The "Foreign Policy" of Fools!

The "Foreign Policy" of Fools!

By Leon Howard

I received a communication from a close friend with a quote from one of his church leaders and I was flabbergasted! Where he issued this statement as a warning to be avoided, the fools “in power” have implemented it to the detriment of our nation and the world!

John Taylor, LDS, (1880-1887) stated, "We find the world split up and divided into different nations, having different interests, and different objects; with their religious and political views as dissimilar as light and darkness, all the time jealous of each other, and watching each other as so many thieves; and that man at the present day (and it has been the case for ages), is considered the greatest statesman, who, with legislation or diplomacy, can make the most advantageous arrangement with, or coerce by circumstances, other nations into measures that would be for the benefit of the nation with which he is associated. No matter how injurious it might be to the nation or nations concerned, the measure that would yield his nation an advantage, might plunge another in irremediable misery, while there is no one to act as father and parent of the whole, and God is lost sight of. What is it that the private ambition of man has not done to satisfy his craving desires for the acquisition of territory and wealth, and what is falsely called honor and fame?"

Maybe not the words I have used to describe but then I am a simple man who wants to live in harmony with other men and women of my nation and throughout the world! I was born into liberty with innumerable inalienable rights and want to see the rest of the men and women of the world enjoy these same liberties when they are ready for them! I do not seek, nor do I support a foreign policy that seeks to “grant” these “rights” to all men and women now!

My government, since WWII, has implemented a foreign policy that tries to force other Peoples of the world into liberty and democracy and it is wrong! It is wrong-headed and will not happen because the rest of the world isn’t ready for liberty! Plus, I would not wish ‘democracy’ on any People! We are not a democracy; we are a republic! They could be, at least, promoting the system of government our founders created for us but I wouldn’t support that either if they wanted to implement it the way they’ve implemented today’s ‘foreign policy’!

The popular saying, “Freedom is not Free” is a truism; the same is true for liberty! We want to use them synonymously but they really have separate meanings; that’s not important right now but the fact that Liberty and Freedom are not Free is true but doesn’t go far enough because it allows the neo-cons, the ‘talking-heads’, and the diplomats to make Americans think it is our responsibility to provide liberty and freedom for the rest of the world – That is a bald-faced LIE and it cannot be done that way!

We cannot give anyone liberty or freedom if we aren’t the ones oppressing them!

I will repeat that slowly for the neo-cons, the talking-heads and the diplomats: “The American People are not the oppressors in Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bosnia, and the countless ‘hotspots’ throughout the world! Saddam Hussein and his thugs were the ones oppressing the Iraqi People; the Taliban government was the ones oppressing the Afghan People; and the list goes on and on – We are not the oppressors but we are looked on as the ‘invaders’ in these nations we attack!”

“Well,” the neo-cons, the talking-heads, and the diplomats will say, “Saddam Hussein is dead; the Taliban aren’t ‘in-charge’ in Afghanistan so you are wrong; we did free those People!”

Did we? Are the Iraqi People more secure now than they were when Saddam was the dictator? Are the Afghan People better off today than they were 10 years ago when the Taliban was the government? Do you think Iraq will be a thriving democracy in 2 years or 5 years? Do you think the Taliban will be defeated and the Afghan People will be free, living in a democracy in 2 years or 5 years?

Before you try to answer that, take a little time to consider what the neo-cons, the talking-heads, and the diplomats didn’t consider: The Arab Peoples are still tribal; the predominant religion is Islam, a belief system spawned in the 7^th Century and has not progressed as all other religions in the world have. There are the Sunni and Shiite factions of Islam; they distrust and hate each other! They only make alliances against a common enemy and we have conveniently provided that for them – It is US!

Now, before you get your panties in a twist, I am not saying it is our fault they attacked us on 9-11! That is the accusation the neo-cons, the talking-heads, and the diplomats will throw to anyone who speaks out against this stupid foreign policy! Nothing justifies that infamous attack on the Twin Towers because it was not the government being attacked – It was the American People who were attacked and we do not implement foreign policy! We are the ignorant innocents who have been electing ‘leaders’ who have been implementing this stupid foreign policy since WWII!

Now, back to my point: We cannot grant liberty and freedom to anybody but ourselves! The best we can do is be the living example for the People of other nations to emulate; if they like what they see, they can legally emigrate here or, when their home country is ready, they can copy our example – They will do that when they are thirsty for liberty and freedom and they will do it through protest and pressure on their leaders or they will do it as we had to do it 236 years ago – Take up arms and fight for it!

Many of our founders paid the ultimate price for our liberty and freedom and it is up to us to keep it or lose it! We can all see how close we are to losing it today because we have been trusting the best “sound bites” and electing and re-electing the same kinds of retards we have been since Theodore Roosevelt! Another reason this foreign policy is so stupid – We aren’t a very good example anymore!

Yes, we are the freest People in the world but, when you compare our liberties today to what the People of the nation enjoyed even 50 years ago – Well, it’s like saying that owning an 8-year old Chevie is as good as the new Cadillac we could still own! We have lost a lot!

I would to point out the stupidity of what we do in this foreign policy.

How many U.S. Military bases are there outside the United States? Answer: In a recent article in Asia Times, investigative reporter Nick Turse calls the answer to that question, “…the one number no American knows. Not the president. Not the Pentagon. Not the experts. No one!”

You can’t get a consistent answer from news stories, that’s for sure. Recent articles, media reports and op-eds peg the number variously at 460, 507, 560, 662 and more than 1,000. Depending on whom you ask or what source you consult, writes Turse:

“There are more than 1,000 US military bases dotting the globe. To be specific, the most accurate count is 1,077. Unless it’s 1,088. Or, if you count differently, 1,169. Or even 1,180. Actually, the number might even be higher. Nobody knows for sure.”

Doesn’t that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Over 1,000 military bases in 135 sovereign nations and we cannot even be certain how many? – Why? What are they there for? To protect our “interests”? What interests? (I told you it was stupid!) “Assuring liberty and freedom to the world”? I offer this view:

"We are friends of liberty everywhere, custodians only of our own."  Thomas Jefferson
(1743-1826), US Founding Father, drafted the Declaration of Independence, 3rd US President

Now, let’s reveal the stupidest part of our foreign policy and it is the most tragic!

How many of our young men and women have died in combat, in undeclared wars since WWII?

Let me remind you that in WWI (1917-1918), we suffered 117,465 deaths of U.S. servicemen and woman; in WWII (1941-1945), we suffered 418,500 deaths of U.S. servicemen and woman – These were declared wars and were fought the way we should fight all wars: Congress declares the War; we fully commit to the war; we win it as soon as we can; and we come home!

Since WWII, we have not fought a declared war, so we have been sending our military into “harm’s way” without the Constitutional Declaration of War; the Congress and the Presidents have sent them with U.N. “mandates” so where does our “interest” lie?

Korean Conflict (1950-1953) ……………………62,372

Viet Nam (1955-1975) …………………………...60,054

Persian Gulf War (1990-1991)………………..........1,986

War on Terror (2001-Now)………………….........17,355

                  TOTAL TO DATE:…………………..141,767

The “Military Industrial Complex” has developed better ways to kill the ‘enemy’ and protect our warriors but for what? Who did we free? For whom did we sacrifice our young warriors?

We have not fought a “war” to win since WWII – We helped create the United Nations (another stupid entity serving nobody but itself!) and have been used as the “policeman of the world” since then! We give Israel $3 Billion a year for defense and, to be “fair”, we give $12 Billion to her Arab enemies! Why? We would be better off, Israel would be better off if we stopped all foreign ‘aid’ “to be fair” to Israel! The neo-cons have convinced us that we must “protect Israel” or she will be crushed! By who? It certainly won’t be her Arab neighbors – Every time they have tried that, they got their butts kicked soundly! When has Israel ever asked us to fight her wars? How about NEVER! Israelis know they are the only ones who can assure Israel’s survival – Just like the United States, Israel fought for it’s freedom and liberties – We cannot fight their battles nor does she want us to! She wants our friendship and that she has and we can support her by selling her the weaponry she needs to survive.

How about this for a foreign policy: We leave Israel to deal with her violent neighbors anyway she sees fit, sell her the weaponry she needs, and provide the negotiators when Hezbollah, Hamas, and the rest of those idiots petition for peace!

We killed Osama bin Laden the way we should have conducted the “war” – Gathered intelligence, figured where he was and sent a SEAL Team in to kill him! We should do that to the rest of these extremists! No more “nation building”! Hell, we cannot even keep our own nation afloat; how good are we at “nation building”? The final score on that is zero! Nada! Nyet!

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson voiced almost identical opinions for the nation’s foreign policy. Using Thomas Jefferson’s words, March 14, 1801, "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations — entangling alliances with none."

Make this our new foreign policy because the one we have implemented now is ‘foreign’ to a free and just People!