The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a
previous order of the House, the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. PAUL) is recognized
for 5 minutes.
1999 Ron Paul 115:1 Mr. PAUL.
Mr. Speaker, demonstrators
are once again condemning America
in a foreign city. This time, it is in
Kabul, Afghanistan. Shouting
“Death to America,”
burning our flag, and setting
off bombings, the demonstrators
express their hatred toward America.
1999 Ron Paul 115:2 The United States has just placed
sanctions on yet another country to
discipline those who do not obey our
commands. The nerve of them. Do they
not know we are the most powerful Nation
in the world and we have to meet
our responsibilities? They should do as
we say and obey our CIA directives.
1999 Ron Paul 115:3 This process is not new. It has been
going on for 50 years, and it has
brought us grief and multiplied our enemies.
Can one only imagine what the
expression of hatred might be if we
were not the most powerful Nation in
the world?
1999 Ron Paul 115:4 Our foreign policy of military interventionism
has brought us death and
destruction to many foreign lands and
loss of life for many Americans. From
Korea and Vietnam to Serbia, Iran,
Iraq and now Afghanistan, we have
ventured far from our shores in search
of wars to fight. Instead of more free
trade with our potential adversaries,
we are quick to slap on sanctions that
hurt American exports and help to solidify
the power of the tyrants, while
seriously penalizing innocent civilians
in fomenting anti-America hatred.
1999 Ron Paul 115:5 The most current anti-American
demonstrations in Kabul were understandable
and predictable. Our one-time
ally, Osama bin Laden, when he
served as a freedom fighter against the
Soviets in Afghanistan and when we
bombed his Serbian enemies while siding
with his friends in Kosovo, has not
been fooled and knows that his cause
cannot be promoted by our fickle policy.
1999 Ron Paul 115:6 Sanctions are one thing, but seizures
of bank assets of any related business
to the Taliban government infuriates
and incites the radicals to violence.
There is no evidence that this policy
serves the interests of world peace. It
certainly increases the danger to all
Americans as we become the number
one target of terrorists. Conventional
war against the United States is out of
the question, but acts of terrorism,
whether it is the shooting down of a civilian
airliner or bombing a New York
City building, are almost impossible to
prevent in a reasonably open society.
1999 Ron Paul 115:7 Likewise, the bombings in Islamabad
and possibly the U.N. plane crash in
Kosovo are directly related to our meddling
in the internal affairs of these nations.
1999 Ron Paul 115:8 General Musharraf’s successful coup
against Prime Minister Sharif of Pakistan
was in retaliation for America’s
interference with Sharif’s handling of
the Pakistan-India border war. The recent
bombings in Pakistan are a clear
warning to Musharraf that he, too,
must not submit to U.S.-CIA directives.
1999 Ron Paul 115:9 I see this as a particularly dangerous
time for a U.S. president to be traveling
to this troubled region, since so
many blame us for the suffering,
whether it is the innocent victims in
Kosovo, Serbia, Iraq, or Afghanistan. It
is hard for the average citizen of these
countries to understand why we must
be so involved in their affairs, and resort
so readily to bombing and boycotts
in countries thousands of miles
away from our own.
1999 Ron Paul 115:10 Our foreign policy is deeply flawed
and does not serve our national security
interest. In the Middle East, it has
endangered some of the moderate Arab
governments and galvanized Muslim
militants.
1999 Ron Paul 115:11 The recent military takeover of
Pakistan and the subsequent anti-American demonstration in Islamabad
should not be ignored. It is time we in
Congress seriously rethink our role in
the region and in the world. We ought
to do more to promote peace and trade
with our potential enemies, rather
than resorting to bombing and sanctions.
Note:
1999 Ron Paul 115:2
The nerve of them. Do they not know we are the most powerful Nation in the world and we have to meet our responsibilities? They should do as we say and obey our CIA directives. Here, Ron Paul is probably being sarcastic, mocking
people who hold the view he speaks.
