|
2005 Ron Paul Chapter 30
Not linked on Ron Paul’s Congressional website.
Congressional Record [.PDF]
Consequences Of Foreign Policy — Part 1
16 March 2005
Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself
such time as I may consume.
(Mr. PAUL asked and was given permission
to revise and extend his remarks.)
2005 Ron Paul 30:1
Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, I have taken the time in opposition to this resolution
not so much to object to the well-
intended notions of the gentlewoman
and the promotion of freedom and liberty.
It is just that I do not think this
is going to achieve it. As a matter of
fact, when we pursue resolutions like
this and a more aggressive foreign policy
of telling other countries what to
do, I see it as more of a threat to our
security rather than helping our security.
2005 Ron Paul 30:2
I, for one, would admit I personally do not know what is best for the Lebanese
and the Syrians, the Iraqis, or
anybody else in the region; but I would
argue the case that traditionally in
this country up until probably the past
100 years, we took a different position
on foreign policy. We took a position of
nonintervention, one where we strived
for neutrality, and we argued the case
that we did not have any business in
the internal affairs of other nations.
No matter how well intended, there always
seem to be ramifications. There
seem to be unintended consequences.
There seems to be a condition called
“blow-back,” where it comes back and
ends up where we suffer more than anybody
else.
2005 Ron Paul 30:3
For instance, we are in Iraq right now with all these good intentions. We
have been there for a couple of years.
We have spent over $200 billion, and
this week they came out with a survey
and they talked about the most dangerous
city in the world and where security
is the worst, and that city is not
Beirut.
2005 Ron Paul 30:4
In the last 2 years, every one of us would have rather have been in Beirut
than we would have been in Iraq. And
yet we have 140,000 troops there protecting
the Iraqis and promoting freedom
and liberty and elections, and it
sounds good. But I think if we are honest
with ourselves, the results are not
nearly as wonderful as we would like
them to be.
2005 Ron Paul 30:5
The other thing that concerns me is that we lose credibility when we talk
about what we want and what we will
impose on other nations, because when
we are claiming that the Lebanese cannot
possibly have elections with the
presence of foreign troops, at the same
time we daily hear the bragging about
the great election in Iraq where we had
these 140,000 troops and total martial
law in order for an election to take
place. I am all for the elections, and I
am a strong supporter of self-determination;
but I do not correlate that
with our policies.
2005 Ron Paul 30:6
We saw demonstrations, first a little at a demonstration orchestrated in
support of getting Syria out of Lebanon,
and then there was a response to
that where 500,000 showed up supporting
Hezbollah claiming they supported
Syria, and then of course following
that there was a much bigger
demonstration. So the people have had
freedom to express themselves. But the
one thing about all the demonstrations,
we never saw a sign that said,
America, come save us, come in here,
tell us what to do, tell us what to do
with our elections. They have had elections
going on for you in Lebanon
without any violence directed against
Syrian troops as we see daily in Iraq.
They have an election coming up in
May. It has been scheduled all along. It
is not like they have been avoiding
them.
2005 Ron Paul 30:7
We complain a lot about the Syrians being there, and if I have a personal
preference, since I believe in self-determination,
I would have the troops out
just as I would have our troops out of
most other places. But I would have
foreign troops out of the Golan
Heights. Why are we so excited about
the Syrian troops, who were invited by
the Lebanese Government? Why are we
not excited about foreign troops in the
Golan Heights and in the over 100 countries
where that we have troops?
2005 Ron Paul 30:8
So I think we lose credibility. I think the Arab people just laugh at us and
say, oh, yes, they are for these wonderful
elections, and they have got to get
these troops out; and at the same time
we have troops all over the place.
2005 Ron Paul 30:9
The Syrians went into Lebanon in 1976, and if we go back and look at history,
it was at the urging of the Government
of the United States because
there was about to be an election. And
at that time, it was perceived that the
election would undermine the minorities,
the Christians and the Druse. So,
therefore, it was in our interest at that
time to interfere with the election, just
as we have interfered so many times
since then over the world.
2005 Ron Paul 30:10
Just think of the elected leader in 1953 in Iran, the elected leader,
Mossadeq. But he did not follow what
we wanted him to do with regards to
oil. So what did we do? We sent in the
CIA. We overthrew him, and then we
had our puppet government, the Shah,
for 25 years, which did nothing more
than provide fodder for the radicals,
and we radicalized the ayatollahs
against us.
2005 Ron Paul 30:11
In a conversation with a veteran of the CIA, an expert in this region, he explained,
at least he sincerely believed,
that we did a tremendous favor for
Osama bin Laden, and that is to go
into Iraq, expose ourselves, and then
create the chaos of Iraq. Where there
was no al Qaeda before, it is now a
haven for al Qaeda.
2005 Ron Paul 30:12
It has served as a recruiting ground for al Qaeda. So no matter how well
the intentions are, we should look at
the conclusions; what finally happens.
2005 Ron Paul 30:13
Our problem very simply comes from the violation of the basic principle that
we should follow, and that is that we
should be friends with nations and
trade with nations, and that we should
be neutral in foreign affairs, because it
does not serve our interests. It costs a
lot of money and it costs a lot of credibility
and it costs a lot of lives.
2005 Ron Paul 30:14
Just think of what the interference in Iraq has cost us: Over 1,500 men; over
11,000 battle casualties, with another
9,000 sent home because of illness; and
over $200 billion. And there is no end in
sight. Today we had to pass another $82
billion, which was not put into the
budget, to continue this process. My
argument is it comes not because we
make a misjudgment, not that this resolution
is simply a misjudgment of the
day; it just is that is part of the
misjudgments that we have made now
for many, many decades in overall foreign
policy.
2005 Ron Paul 30:15
It is fully endorsed. The American people certainly have not been up in
arms about it and have endorsed it,
along with the large majority in the
Congress. But long term it does not
work. Just look how long the American
people supported Vietnam, until finally
they had to throw up their arms and
demand an end to the senseless war.
2005 Ron Paul 30:16
But, ultimately, not only do the people get very angry and upset and frustrated
with the loss of life, there are
economic limitations to this as well,
and that is something that I do not
think anybody here hardly pays any
attention to; that is how long can we
continue to spend this money and not
have this come back to really haunt us
economically? The 1960s came back to
haunt us in the 1970s, and the basic financial
condition of this country is
much worse than it was in the 1970s.
Yet there is no hesitation.
2005 Ron Paul 30:17
I see resolutions like this as not restraint, but encouragement, without
looking back and seeing how we participated
in contributing to the problems
that we have in the Middle East.
So I am making the suggestion, why do
we not think about overall policy with
consistency, and think almost what is
in our best interests?
I would like to read a quote from
Ronald Reagan, because he was involved
in Lebanon and our government
was involved in the early 1980s. In his
memoirs he admits it was a serious
mistake, and we ought to take advice
from Ronald Reagan on what he said
about his misadventure in Lebanon. We
were in there in 1983. This is what he
writes in his memoirs several years
later.
2005 Ron Paul 30:18
“Perhaps we didn’t appreciate fully
enough the depth of the hatred and
complexity of the problems that made
the Middle East such a jungle. Perhaps
the idea of a suicide car bomber committing
mass murder to gain instant
entry into paradise was so foreign to
our own values and consciousness that
it did not create in us the concern for
the Marines’ safety that it should
have.”
2005 Ron Paul 30:19
Further quoting Ronald Reagan,
“In the weeks immediately after the bombing,
I believed the last thing we should
do was turn tail and leave . . . yet, the
irrationality of Middle Eastern politics
forced us to rethink our policies
there.”
2005 Ron Paul 30:20
He concluded with advising us to stay clear. I would like to suggest that
I believe that is pretty good advice.
2005 Ron Paul 30:21
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
| |
