation, it harms the human self and destroys through sex, dehumanizing women. In other words, to promote the sexual servicing of others through the use of oneself, one must re-embody that which has been disembodies of the original developing self. It does not work the other way around. There is not an original, essential, embodied prostitution. To treat prostitution as if it is not sexual exploitation is to assume that sexual dehumanization is the original human condition.

Dehumanization outweighs all other impacts.

Berube, Ph.D. in Communications, argues in 1997. David, Nanotechnological Prolongevity: The Down Side, NanoTechnology Magazine, June/July 1997, p. 1-6. //WC
This means-ends dispute is at the core of Montagu and Matsous treatise on the dehumanization of humanity. They warn its destructive toll is already greater than that of any war, plague, famine, or natural calamity on record and its potential danger to the quality of life and the fabric of civilized society is beyond calculation. For that reason this sickness of the soul might well be called the Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse Behind the genocide of the Holocaust lay a dehumanized thought; beneath the genocide of deviants and dissidents in the cuckoos nest of America, lies a dehumanized image of man (Montagu & Matsou, 1983, p. xi-xii). While it may never be possible to quantify the impacts dehumanizing ethics may have had on humanity, it is safe to conclude the foundations of humanness offer great opportunities which would be foregone. When we calculate the actual losses and the virtual benefits, we approach a nearly inestimable value greater than any tools which we can currently use to

measure it. Dehumanization is nuclear war, environmental apocalypse, and international genocide.

When people become things, they become dispensable. When people are dispensable, any and every atrocity can be justified. Once justified, they seem to be inevitable for every epoch has evil and dehumanization is evils most powerful weapon.

On Case

Inherency
The People to People education program already makes travel to Cuba possible that should already solve the case by enabling American engagement with Cubans. Steinmetz, July 25th 2013 (Thomas, German travel agent and journalist, ALERT FOR US
TRAVEL AGENTS: Floodgates to Cuba are already open, eTurboNews, http://www.eturbonews.com/print/36491)
It appears as though tour operators are starting to get the hang of this People-to-People initiative, something several operators still didnt follow accordingly when it was first introduced. The People to People education program is an initiative

that requires Americans to take part in various cultural experiences in Cuba, essentially, as the name implies, putting them in direct contact with the people of Cuba with hopes of learning about the way of life in the country. It was implemented by President Clinton in 1999 and suspended by President Bush in 2004 before President Obama resurrected the program during his first term. Insight Cuba got the ball
rolling in 2011. After Insight Cuba became the first licensed operator to sell Cuba through the People-to-People initiative, other operators joined suit, including Collette Vacations, National Geographic Expeditions and International Expeditions. But

requirements were tightened last year after criticism that many of the trips were masking recreational tourism to the Communist island. Cuban-American Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida criticized the government for approving licenses for groups that included activities like salsa dancing. But even the operators who failed at their first cracks of sending clients to Cuba have refined their programs to adhere to the tighter restrictions .
Back in 2011, Globus was looking into sending U.S. clients to Cuba in 2012 on religious tours approved by the Center for Caribbean Religion and Culture. Those plans, however, were scrapped after the U.S. Department of the Treasury began cracking down on who these operators were getting their licenses from. In May, however, Globus announced that it obtained a license that allows the operator to sell Cuba legally to U.S. clients through the People-to-People initiative. And like Globus, Abercrombie & Kent USA, which had tried to enter the Cuba market in September 2011, but pulled its programs pending a review and clarification of Cuba regulations, has also been approved recently for a license through the initiative. Abercrombie & Kents inaugural departure of Cuba: People to People is September 6-15, followed by additional departures throughout 2013 and into 2014. Meanwhile, A U.S.-based tour company recently announced the launch of new People-toPeople trips to Cuba that would transport U.S. citizens there by ship. Road Scholar, a Boston-based company, is offering the trips from Jamaica and Miami, with stops in Havana and other parts of Cuba. The U.S. Treasury Department confirmed in an email that transportation "whether by bus, boat or taxi" in Cuba is

permitted as part of the People-to-People programs as long as it does not detract from a "full-time schedule of educational activities that will result in meaningful interaction between the travelers and individuals in Cuba."

Transitions
Cuba is democratic Elio Delgado Legon 3/7/12 (Elio Delgado Legon Cubas Undeniable Democracy
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=63682)
Deputies to the Peoples National Assembly do not receive any remuneration for this role. Everyone has their own paid occupat ion and performs their functions as a deputy outside of working hours. At times, if necessary, the workplace may offer some facilities for political activity. Elections in Cuba are done in stages: every two and a half years delegates are elected to local municipal assemblies, and every five years delegates are elected to the provincial assemblies and to the National Assembly. Fifty percent of the candidates for deputies are made up of delegates to municipal assemblies. In Cuba, the political system is organized so that there is no need for parties, propaganda or money to win an election. Any citizen from among the people who has prestige in the community where they live can become a deputy to the National Assembly, which is the legislature and the supreme organ of state power. Delegates are nominated by local residents during neighborhood meetings in each district of every municipality. In these elections there must be between two and eight candidates, while to be elected the winner needs to receive more than half of the eligible votes. No parties are necessary for the nomination of candidates. Every citizen has the right to nominate and be nominated, which in my opinion makes this

the best example

of democracy in the world . Elections are conducted by direct secret ballot and voter participation is more than 90 percent, even though voting is not compulsory instead, it is a right of all citizens. Representing all of the people, the deputies to the
National Assembly in turn choose the Council of State by direct and secret ballot during their first meeting after the election. This council is made up of the president, the first vice president, five vice presidents, a secretary and 23 other members. After learning about this process, can anyone say that there is no democracy in Cuba?

Tourist dollars only entrench the Castro government

Suchlicki 13 (Jaime Suchlicki, Emilio Bacardi Moreau Distinguished Professor and Director, Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami. He is the author of Cuba: From Columbus to Castro, now in its fifth edition and Mexico: From Montezuma to NAFTA, now in its second edition. What if the US ended the Cuba travel ban and the embargo, April, http://devresearchcenter.org/2013/04/12/what-if-the-u-s-ended-the-cuba-travel-ban-and-the-embargo/ ) Ending the embargo and lifting the ban for U.S. tourists to travel to Cuba would be a major concession totally out of proportion to recent changes in the island. If the U.S. were to lift the travel ban without major reforms in Cuba, there would be significant implications: Money from American tourists would flow into businesses owned by the Castro government thus strengthening state enterprises. The tourist industry is controlled by the military and General Raul Castro, Fidels brother. American tourists will have limited contact with Cubans. Most Cuban resorts are built in isolated areas, are off limits to the average Cuban, and are controlled by Cubas efficient security apparatus. Most Americans dont speak Spanish, have but limited contact with ordinary Cubans, and are not interested in visiting the island to subvert its regime. Law 88 enacted in 1999 prohibits Cubans from receiving publications from tourists. Penalties include jail terms. While providing the Castro government with much needed dollars, the economic impact of tourism on the Cuban population would be limited. Dollars will trickle down to the Cuban poor in only small quantities, while state and foreign enterprises will benefit most. Tourist dollars would be spent on products, i.e., rum, tobacco, etc., produced by state enterprises, and tourists would stay in hotels owned partially or wholly by the Cuban government. The principal airline shuffling tourists around the island, Gaviota, is owned and operated by the Cuban military. Over the past decades hundred of thousands of Canadian, European and Latin American tourists have visited the island. Cuba is not more democratic today. If anything, Cuba is more totalitarian, with the state and its control apparatus having been strengthened as a result of the influx of tourist dollars.

Tourism has zero impact on democracy Eastern Europe and all empirical studies prove Jaime Suchlicki 1/4/07 http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=26082
Emilio Bacardi Moreau Distinguised Professor and Director for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami There are a number of reasons the Cuba travel ban should not be lifted at this time: American tourists will not bring democracy to Cuba. Over the past decades hundreds of thousands of Canadian, European and Latin American tourists have visited the island. Cuba is not more democratic today. If anything, Cuba is more totalitarian, with the state and its control apparatus having been strengthened as a result of the influx of tourist dollars. The assumption that tourism or trade will lead to economic and political change is not borne out by empirical studies. In Eastern Europe, communism collapsed a decade after tourism peaked. No study of Eastern Europe or the Soviet Union claims that tourism, trade or investments had anything to do with the end of communism . A disastrous economic system, competition with the West, successive leadership changes with no legitimacy, antiSoviet feeling in Eastern Europe and the failed Soviet war in Afghanistan were among the reasons for change. There is no evidence to support the notion that engagement with a totalitarian state will bring about its demise. Only academic ideologues and those interested in economic gains cling to this notion. Their calls for ending the embargo have little to do with democracy in Cuba or the welfare of the Cuban people.

Airliners
US Airline industry is improving or is stable at most Illia 13 Damian Illia MBA is a writer for The Motley Fool Blog Network, a multimedia financial-services company
that provides financial solutions for investors through various stock, investing, and personal finance products. July 15, 2013 Flying High or Low? A Take on The Airline Industry http://beta.fool.com/damianillia/2013/07/15/flyinghigh-or-low-a-take-on-the-airline-industry/40294/
After merging with American Airlines, US

Airways has become a true competitor for Delta and United. The operation has provided US Air with better presence in the east coast market, which is the most profitable. Also, the new firm has increased its presence in Latin America, while at the same time raising competition in Europe. US Air has suffered from the last economic recession, but revenue and income were kept on the positive side. Performance is expected to improve with the recent merger, as both companies complement each other. Also, structural reforms have allowed cost reduction, and a new tax plan is expected to lessen operating losses. When looking at fundamentals, US Air is trading at five times its earnings, well below the industrys average. Operating margins remain positive, and several measures have been taken by management to keep it that way. Also, the merger has raised the firms competitiveness in both domestic and international markets. Hence, it is recommended to buy this stock because the company promises to battle competition while increasing cash volumes. Flying still Rumors about Delta's bankruptcy became a reality in 2005. Since then, Delta has continued restructuring in search of a better financial standing. Most recently, the firm closed its base in Memphis, citing higher operating costs and decreasing demand. Future prospects for Delta depend heavily on the industrys performance. Since the Great Depression, the company has increased revenue and reduced debt. Also, the firm is the leading operator in New York and Atlanta, two of the most important U.S. airports, and has heavily raised its presence at Londons Heathrow. Additionally, management holds leverage over salary negotiations since the unionization level is low. Fundamentals indicate Delta is trading at a premium similar to US Air, however, operating margin and net income are lower. Further, the firm has been consistently driving down debt and raising revenue. But, cash flow has not found a steady upward trend due to the industrys instability. In all, Delta stands at a middle ground between US Air and United, meaning the company has lower risks than United, but its fundamentals do not match. Last, the industrys short-term uncertainty requires a well-proven management team. Until management puts the firm onto a solid all around trend, it is recommended to hold shares.

Pilot retirements and shortages make collapse and decline inevitable KCCN 7/13/12 (KRIS Corpus Christi News, Airline Industry Facing Pilot Shortage,
http://www.kristv.com/news/airline-industry-facing-pilot-shortage/, Sawyer) Industry and government officials anticipate a wave of pilot retirements at U.S. airlines beginning this year. Five years ago, the FAA raised the mandatory retirement age for pilots from 60 to 65. The fifth anniversary of that decision is Dec. 13. Pilots who were age 60 on that date five years ago are reaching the age where they have to retire. Also, FAA regulations created in response to an aviation safety law passed by Congress two years ago will raise the experience threshold required to be an airline first officer from the current 250 hours of flying time to 1,500 hours, the same level as required of captains. That's expected to make it harder for airlines to find qualified new applicants. At the same time, the pool of military-trained pilots that airlines have relied upon in the past has largely dried up as more pilots choose to remain in the military rather than seek airline careers, industry officials said. That means airlines have had to rely on new hires that have accumulated their experience at
flight schools and, later, working as flight instructors at local airports and the flight schools. "The cost of getting into flying is very expensive," Davis said. "When I talk to college students, if they're coming out of a four-year collegiate (aviation) program, most of them are $150,000 to $160,000 in debt. And that only gives them the qualifications to go be a flight instructor. If you're making $20,000 a year as a flight instructor you're lucky." A shortage in the U.S. will likely first be felt at regional airlines, which tend to fly smaller airliners and hire less experienced pilots than mainline careers. A typical pilot career path is to get hired as a first officer at a regional airline, get promoted to captain and then get hired by a mainline carrier.

No net increase trades off with other Caribbean destinations

Suchlicki 13 (Jaime Suchlicki, Emilio Bacardi Moreau Distinguished Professor and Director, Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami. He is the author of Cuba: From Columbus to Castro, now in its fifth edition and Mexico: From Montezuma to NAFTA, now in its second edition. What if the US ended the Cuba travel ban and the embargo, April, http://devresearchcenter.org/2013/04/12/what-if-the-u-s-ended-the-cuba-travel-ban-and-the-embargo/ ) A large influx of American tourists into Cuba would have a dislocating effect on the economies of smaller Caribbean islands such as Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and even Florida, highly dependent on tourism for their well-being. Careful planning must take place, lest we create significant hardships and social problems in these countries.

Lifting the ban wont result in more air travel charter flights exist now. Larry Luxner, 6-5-2013, is news editor of The Washington Diplomat and editor of CubaNews,
Baltimore Post-Examiner, Cubas hope for U.S. travel boom hitting road block with charter flights declining, http://baltimorepostexaminer.com/cubas-hope-for-u-s-travel-boom-hitting-road-block-withcharter-flights-declining/2013/06/05 Yet the logistics of actually getting to Cuba from the United States are complicated. A weekly flight between Los Angeles and Havana made its last trip in early February the latest victim of a sharp reduction in U.S.-Cuba charter flights that industry officials blame on vastly overblown predictions of a boom in demand. Cuba Travel Services of Long Beach, run by Michael Zuccato, announced it had cancelled its once-a-week, nonstop flight after the chartered United jetliner returned to LAX because of a lack of
passengers. The month before, Miami-based ABC Charters and Xael Charters announced they would cancel two Tampa-to-Cuba flights. ABC shut down its weekly flight to Holgun as of Feb. 28,

to Cuba, down from nearly 60 last September. Back in more than a dozen gateway cities were authorized to offer direct charter air service to Cuba, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Pittsburgh, Fort Lauderdale, New Orleans and Tampa. But only a handful of those cities ever got Cuba-bound flights off the ground. San Juan, Puerto Rico, did have a service to Cuba but cancelled due to weak demand, and efforts to
while Xael ended its one flight to Havana per week on Feb. 14. About 45 charter flights now operate weekly from the United States 2011, launch service from BWI fell apart before they ever started.