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| From George Bush’s door step to
Communities along the way, We Demand That: Elected Representatives Decide Now to Bring the Troops Home We Take Care of Them When They Get Here We Never Again Send Our Loved Ones to War Based on Lies! |
|
October 8, 2005
Staying or Leaving
by Rep. Ron Paul (Republic, 14th Dist.,
Texas)
S
upporters of the war in
Iraq,
as well as some non-supporters, warn of the dangers if we leave. But isn't
it quite possible that these dangers are simply a consequence of having gone
into Iraq in the first place, rather than a consequence of leaving? Isn't it
possible that staying only makes the situation worse? If chaos results after
our departure, it's because we occupied
Iraq,
not because we left.
The original reasons for our preemptive strike are long forgotten, having
been based on false assumptions. The justification given now is that we must
persist in this war or else dishonor those who already have died or been
wounded. We're also told civil strife likely will engulf all of Iraq.
But what is the logic of perpetuating a flawed policy where more Americans
die just because others have suffered? More Americans deaths cannot possibly
help those who already have been injured or killed.
Civil strife, if not civil war, already exists in Iraq – and despite the
infighting, all factions oppose our occupation.
The insistence on using our military to occupy and run Iraq provides
convincing evidence to our detractors inside and outside Iraq that we have
no intention of leaving. Building permanent military bases and a huge
embassy confirms these fears.
We deny the importance of oil and Israel's influence on our policy, yet we
fail to convince the Arab/Muslim world that our intentions are purely
humanitarian.
In truth, our determined presence in Iraq actually increases the odds of
regional chaos, inciting Iran and Syria while aiding Osama bin Laden in his
recruiting efforts. Leaving Iraq would do the opposite – though not without
some dangers that rightfully should be blamed on our unwise invasion rather
than our exit.
Many experts believe bin Laden welcomed our invasion and occupation of two
Muslim countries. It bolsters his claim that the U.S. intended to occupy and
control the
Middle East all along. This has galvanized radical Muslim
fundamentalists against us. Osama bin Laden's campaign surely would suffer
if we left.
We should remember that losing a war to
China over
control of North Korea ultimately did not enhance communism in China, as she
now has accepted many capitalist principles. In fact, China today
outproduces us in many ways – as reflected by our negative trade balance
with her.
We lost a war in
Vietnam,
and the domino theory that communism would spread throughout southeast Asia
was proven wrong. Today,
Vietnam
accepts American investment dollars and technology. We maintain a trade
relationship with Vietnam that the war never achieved.
We contained the
USSR
and her thousands of nuclear warheads without military confrontation,
leading to the collapse and disintegration of a powerful Soviet empire.
Today we trade with Russia and her neighbors, as the market economy spreads
throughout the world without the use of arms.
We should heed the words of Ronald Reagan about his experience with a
needless and mistaken military occupation of Lebanon. Sending troops into
Lebanon seemed like a good idea in 1983, but in 1990 President Reagan said
this in his memoirs: "…we did not appreciate fully enough the depth of the
hatred and complexity of the problems that made the Middle East such a
jungle…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 policy there."
During the occupation of Lebanon by American, French, and Israeli troops
between 1982 and 1986, there were 41 suicide terrorist attacks in that
country. One horrific attack killed 241 U.S. Marines. Yet once these foreign
troops were removed, the suicide attacks literally stopped. Today we should
once again rethink our policy in this region.
It's amazing what ending military intervention in the affairs of others can
achieve. Setting an example of how a free market economy works does wonders.
We should have confidence in how well freedom works, rather than relying on
blind faith in the use of military force to spread our message. Setting an
example and using persuasion is always superior to military force in showing
how others might live. Force and war are tools of authoritarians; they are
never tools of champions of liberty and justice. Force and war inevitably
lead to dangerous unintended consequences.
Find this article at:
http://www.antiwar.com/paul/index.php