Posted on 03/10/2009 12:34:11 AM PDT by rabscuttle385
Imagine for a moment that somewhere in the middle of Texas there was a large foreign military base, say Chinese or Russian. Imagine that thousands of armed foreign troops were constantly patrolling American streets in military vehicles. Imagine they were here under the auspices of “keeping us safe” or “promoting democracy” or “protecting their strategic interests.”
Imagine that they operated outside of US law, and that the Constitution did not apply to them. Imagine that every now and then they made mistakes or acted on bad information and accidentally killed or terrorized innocent Americans, including women and children, most of the time with little to no repercussions or consequences. Imagine that they set up check points on our soil and routinely searched and ransacked entire neighborhoods of homes. Imagine if Americans were fearful of these foreign troops, and overwhelmingly thought America would be better off without their presence.
Imagine if some Americans were so angry about them being in Texas that they actually joined together to fight them off, in defense of our soil and sovereignty, because leadership in government refused or were unable to do so. Imagine that those Americans were labeled terrorists or insurgents for their defensive actions, and routinely killed, or captured and tortured by the foreign troops on our land. Imagine that the occupiers’ attitude was that if they just killed enough Americans, the resistance would stop, but instead, for every American killed, ten more would take up arms against them, resulting in perpetual bloodshed. Imagine if most of the citizens of the foreign land also wanted these troops to return home. Imagine if they elected a leader who promised to bring them home and put an end to this horror.
Imagine if that leader changed his mind once he took office.
The reality is that our military presence on foreign soil is as offensive to the people that live there as armed Chinese troops would be if they were stationed in Texas. We would not stand for it here, but we have had a globe straddling empire and a very intrusive foreign policy for decades that incites a lot of hatred and resentment towards us.
According to our own CIA, our meddling in the Middle East was the prime motivation for the horrific attacks on 9/11. But instead of re-evaluating our foreign policy, we have simply escalated it. We had a right to go after those responsible for 9/11, to be sure, but why do so many Americans feel as if we have a right to a military presence in some 160 countries when we wouldn’t stand for even one foreign base on our soil, for any reason? These are not embassies, mind you, these are military installations. The new administration is not materially changing anything about this. Shuffling troops around and playing with semantics does not accomplish the goals of the American people, who simply want our men and women to come home. 50,000 troops left behind in Iraq is not conducive to peace any more than 50,000 Russian soldiers would be in the United States.
Shutting down military bases and ceasing to deal with other nations with threats and violence is not isolationism. It is the opposite. Opening ourselves up to friendship, honest trade and diplomacy is the foreign policy of peace and prosperity. It is the only foreign policy that will not bankrupt us in short order, as our current actions most definitely will. I share the disappointment of the American people in the foreign policy rhetoric coming from the administration. The sad thing is, our foreign policy WILL change eventually, as Rome’s did, when all budgetary and monetary tricks to fund it are exhausted.
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There’s always the option of just nuking a couple of these places and the ****ed-up people living in them who brought 9-11 about...
Just like crooks hate it when the cops show up. If we just let the muggings go on in that other neighborhood maybe the crooks won't bother us.
Are you suggesting that the U.S. ought to act as a global policeman?
You and Mr. Paul seem to ignore the fact there are two ideologies that seek to dominate the world through terrorism and deception. Two ideologies that have murdered millions of people. Communism and Islam.
The defense spending is not bankrupting this country, socialism is.
If this group was here to protect us from Obama, I would probably welcome them.
Imagine if all the above did NOT happen in this country, but instead the world had left that country’s sadistic killer (better known as Saddam Hussein) in power and Hussein continued his reign of terror? Would the people of said country have been in better off?
Imagine Ron Paul getting a clue.
Ron Paul Ping
“Imagine for a moment that somewhere in the middle of Texas there was a large foreign military base, say Chinese or Russian”
Won’t happen in Texas! Stop the imagination right there.
We took on the job of eliminating their dictator, but we never thought we'd have to hold their hands forever. Makes me wonder if they were worth saving.
This post should stir up some angry responses like the ones we get when we suggest the invasion of Iraq was a disasterous idea.
No more invading poor countries
Sounds like Japan, Korea, Germany, England, France, Spain, .....
Oh hell it sounds like every place I have even been to.
Now imagine those places without our troops and money after the war that we fought there.
Imagine that the Russians or Chinese had the means to move multiple armoured divisions halfway around the world.
Imagine they then had the means to supply those divisions.
Imagine those divisions could then defeat the United States military.
Can’t imagine all that?
Then you don’t have to imagine that Ron Paul is an idiot.
Ron Paul is an interesting creature. It’s almost as if he realizes that he is starting to make sense on economic matters, so he must emphasize that he is a barking moonbat on foreign affairs.
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