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2005 Ron Paul Chapter 95
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HON. RON PAUL OF TEXAS
BEFORE THE US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 8, 2005
Why We Fight
2005 Ron Paul 95:1
Many reasons have been given for why we fight and our
youth must die in Iraq.
The reasons
now given for why we must continue this war bear no resemblance to the
reasons
given to gain the support of the American people and the United States
Congress
prior to our invasion in March of 2003.
Before
the war, we were told we faced an imminent threat to our national
security from
Saddam Hussein.
This rationale, now
proven grossly mistaken, has been changed. Now we’re told we must honor
the
fallen by “completing the mission.”
To do
otherwise would demean the sacrifice of those who have
died or been wounded.
Any lack of
support for “completing the mission” is said, by the promoters of the
war,
to be unpatriotic, un-American, and detrimental to the troops.
They insist the only way one can support the troops is to never
waver on
the policy of nation building, no matter how ill-founded that policy
may be.
The obvious flaw in this argument is that the mission, of which
they so
reverently speak, has changed constantly from the very beginning.
2005 Ron Paul 95:2
Though most people think this war started in March of
2003, the seeds were sown many years before.
The actual military conflict, involving U.S. troops against
Iraq, began
in January 1991.
The prelude to
this actually dates back over a hundred years, when the value of Middle
East oil
was recognized by the industrialized West.
2005 Ron Paul 95:3
Our use of troops to eject Saddam Hussein from Kuwait was
the beginning of the current conflict with Muslim fundamentalists who
have been,
for the last decade, determined to force the removal of American troops
from all
Muslim countries-- especially the entire Arabian Peninsula, which they
consider
holy.
Though the strategic and
historic reasons for our involvement in the Middle East are complex,
the
immediate reasons given in 2002 and 2003 for our invasion of Iraq were
precise.
The only problem is they were not based on facts.
2005 Ron Paul 95:4
The desire by American policymakers to engineer regime
change in Iraq had been smoldering since the first Persian Gulf
conflict in
1991.
This reflected a dramatic
shift in our policy, since in the 1980s we maintained a friendly
alliance with
Saddam Hussein as we assisted him in his war against our arch nemesis,
the
Iranian Ayatollah.
Most Americans
ignore that we provided assistance to this ruthless dictator with
biological and
chemical weapons technology.
We
heard no complaints in the 1980s about his treatment of the Kurds and
Shiites,
or the ruthless war he waged against Iran.
Our policy toward Iraq played a major role in convincing Saddam
Hussein
he had free reign in the Middle East, and the results demonstrate the
serious
shortcomings of our foreign policy of interventionism that we have
followed now
for over a hundred years.
2005 Ron Paul 95:5
In 1998 Congress capitulated to the desires of the
Clinton administration and overwhelmingly passed the Iraq Liberation
Act, which
stated quite clearly that our policy was to get rid of Saddam Hussein.
This act made it official: “The policy of the United States to
support
efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein.”
This resolution has been cited on numerous occasions by
neo-conservatives
as justification for the pre-emptive, deliberate invasion of Iraq.
When the resolution was debated, I saw it as a significant step
toward a
war that would bear no good fruit.
No
legitimate national security concerns were cited for this dramatic and
serious
shift in policy.
2005 Ron Paul 95:6
Shortly after the new administration took office in
January 2001, this goal of eliminating Saddam Hussein quickly morphed
into a
policy of remaking the entire Middle East, starting with regime change
in Iraq.
This aggressive interventionist policy surprised some people,
since the
victorious 2000 campaign indicated we should pursue a foreign policy of
humility, no nation building, reduced deployment of our forces
overseas, and a
rejection of the notion that we serve as world policemen.
The 9/11 disaster proved a catalyst to push for invading Iraq
and
restructuring the entire Middle East.
Though
the plan had existed for years, it quickly was recognized that the fear
engendered by the 9/11 attacks could be used to mobilize the American
people and
Congress to support this war.
Nevertheless,
supposedly legitimate reasons had to be given for the already planned
pre-emptive war, and as we now know the “intelligence had to be fixed
to the
policy.”
2005 Ron Paul 95:7
Immediately after 9/11 the American people were led to
believe that Saddam Hussein somehow was responsible for the attacks.
The fact that Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden were enemies,
not
friends, was kept from the public by a compliant media and a lazy
Congress.
Even today many Americans still are convinced of an alliance
between the
two.
The truth is Saddam Hussein
never permitted al Qaeda into Iraq out of fear that his secular
government would
be challenged.
And yet today we
find that al Qaeda is now very much present in Iraq, and causing chaos
there.
2005 Ron Paul 95:8
The administration repeatedly pumped out alarming propaganda that Saddam
Hussein was a threat to us with his weapons of mass destruction,
meaning
nuclear, biological, and chemical.
Since
we helped Saddam Hussein obtain biological and chemical weapons in the
1980s, we
assumed that he had maintained a large supply-- which of course turned
out not
to be true.
The people, frightened
by 9/11, easily accepted these fear-mongering charges.
2005 Ron Paul 95:9
Behind the scenes many were quite aware that Israel’s
influence on our foreign policy played a role. She had argued for
years, along
with the neo-conservatives, for an Iraqi regime change.
This support was nicely coordinated with the Christian Zionists’
enthusiasm for the war.
2005 Ron Paul 95:10
As these reasons for the war lost credibility and
support, other reasons were found for why we had to fight.
As the lone superpower, we were told we had a greater
responsibility to settle the problems of the world lest someone else
gets
involved.
Maintaining and expanding
our empire is a key element of the neo-conservative philosophy.
This notion that we must fight to spread American goodness was
well
received by these neo-Jacobins.
They
saw the war as a legitimate moral crusade, arguing that no one should
be allowed
to stand in our way!
In their minds
using force to spread democracy is legitimate and necessary.
2005 Ron Paul 95:11
We also were told the war was necessary for national
security purposes because of the threat Saddam Hussein presented,
although the
evidence was fabricated.
Saddam
Hussein’s ability to attack us was non-existent, but the American
people were
ripe for alarming predictions by those who wanted this war.
2005 Ron Paul 95:12
Of course the routine canard for our need to fight,
finance, and meddle around the world ever since the Korean War was
repeated
incessantly: UN Resolutions had to be enforced lest the United Nations
be
discredited.
The odd thing was that
on this occasion the United Nations itself did everything possible to
stop our
pre-emptive attack.
And as it
turned out, Saddam Hussein was a lot closer to compliance than anyone
dreamed.
It wasn’t long before concern for the threat of Saddam Hussein
became
near hysterical, drowning out any reasoned opposition to the planned
war.
2005 Ron Paul 95:13
The one argument that was not publicly used by those who
propagandized for the war may well be the most important-- oil.
Though the administration in 1990 hinted briefly that we had to
eject
Saddam Hussein from Kuwait because of oil, the stated reasons for that
conflict
soon transformed into stopping a potential Hitler and enforcing UN
resolutions.
2005 Ron Paul 95:14
Publicly oil is not talked about very much, but behind
the scenes many acknowledge this is the real reason we fight.
This is not only the politicians who say this.
American consumers have always enjoyed cheap gasoline and want
it kept
that way.
The real irony is that the war
has reduced Iraqi oil
production by one-half million barrels per day and prices are soaring--
demonstrating another unintended economic consequence of war.
2005 Ron Paul 95:15
Oil in the Middle East has been a big issue since the
industrial revolution, when it was realized that the black substance
bubbling
out of the ground in places like Iraq had great value.
It’s interesting to note that in the early 20
th
century
Germany, fully aware of oil’s importance, allied itself with the
Turkish
Ottoman Empire and secured the earliest rights to drill Iraqi oil.
They built the Anatalia railroad between
Baghdad and Basra,
and obtained oil and mineral rights on twenty kilometers on each side
of this
right-of-way.
World War I changed
all this, allowing the French and the British to divide the oil wealth
of the
entire Middle East.
2005 Ron Paul 95:16
The Versailles Treaty created the artificial nation of
Iraq, and it wasn’t long before American oil companies were drilling
and
struggling to participate in the control of Middle East oil.
But it was never smooth sailing for any occupying force in Iraq.
After WWI, the British generals upon arriving to secure “their”
oil
said:
“Our armies do not come
into your cities and lands as conquerors or enemies, but as liberators.”
Not long afterward a jihad was declared
against Britain and
eventually they were forced to leave.
The
more things change, the more they stay the same!
Too bad we are not better at studying history.
2005 Ron Paul 95:17
After World War II the U.S. emerged as the #1 world
power, and moved to assume what some believed was our responsibility to
control
Middle East oil in competition with the Soviets.
This
role prompted us to use our CIA, along with the help of
the British, to oust democratically elected Mohammed Mosadeh from power
in Iran
and install the Shah as a U.S. puppet.
2005 Ron Paul 95:18
We not only supported Saddam Hussein against Iran, we
also supported Osama bin Laden in the 1980s-- aggravating the situation
in the
Middle East and causing unintended consequences.
With CIA assistance we helped develop the educational program to
radicalize Islamic youth in many Arab nations, especially in Saudi
Arabia to
fight the Soviets.
We even provided
a nuclear reactor to Iran in 1967-- which today leads us to threaten
another
war.
All of this has come back to
haunt us.
Meddling in the affairs
of others has consequences.
2005 Ron Paul 95:19
Finally, after years of plotting and maneuvering, the
neo-conservative plan to invade Iraq came before the U.S. House in
October 2002
to be rubber-stamped.
Though the
plan was hatched years before, and the official policy of the United
States
government was to remove Saddam Hussein ever since 1998, various events
delayed
the vote until this time.
By
October the vote was deemed urgent, so as to embarrass anyone who
opposed it.
This would make them politically vulnerable in the November
election.
The ploy worked.
The
resolution passed easily, and it served the interests of proponents of
war in
the November election.
2005 Ron Paul 95:20
The resolution, HJ RES 114, explicitly cited the Iraqi Liberation Act of 1998 as
one of the reasons we had to go to war.
The
authorization granted the President to use force against Iraq cited two
precise
reasons:
2005 Ron Paul 95:21
1.
“To defend the national security of the U.S. against the
continuing
threat posed by Iraq and”
2005 Ron Paul 95:22
2.
“Enforce all relevant United Nations Council resolutions
regarding
Iraq.”
2005 Ron Paul 95:23
Many other reasons were given to stir the emotions of the
American public and the U.S. Congress, reasons that were grossly
misleading and
found not to be true. The pretense of a legal justification was a
sham.
2005 Ron Paul 95:24
The fact that Congress is not permitted under the
Constitution to transfer the war power to a president was ignored. Only
Congress
can declare war, if we were inclined to follow the rule of law.
To add insult to injury, HJ RES 114 cited United Nations
resolutions as
justifications for the war.
Ignoring
the Constitution while using the UN to justify the war showed callous
disregard
for the restraints carefully written in the Constitution.
The authors deliberately wanted to make war difficult to enter
without
legislative debate, and they purposely kept the responsibility out of
the hands
of the executive branch.
Surely
they never dreamed an international government would have influence
over our
foreign policy or tell us when we should enter into armed conflict.
2005 Ron Paul 95:25
The legal maneuvering to permit this war was tragic to
watch, but the notion that Saddam Hussein-- a third world punk without
an air
force, navy, and hardly an army or any anti-aircraft weaponry-- was an
outright
threat to the United States six thousand miles away, tells you how
hysterical
fear can be used to pursue a policy of needless war for quite different
reasons.
2005 Ron Paul 95:26
Today, though, all the old reasons for going to war have
been discredited, and are no longer used to justify continuing the war.
Now we are told we must “complete the mission,” and yet no one
seems
to know exactly what the mission is or when it can be achieved.
By contrast, when war is properly declared against a country we
can
expect an all-out effort until the country surrenders.
Without a declaration of war as the Constitution requires, it’s
left to
the President to decide when to start the war and when the war is over.
We had sad experiences with this process in Korea and especially
in
Vietnam.
2005 Ron Paul 95:27
Pursuing this war merely to save face, or to claim it’s
a way to honor those who already have died or been wounded, is hardly a
reason
that more people should die.
We’re
told that we can’t leave until we have a democratic Iraq.
But what if Iraq votes to have a Shiite theocracy, which it
looks like the majority wants as their form of government-- and women,
Christians, and Sunnis are made second-class citizens?
It’s a preposterous notion and it points out the severe
shortcomings of
a democracy where a majority rules and minorities suffer.
2005 Ron Paul 95:28
Thankfully, our founding fathers understood the great
dangers of a democracy. They insisted on a constitutional republic with
a weak
central government and an executive branch beholden to the legislative
branch in
foreign affairs.
The sooner we
realize we can’t afford this war the better.
We’ve gotten ourselves into a civil war within the Islamic
community.
2005 Ron Paul 95:29
But could it be, as it had been for over a hundred years
prior to our invasion, that oil really is the driving issue behind a
foreign
presence in the Middle East?
It’s
rather ironic that the consequence of our intervention has been
skyrocketing oil
prices, with Iraqi oil production still significantly below pre-war
levels.
2005 Ron Paul 95:30
If democracy is not all it’s cracked up to be, and a
war for oil is blatantly immoral and unproductive, the question still
remains--
why do we fight?
More precisely,
why should we fight?
When is enough
killing enough?
Why does man so
casually accept war, which brings so much suffering to so many, when so
little
is achieved?
Why do those who
suffer and die so willingly accept the excuses for the wars that need
not be
fought?
Why do so many defer to
those who are enthused about war, and who claim it’s a solution to a
problem,
without asking them why they themselves do not fight?
It’s always other men and other men’s children who must
sacrifice
life and limb for the reasons that make no sense, reasons that are said
to be
our patriotic duty to fight and die for.
How
many useless wars have been fought for lies that deserved no hearing?
When will it all end?
2005 Ron Paul 95:31
Why We Should Not Fight
2005 Ron Paul 95:32
Since no logical answers can be given for why we fight,
it might be better to talk about why we should not fight.
A case can be made that if this war does not end soon it will
spread and
engulf the entire region.
We’ve already
been warned that war against Iran is an
option that remains on the table for reasons no more reliable than
those given
for the pre-emptive strike against Iraq.
Let
me give you a few reasons why this war in Iraq should not be fought.
2005 Ron Paul 95:33
It is not in our national interest.
On the contrary, pursuing this war endangers our security,
increases the
chances of a domestic terrorist attack, weakens our defenses, and
motivates our
enemies to join together in opposition to our domineering presence
around the
world.
Does anyone believe that
Russia, China, and Iran will give us free reign over the entire Middle
East and
its oil?
Tragically, we’re
setting the stage for a much bigger conflict.
It’s possible that this war could evolve into something much
worse than
Vietnam.
2005 Ron Paul 95:34
This war has never been declared.
It’s not a constitutional war, and without a proper beginning
there can
be no proper ending.
The vagueness
instills doubts in all Americans, both
supporters and non-supporters, as to what will be accomplished.
Supporters of the war want total victory,
which is not
achievable with a vague mission.
Now
the majority of Americans are demanding an end to this dragged-out war
that many
fear will spread before it’s over.
2005 Ron Paul 95:35
It’s virtually impossible to beat a determined guerrilla resistance to a foreign occupying force.
After 30 years the Vietnam guerillas, following unbelievable
suffering,
succeeded in forcing all foreign troops from their homeland.
History shows that Iraqi Muslims have always been determined to
resist
any foreign power on their soil.
We
ignored that history and learned nothing from Vietnam.
How many lives, theirs and ours, are worth losing to prove the
tenacity
of guerilla fighters supported by a large number of local citizens?
2005 Ron Paul 95:36
Those who argue that it’s legitimate to protect “our
oil” someday must realize that it’s not our oil, no matter how strong
and
sophisticated our military is.
We
know the war so far has played havoc with oil prices, and the market
continues
to discount problems in the region for years to come.
No end is in sight regarding the uncertainty of Middle East
oil production caused by this conflict.
2005 Ron Paul 95:37
So far our policies inadvertently have encouraged the
development of an Islamic state, with Iranian-allied Shiites in charge.
This has led to Iranian support for the insurgents, and has
placed Iran
in a position of becoming the true victor in this war as its alliance
with Iraq
grows.
This could place Iran and
its allies in the enviable position of becoming the oil powerhouse in
the
region, if not the world, once it has control over the oil fields near
Basra.
2005 Ron Paul 95:38
This unintended alliance with Iran, plus the benefit to
Osama bin Laden’s recruiting efforts, will in the end increase the
danger to
Israel by rallying the Arab and Muslim people against us.
2005 Ron Paul 95:39
One of the original stated justifications for the war has
been accomplished.
Since 1998 the
stated policy of the United States government was to bring about regime
change
and get rid of Saddam Hussein.
This
has been done, but instead of peace and stability we have sown the
seeds of
chaos.
Nevertheless, the goal of
removing Saddam Hussein has been achieved and is a reason to stop the
fighting.
2005 Ron Paul 95:40
There were no weapons of mass destruction, no biological
or chemical or nuclear weapons, so we can be assured the Iraqis pose no
threat
to anyone, certainly not to the United States.
2005 Ron Paul 95:41
No evidence existed to show an alliance between Iraq and
al Qaeda before the war, and ironically our presence there is now
encouraging al
Qaeda and Osama bin Laden to move in to fill the vacuum we created.
The only relationship between Iraq and 9/11 is that our policy
in the
Middle East continues to increase the likelihood of another terrorist
attack on
our homeland.
2005 Ron Paul 95:42
We should not fight because it’s simply not worth it.
What are we going to get for nearly 2,000 soldier deaths and 20
thousand
severe casualties?
Was the $350 billion
worth it?
This is a cost that will be passed on to future generations
through an
expanded national debt.
I’ll bet
most Americans can think of a lot better ways to have spent this money.
Today’s program of guns and butter will be more damaging to our
economy
than a similar program was in the 1960s, which gave us the stagflation
of the
1970s.
The economic imbalances
today are much greater than they were in those decades.
2005 Ron Paul 95:43
Eventually, we will come to realize that the Wilsonian
idealism of using America’s resources to promote democracy around the
world
through force is a seriously flawed policy.
Wilson pretended to be spreading democracy worldwide, and yet
women in
the U.S. at that time were not allowed to vote.
Democracy,
where the majority dictates the rules, cannot
protect minorities and individual rights.
And
in addition, using force to impose our will on others almost always
backfires.
There’s no reason that our efforts in the 21
st
century to
impose a western style government in Iraq will be any more successful
than the
British were after World War I.
This
especially can’t work if democracy is only an excuse for our occupation
and
the real reasons are left unrecognized.
2005 Ron Paul 95:44
It boils down to the fact that we don’t really have any
sound reasons for continuing this fight.
The
original reasons for the war never existed, and the new reasons aren’t
credible.
We hear only that we must
carry on so those who have already suffered death and injury didn’t do
so in
vain.
If the original reasons for
starting the war were false, simply continuing in the name of those
fallen makes
no sense.
More loss of life can
never justify earlier loss of life if they died for false reasons.
This being the case, it’s time to reassess the policies that
have
gotten us into this mess.
2005 Ron Paul 95:45
What does all
this mean?
2005 Ron Paul 95:46
The mess we face in the Middle East and Afghanistan, and
the threat of terrorism within our own borders, are not a result of the
policies
of this administration alone.
Problems
have been building for many years, and have only gotten much worse with
our most
recent policy of forcibly imposing regime change in Iraq.
We must recognize that the stalemate in Korea, the loss in
Vietnam, and
the quagmire in Iraq and Afghanistan all result from the same flawed
foreign
policy of interventionism that our government has pursued for over 100
years.
It would be overly simplistic to
say the current
administration alone is responsible for the mess in Iraq.
2005 Ron Paul 95:47
By rejecting the advice of the Founders and our early
presidents, our leaders have drifted away from the admonitions against
entangling alliances and nation building.
Policing
the world is not our calling or our mandate.
Besides, the Constitution doesn’t permit it.
Undeclared wars have not enhanced our national security.
2005 Ron Paul 95:48
The consensus on foreign interventionism has been
pervasive.
Both major parties have
come to accept our role as the world’s policeman, despite periodic
campaign
rhetoric stating otherwise.
The
media in particular, especially in the early stages, propagandize in
favor of
war.
It’s only when the costs
become prohibitive and the war loses popular support that the media
criticize
the effort.
2005 Ron Paul 95:49
It isn’t only our presidents that deserve the blame
when they overstep their authority and lead the country into
inappropriate wars.
Congress deserves equally severe criticism for acquiescing to
the demands
of the executive to go needlessly to war.
It
has been known throughout history that kings, dictators, and the
executive
branch of governments are always overly eager to go to war.
This is precisely why our founders tried desperately to keep
decisions
about going to war in the hands of the legislature.
But this process has failed us for the last 65 years.
Congress routinely has rubber stamped the plans of our
presidents and
even the United Nations to enter into war through the back door.
2005 Ron Paul 95:50
Congress at any time can prevent or stop all undue
foreign entanglements pursued by the executive branch merely by
refusing to
finance them.
The current Iraq war,
now going on for 15 years, spans the administration of three presidents
and many
congresses controlled by both parties.
This
makes Congress every bit as responsible for the current quagmire as the
president.
But the real problem is
the acceptance by our country as a whole of the principle of meddling
in the
internal affairs of other nations when unrelated to our national
security.
Intervention, no matter how well intended, inevitably boomerangs
and
comes back to haunt us.
Minding our own
business is not only economical; it’s the
only policy that serves our national security interests and the cause
of peace.
2005 Ron Paul 95:51
The neo-conservatives who want to remake the entire
Middle East are not interested in the pertinent history of this region.
Creating an artificial Iraq after World War I as a unified
country was
like mixing water and oil.
It has only led
to frustration, anger, and hostilities-- with
the resulting instability creating conditions ripe for dictatorships.
The occupying forces will not permit any of the three regions of
Iraq to
govern themselves.
This is strictly
motivated by a desire to exert control over
the oil.
Self-determination and
independence for each region, or even a true republican form of
government with
a minimalist central authority is never considered-- yet it is the only
answer
to the difficult political problems this area faces.
The relative and accidental independence of the Kurds and the
Shiites in the 1990s served those regions well, and no suicide
terrorism existed
during that decade.
2005 Ron Paul 95:52
The claim that our immediate withdrawal from Iraq would
cause chaos is not proven.
It
didn’t happen in Vietnam or even Somalia.
Even today, the militias of the Kurds and the Shiites may well
be able to
maintain order in their regions much better than we can currently.
Certainly the Sunnis can take care of themselves, and it might
be in
their best interests for all three groups not to fight each other when
we leave.
One thing for sure: if we left no more young Americans would
have to die
for an indefinable cause.
2005 Ron Paul 95:53
Instead, we have been forcing on the people of Iraq a
type of democracy that, if implemented, will mean an Islamic state
under Sharia’
law.
Already we read stories of
barbers no longer being safe shaving beards; Christians are threatened
and
forced to leave the country; and burqas are returning out of fear.
Unemployment is over 50%, and oil production is still
significantly below
pre-war levels.
These results are
not worth fighting and dying for.
2005 Ron Paul 95:54
In this war, like all others, the propagandists and
promoters themselves don’t fight, nor do their children.
It’s always worth the effort to wage war when others must suffer
and
die.
Many of those who today pump
the nation up with war fever were nowhere to be found when their
numbers were
called in the 1960s-- when previous presidents and Congresses thought
so little
about sending young men off to war.
Then
it was in their best interests to find more important things to do--
despite the
so-called equalizing draft.
2005 Ron Paul 95:55
The inability of taxpayers to fund both guns-and-butter
has not deterred those who smell the glory of war.
Notoriously, great nations fall once their appetite for
foreign domination outstrips their citizens’ ability or willingness to
pay.
We tried the guns-and-butter approach in the 1960s with bad
results, and
the same will happen again as a consequence of the current political
decision
not to cut back on any expenditure, domestic or foreign.
Veto nothing is current policy!
Tax,
borrow, and print to pay the bills is today’s conventional wisdom.
The problem is that all the bills eventually must be paid.
There’s no free lunch, and no free war.
The economic consequences of such a policy are well known and
documented.
Excessive spending leads to excessive deficits, higher taxes,
and more
borrowing and inflation-- which spells economic problems that always
clobber the
middle class and the poor.
2005 Ron Paul 95:56
Already the suffering has begun.
A lackluster recovery, low paying jobs, outsourcing, and
social unrest already are apparent.
This
economic price we pay, along with the human suffering, is an
extravagant price
for a war that was started with false information and now is prolonged
for
reasons unrelated to our national security.
2005 Ron Paul 95:57
This policy has led to excessive spending overseas and
neglect at home.
It invites enemies
to attack us, and drains the resources needed to defend our homeland
and care
for our own people.
We are
obligated to learn something from the tragedy of Katrina about the
misallocation
of funds away from our infrastructure to the rebuilding of Iraq after
first
destroying it.
If ever there was a
time for us to reassess our policy of foreign interventionism, it is
today.
It’s time to look inward and attend to the constitutional needs
of our
people, and forget about the grandiose schemes to remake the world in
our image
through the use of force.
These
efforts not only are doomed to fail, as they have for the past one
hundred
years, but they invite economic and strategic military problems that
are harmful
to our national security interests.
2005 Ron Paul 95:58
We’ve been told that we must fight to protect our freedoms here at home.
These reasons are given to make the sacrifices more tolerable
and noble.
Without an honorable cause, the
suffering becomes
intolerable.
Hiding from the truth,
though, in the end is no panacea for a war that promises no peace.
2005 Ron Paul 95:59
The most important misjudgment regarding Iraq that must
be dealt with is the charge that Muslim terrorists attack us out of
envy for our
freedoms, our prosperity, and our way of life.
There is no evidence this is the case.
On the contrary, those who have extensively researched this
issue
conclude that the #1 reason suicide terrorists attack anywhere in the
world is
because their land is occupied by a foreign military power.
Pretending otherwise and constantly expanding our military
presence in
more Arab and Muslim countries as we have since 1990 has only increased
the
danger of more attacks on our soil, as well as in those countries that
have
allied themselves with us.
If we
deny this truth we do so at our own peril.
2005 Ron Paul 95:60
It’s not unusual for the war crusaders to condemn those
who speak the truth in an effort to end an unnecessary war.
They claim those who want honest reasons for the enormous
sacrifice are
unpatriotic and un-American, but these charges only serve to exacerbate
the
social unrest.
Any criticism of
policy, no matter how flawed the policy is, is said to be motivated by
a lack of
support for the troops.
Yet it is
preposterous to suggest that a policy that would
have spared the lives of 1900 servicemen and women lacks concern for
the well
being of our troops.
The absence of
good reasoning to pursue this war prompts the supporters of the war to
demonize
the skeptics and critics.
They
have no other defense.
2005 Ron Paul 95:61
Those who want to continue this war accuse those who lost
loved ones in Iraq, and oppose the war, of using the dead for personal
political
gain.
But what do the war
proponents do when they claim the reason we must fight on is to honor
the
sacrifice of the military personnel we lost by completing the mission?
The big difference is that one group argues for saving lives,
while the
other justifies more killing.
And
by that logic, the additional deaths will require even more killing to
make sure
they too have not died in vain.
Therefore,
the greater number who have died, the greater is the motivation to
complete the
mission.
This defies logic.
This argument to persevere has been used throughout history
to continue wars that could and should have ended much sooner.
This was true for World War I and Vietnam.
2005 Ron Paul 95:62
A sad realism struck me recently reading how our Marines
in Afghanistan must now rely on donkey transportation in their efforts
at nation
building and military occupation.
Evidently
the Taliban is alive and well, as Osama bin Laden remains in this
region.
But doesn’t this tell us something about our naïve
assumption that our
economic advantages and technical knowledge can subdue and control
anybody?
We’re traversing Afghan mountains on donkeys, and losing lives
daily in
Baghdad with homemade primitive bombs.
Our
power and dominance clearly is limited by the determination of those
who see us
as occupiers, proving that just more money and sophisticated weapons
won’t
bring us victory.
Sophisticated
weapons and the use of unlimited military power is no substitute for
diplomacy
designed to promote peace while reserving force only for defending our
national
interests.
2005 Ron Paul 95:63
Changing our policy of meddling in the affairs of others
won’t come quickly or easily.
But
a few signals to indicate a change in our attitude would go a long way
to
bringing peace to a troubled land.
2005 Ron Paul 95:64
1.
We must soon, and Congress can do this through the budget
process, stop
the construction of all permanent bases in Iraq and any other Muslim
country in
the region.
Think of how we would
react if the Chinese had the military edge on us and laid claims to the
Gulf of
Mexico, building bases within the U.S. in order to promote their
superior way of
life.
Isn’t it ironic that we
close down bases here at home while building new ones overseas?
Domestic bases might well promote security, while bases in
Muslim nations
only elicit more hatred toward us.
2005 Ron Paul 95:65
2.
The plans for the biggest U.S. embassy in the world, costing
nearly 1
billion dollars, must be canceled.
This
structure in Baghdad sends a message, like the military bases being
built, that
we expect to be in Iraq and running Iraq for a long time to come.
2005 Ron Paul 95:66
3.
All military forces, especially on the Arabian Peninsula, must
be moved
offshore at the earliest time possible. All responsibility for security
and
control of the oil must be transferred to the Iraqis from the United
States as
soon as possible, within months not years.
2005 Ron Paul 95:67
The time will come when our policies dealing with foreign
affairs will change for the better.
But
that will be because we can no longer afford the extravagance of war.
This will occur when the American people realize that war causes
too much
suffering here at home, and the benefits of peace again become
attractive to us
all.
Part of this recognition will
involve a big drop in the value of the dollar, higher interest rates,
and
rampant price inflation.
2005 Ron Paul 95:68
Though these problems are serious and threaten our
freedoms and way of life, there’s every reason to work for the
traditional
constitutional foreign policy that promotes peace over war, while not
being
tempted to mold the world in our image through force.
We should not forget that what we did not achieve by military
force in Vietnam, was essentially achieved with the peace that came
from our
military failure and withdrawal of our armed forces.
Today, through trade and peace, U.S. investment and economic
cooperation has westernized Vietnam far more than our military efforts.
2005 Ron Paul 95:69
We must remember initiating force to impose our will on
others negates all the goodness for which we profess to stand.
We cannot be fighting to secure our freedom if we impose laws
like the
Patriot Act and a national ID card on the American people.
2005 Ron Paul 95:70
Unfortunately, we have lost faith and confidence in the
system of government with which we have been blessed.
Today too many Americans support, at least in the early
stages, the use of force to spread our message of hope and freedom.
They too often are confused by the rhetoric that our armies are
needed to
spread American goodness. Using force injudiciously, instead of
spreading the
worthy message of American freedom through peaceful means, antagonizes
our
enemies, alienates our allies, and threatens personal liberties here at
home
while burdening our economy.
2005 Ron Paul 95:71
If confidence can be restored in our American traditions
of peace and trade, our influence throughout the world would be
enhanced just as
it was once we rejected the military approach in Vietnam.
2005 Ron Paul 95:72
This change in policy can come easily once the people of
this country decide that there is a better way to conduct ourselves
throughout
the world.
Whenever the people turn
against war as a tool to promote certain beliefs, the war ceases.
That’s what we need today.
Then
we can get down to the business of setting an example of how peace and
freedom
brings prosperity in an atmosphere that allows for excellence and
virtue to
thrive.
2005 Ron Paul 95:73
A powerful bureaucratic military state negates all
efforts to preserve these conditions that have served America so well
up until
recent times.
That is not what the
American dream is all about.
Without
a change in attitude, the American dream dies: a simple change that
restates the
principles of liberty enshrined in our Constitution will serve us well
in
solving all the problems we face.
The
American people are up to the task; I hope Congress is as well.
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