As the health care reform battle rages, Congressman Paul points out the need to also keep paying attention to developments in foreign policy and discusses recent events that could have long-term effects.
Posted 12/22/09 3:35 PM BruceKoerber Cedar Rapids, IA
Peace and justice and prosperity are the elements of this and all talks given by Ron Paul. Whatever the future holds I can say with all my heart and with a strong intellectual desire to contribute to the education of my contemporaries, that I was alive and aware during the time when classical liberalism was revitalized by Ron Paul!
It's clear I have been schooled at the feet of Ron Paul because I had the same reaction when I read the account of the dispute between Iraq and Iran over the oil well on Drudge the other day. Scary.
I met with Doug Turner who is running for Governor here in New Mexico today and my first suggestion was that he propose secession if he is elected. Doug ran Gary Johnson's campaign and they think alike. States must exercise their power of nullification, and soon.
The mighty U.S. Government is nothing more than a Pillsbury Dough Boy of weak old men and woman with the power to make money out of nothing and kill indiscrimantly.
Why people are putting up with its antics is a matter of being uninformed.
The message of freedom is being heard.
Posted 12/24/09 10:44 PM jmboyle21 salt lake city, UT
“When goods don’t cross borders, soldiers will”
French classical liberal theorist Frederick Bastiat (recently quoted on internet, sorry can’t remember where)
“Sanctions are an act of war!”
Ron Paul
Anyone who condones sanctions on Iran should also recognize any Iranian based military actions in response to those sanctions are retaliation not instigation. America makes nukes. We also violate all kinds of international laws and harbor exceptions to the nonproliferation treaty. If another nation told the world they would persecute anyone that trades with us on our most profitable commodities (possibly could have been a sentiment when our debt became our primary export) we would consider it an act of war.
Furthermore, Israel never signed the nuclear nonproliferation treaty and is responsible for many human rights violations over the last decades. Iran, far from the shining example of freedom we claim to idolize, has not refined uranium passed peaceful concentrations.
I believe that there will be war in Iran soon. The rhetoric of our politicians lets me know that it is a distinct possibility. Our politicians are driven by fear and their language is that of advance playground bullies. Remember, no one ever felt bad about a bully getting his just rewards. So don’t start crying when the rest of the world giggles.
I do not watch TV but I get the news. Who are we trying to fight again? I guess that depends on where you are talking about. Right now I am thinking of the proposed sanctions on Iran. Who are they intended to hurt?
I have a proposal!
Mind our own business is always an option. But that is not likely to happen. The bully does not sit in the corner willingly. It is the unintended consequences that tell the stories of history. We, America and the UN, put sanctions on Iraq in the nineties in the middle of high religious tension. Many tribes not in good standing with Saddams regime were living without any government welfare (i.e. through trade and work, not oil profits). When the sanctions were placed these were the people that suffered most. The numbers dyeing from malnutrition were astounding and the price of food made it only affordable through high status jobs. I think you get the jest of it. Who are they supposed to blame? The people that never gave them anything or the people that took from them everything. It should be clearly understood that popular sentiment is the most important factor when it comes to cultural discourse, like war. “The worst deeds are often done with the greatest intentions.”
If there is any confusion about the historical events I can provide references. Watching the interview with Madeline Albright on 60 min late in the Clinton administration is insightful (should be available on YouTube). To give you a sense of the sentiment of the Middle East prior to 9.11 this was one of the most played news clips from the east, almost three years after the interview. (I cannot find exact reference to this but also cannot find any objections. Let me know if you find anything to the contrary)
Contrary to what the media says, I think the easy part is coming up with other options. The hard part is interrupting the ideas put onto us by our media and government.
Remember the cost of war. Reputation as a nation, Monetary (continues till all fighting soldiers are dead, the monetary cost of WWII continues), and cultural (probably the most destructive aspect of war). We are short on all these resources. Even with all the will, how are we to fight the world without losing what is left of this nation in the process?
Of course many in the media keep suggesting the worst is over for us financially. The numerous people that predicted the crash of the dot com bubble and then again predicted the crash of the housing bubble seem to agree it is going to get worse. There will be another bubble, but it will be less lucrative and shorter lived. Then what? Eventually the market will correct itself, and in a highly competitive world economy I don’t feel that fairs well for Americans, in general.
So instead of starting war with Iran, I propose we have an hour of silence. All the people in America come to the center of their closest town and have a moment of silence for the thousands of children that died in Iraq because military units did not let food through due to UN sanctions. I believe they would pay attention to us unlike when thousands of Iranians took to the streets of Tiran for a candle lit ceremony to mourn the dead of 9.11 and Americans took no notice. But the only way to find out is impossible. So we should not try my method and instead start yet another war and breed a whole new class of hatred.
If we put sanctions on Iran the rich will not suffer.
If I am wrong we will know here shortly, but remember that the bottom 90% in third world counties live off of a small percentage of the wealth. This is the wealth that will be cut off first. I think this is the beginning of a much more competitive age and I think we are better off being friends with the Middle East and South America than Europe and China if we cannot get along with everyone.
Posted 12/25/09 05:02 AM mysticgeek Pelican Rapids, MN
Correct in everything you said as usual. It's rather interesting how many important issues and other news is going on but the MSM creates huge distractions and avoids it.
There is a distinct difference between policy and action. The world is at arms length now in the respect of how policy differences are immediately felt through actions.
There is a need for common understanding among nations where law is concerned. What policy can ignore any act by any government that directly affects people not under their immediate concern? First assumption is a government is responding to the needs of its' constituents as we expect ours to under the restrictions we place upon it with our constitution. Since we know our government does not stay within its' bounds and routinely makes policy completely opposite the intended effect of having a constitutional limit, respecting the obvious need for secrecy when a "level playing field" is required and military functioning as efficiently as possible require it, how can we justly expect any other nation or people to respect our law? The constitution is not just our protection from our own would be rulers it is also the promise to all others that we as a people can be trusted to hold our government accountable. As a nation we ought to know that when our own laws are broken that the entire world sees the illegal act and ought to fear the consequences as much if not more than we should.
To have a foreign policy we must first have a policy at home.
That we are at the whim of a triumvirate with absolutely no respect for the constitution and which has shown its' will to obstruct the path to the courts for those seeking to bring obedience to the law is by no stretch of the imagination the will of the people. If any piece of their actions were legitimate there would be an appeal to the people to amend the law of the land to gain the desired effect. That has not occurred and in fact the legislators have knowingly taken the step of legislating amendments as if they had the power. The excuses made are childish and by design are a distraction from the true nature of the course they have set upon. Tyranny is the object they evince.
With tyrants at our helm is there any reason a foreign policy ought not be feared ?
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—Thomas Jefferson
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