Posted on 10/14/2009 8:56:48 AM PDT by rabscuttle385
What if tomorrow morning you woke up to headlines that yet another Chinese drone bombing on US soil killed several dozen ranchers in a rural community while they were sleeping? That a drone aircraft had come across the Canadian border in the middle of the night and carried out the latest of many attacks? What if it was claimed that many of the victims harbored anti-Chinese sentiments, but most of the dead were innocent women and children? And what if the Chinese administration, in an effort to improve its public image in the US, had approved an aid package to send funds to help with American roads and schools and promote Chinese values here?
Most Americans would not stand for it. Yet the above hypothetical events are similar to what our government is doing in Pakistan. Last week, Congress did approve an aid package for Pakistan for the stated purposes of improving our image and promoting democracy. I again made the point on the floor of the House that still no one seems to hear: What if this happened on US soil? What if innocent Americans were being killed in repeated drone attacks carried out by some foreign force who was trying to fix our problems for us? Would sending money help their image? If another nation committed this type of violence and destruction on our homeland, would we be at all interested in adopting their values?
Sadly, one thing that has entirely escaped modern American foreign policy is empathy. Without much humility or regard for human life, our foreign policy has been reduced to alternately bribing and bombing other nations, all with the stated goal of “promoting democracy”. But if a country democratically elects a leader who is not sufficiently pro-American, our government will refuse to recognize them, will impose sanctions on them, and will possibly even support covert efforts to remove them. Democracy is obviously not what we are interested in. It is more likely that our government is interested in imposing its will on other governments. This policy of endless intervention in the affairs of others is very damaging to American liberty and security.
If we were really interested in democracy, peace, prosperity and safety, we would pursue more free trade with other countries. Free and abundant trade is much more conducive to peace because it is generally bad business to kill your customers. When one’s livelihood is on the line, and the business agreements are mutually beneficial, it is in everyone’s best interests to maintain cooperative and friendly relations and not kill each other. But instead, to force other countries to bend to our will, we impose trade barriers and sanctions. If our government really wanted to promote freedom, Americans would be free to travel and trade with whoever they wished. And, if we would simply look at our own policies around the world through the eyes of others, we would understand how these actions make us more targeted and therefore less safe from terrorism. The only answer is get back to free trade with all and entangling alliances with none. It is our bombs and sanctions and condescending aid packages that isolate us.
That’s MORE OR LESS, yes... It was in “hot pursuit” response to actions of the Pasha, who had declared war on the United States by the time the four-ship squadron arrived with a message and $10,000.00 in tribute to the Pasha. So they WERE justified in taking “defensive” measures of whatever sort the Commodore felt needful while informing his superiors back home.
One problem that I DON’T recall is the Congress, once having authorized Jefferson to deal with the situation, waffling for “political effect.”
It should also be noted that the Pasha was “encouraged” by the Brits (and perhaps the French, with whom we’d just had some naval clashes) to prey on US Flagged shipping. Part of what, IMO, led us to the war of 1812, as declared by Congress.
You make some semblance of sense, yes, in a Beckian Sick, twisted Freakish sort of way :^)
However, don’t lose track of where you hid your lifeboat, either...
(I’m not saying you’re wrong... I’m not sure what, if any, real thinking goes on in the minds of the AQ brass. Besides hate and screwing goats, I mean!)
This guy is such a nutter. He’s an embarrassment to Libertarians.
A lot. They’re fanatical, not stupid.
These guys worked with the CIA for a long time during the Afghan-Soviet war. During that period they learned how our intelligence services operated, and how to fly almost completely under our intelligence umbrella. They also learned how to send our Intel guys haring off on wild goose chases after false, misleading or dead-end leads (example: before they left on 9/11 for the attack, the hijackeers make sure they called attention to their car so that it would be found quickly - it was loaded with lots of useless “intel” to waste the CIA’s time...).
During this time, they also made their contacts with the Saudi and Paki Intel that have served them well to this day.
A good read is America’s Secret War: Inside the Hidden Worldwide Struggle Between America and Its Enemies by George Friedman. Keep in mind its a bit behind the times (2004).
Yes.
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