Committee Ppoossiittiioonn Ppaappeerrss

DISARMAMENT AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY COMMITTEE PPOOSSIITTIIOONN PPAAPPEERRSS Committee: Disarmament and International Security Country: Afghanistan Delegate: Kevin Tamerler The Taliban Ladies and Gentlemen of the Disarmament and International Security, I am honored to be asked to speak on a topic so closely linked to my own country, and would like to thank the council for recognizing this grave threat to my nation's very existence. And I would like to begin by singling out two among your number for special recognition: two permanent members of the Security Council: Russia and the United States. Many of your governments and your people would like to say that the Taliban are an Afghani problem that necessitates an Afghani solution. Perhaps they are right in some respects, but first I would like to give you a history lesson. Two decades ago, Afghanistan was a puppet state of the USSR, of Russia. A handful of Afghani patriots, many of them ardent Muslims, tried to fight off the might of the atheistic superpower. The CIA, ever opportunistic to be one up on the Russians, chose to support these zealots, sending millions of dollars of equipment and training aid, much of it filtered through Pakistan. The free nations of the world applauded as this scrappy band of freedom fighters defeated the military juggernaut that was Russia, leading to the end of the Cold War, bringing freedom to Eastern Europe. Indeed, one could even say that my people's blood was shed for the sake of your democracies. After the victory, the CIA lost interest in us. We were no longer any use to them, so they simply let us be. Chaos soon reigned. In one small province, a group of former soldiers of the Communist puppet state, finding themselves with force but nothing better to do, bedeviled the local population. The soldiers raped two young girls, and the populace came up in arms, lead by a tall, fiery, one eyed local teacher named Omar. He began with only 30 men and sixteen rifles, they called themselves his students, his Talib, the Taliban. He brought stability to a war-torn nation, crushed the Warlords and allowed people to begin to build a new life after the destruction visited upon by the proxies of the Superpowers. Now, I am not denying that the Taliban are a vicious, extremist force. They bring a form of law not endorsed by the Quran, harsher even than the writings they profess to believe allow. They bring violence to fellow believers as well as to those they see as invaders. I will not argue that the Taliban are a force for good, they are not. What I will argue is that if the west wishes to be free of the Taliban, if they wish there to be freedom in Afghanistan, then they must attack the disease, not the symptoms. NATO today wants to do what the CIA did twenty years ago: get the enemy that threatens them, then cut and run. That lead to the cancerous growth that ultimately brought terror to your cities. What you must do is bring the people of Afghanistan, those who may one day become Talib, to a place where they no longer are faced with the choice between joining the Taliban and death. If the choice they face is religious fundamentalism or starvation, fundamentalism or anarchy, fundamentalism or a corrupt western puppet, fundamentalism or drug dealers; then dignity will allow only one option. The Aghans are a proud people who will never submit to the ignominy of being a narco-state, or to colonialism, or to slow starvation and death. They will fight, and if the only option you give them is Mullah Omar then by God they will fight for Mullah Omar. You, the peoples of the world, especially the ones who created these deplorable conditions, who fermented the dark liquor of the Taliban, need to create a world in which they have a future to fight for. An economic future in which starvation and poverty will be a distant memory, a political future of democracy, free speech and justice, and a future free from the fear that choosing the wrong side in a coin-flip could mean death. Committee: Disarmament and International Security Country: Afghanistan Delegate: Kevin Tamerler Cybercrime The attack by Israel upon our neighbor Iran should not be tolerated any more than such an attack would be tolerated had they achieved their aims by bombs and missiles. Look for a moment at the permanent members of the security council: Britain, America, France, Russia, and China. What do they all have in common? They were the first five countries to have nuclear arms. Now, what does this tell us? All countries are supposedly equal in the view of the United Nations, yet these five are more equal than others. What does this show us? It shows us that a nations concerns can only be taken seriously if it possesses nuclear weapons and the will to use them. The case of China is particularly instructive: at first they tried to prevent China from obtaining them, but when presented with a Fait Accompli the free world instead embraced China, giving them power and influence that was at the time completely out of line with their isolationist policies and economic stagnation. Now, what example have you set for the developing nations of the world? If you try to get nuclear weapons, we will try and stop you, but if you get them despite us, then you can come into the clubhouse. Why, then, are we shocked when nations like Iran and North Korea seek Nuclear weapons? Why are we shocked at all that everyone wants the miracle of Nuclear Power for their impoverished people? The reason I have digressed so far, is to bring home a powerful point: Cybercrime is crime, cyber attacks are attacks. In this increasingly digital world, the threat of destroying a nations infrastructure, it's economy, and it's military targets is a grave one, and not to be taken lightly. I propose to the security council that we undertake an investigation into the source of the attack on the Iranians, and when we find what Nation is responsible we hold them no less liable then we would if they had done their bloody work with bombs and bayonets. In this world there is no line between a cyber attack and a real attack. The danger of cybercrime is increased greatly because it does not depend on military, political, or economic might to attempt such an attack. Any nation, or even a non-centralized network such as the Taliban or Al Qaeda with the necessary knowledge could execute such an attack. The danger of such a group virtually shutting down the modern world is deadly. Imagine the economic chaos that could ensue if the global stock markets were shut down for even a day. For this reason, it is critical that the security council take a strong stand against cybercrime now. Do not allow the obvious perpetrators of this crime to escape with no consequences. Many on this council find the aim of preventing a Nuclear Iran an honorable one, and there are arguments to be had there. However, to allow such a blatant attack upon and infringement of a Nation's sovereignty is tantamount to overturning every founding principle of this organization. Do the delegates wish to trample upon the sacrosanct principles of nonaggression? I think not. Delegation: The African Union Committee: Disarmament and International Security Committee Topic A: The Taleban The African Union is highly concerned about the activities of the Taleban. Its direct involvement in the sheltering of Osama bin Laden and other militant Islamic groups, large-scale drug trafficking and treatment of women very strictly have become some of the pressing world issues calling for international security. The group has weakened the resolve of the international community and increased recruitment to the insurgency. Through its influence, the Taleban has disengaged the Afghan population from the Afghan government and international efforts; limiting the engagement and effectiveness of policies and agreements established to help the country. A continent plagued with similar problems, the African Union fully grasps the severity of such extremist activities. We strongly discourage acts of terrorism. In support of the Security Council, we condemn allowing Afghanistan to be used as a base for the export of terrorism and for providing safe haven to extremists. Drawing a parallel to attacks by the al-Shabaab in Somalia, we believe that collaborative efforts by member states to establish a firm control of the situation is necessary to diminish the capabilities of the group. A higher level of security is also required to minimize negative spillover effects to regional countries; threats to attack Kenya from the Al-Shabaab has resulted in embassies issuing travel alerts, adversely affecting tourism in our region’s biggest economy. To quote from Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, “Let us now act in concert and we’ll sweep them from Africa”. The African Union believes it is pertinent that the Disarmament and International Security Committee continue its role in promoting dialogue among the parties involved; we see an important development in the 2010 secret peace talks initiated by Taliban commanders. The fact that it took place suggests that some Taliban members were prepared to put faith in an international organization to broker a deal to end the nine-year war. In addition, the fight against terrorist activities of the Taleban naturally concerns the regional countries, and Pakistan is clearly a key stakeholder in this issue. It is imperative that the committee hold direct talks with the Pakistanis on the issues of drug trafficking and extremist activities.

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