Spring Break
Neocons leave foreign policy roots
Lazarus Austin
Issue date: 2/12/08 Section: Opinion
Lazarus Austin is a junior majoring in history. He can be contacted at opinion@reflector.msstate.edu.
In 1952, Republican Gen. Eisenhower was elected to end the Korean War. In 1968, Richard Nixon was elected to end the Vietnam War. Until Sept. 11, Republicans had always been known as non-interventionists.
In 2000, George Bush ran on a humble foreign policy platform, one where the United States would not be concerned with policing the world as Bill Clinton had done in Somalia, Kosovo and Bosnia.
George Washington and the Founding Fathers advised against getting involved in foreign wars and entangling alliances.
What would the Founding Fathers think of us today?
Sept. 11 is being used as an instrument of foreign policy to conquer and build nations and take away our personal liberties. It has been used as an excuse to invade Iraq and Afghanistan and potentially Iran or Syria.
According to Bush, "America was targeted for attack because we are the brightest beacon of freedom and opportunity in the world."
According to Osama bin Laden, they attacked us because of our ties with Israel, the Saudi royal family and our many bases in the Muslim world, including the ones in their holy land.
In fact, our overall foreign policy has been the problem, but those who criticize it are labeled "unpatriotic" and "un-American." In the South Carolina debate, Ron Paul suggested that terrorists attacked us because we are "over there." Consequently, Giuliani claimed that was a "pretty extraordinary statement" and recommended that Ron Paul revoke his statement and apologize.
His comments were misinterpreted to mean that the American people are to blame for the Sept. 11 attacks. Our foreign policy is to blame, not the American people. My girlfriend can come home from a bad day at work and shoot me because I did not put the toilet seat down. That doesn't mean what she did was right or that I am to blame for my death. It just means that I invited it.
In 1952, Republican Gen. Eisenhower was elected to end the Korean War. In 1968, Richard Nixon was elected to end the Vietnam War. Until Sept. 11, Republicans had always been known as non-interventionists.
In 2000, George Bush ran on a humble foreign policy platform, one where the United States would not be concerned with policing the world as Bill Clinton had done in Somalia, Kosovo and Bosnia.
George Washington and the Founding Fathers advised against getting involved in foreign wars and entangling alliances.
What would the Founding Fathers think of us today?
Sept. 11 is being used as an instrument of foreign policy to conquer and build nations and take away our personal liberties. It has been used as an excuse to invade Iraq and Afghanistan and potentially Iran or Syria.
According to Bush, "America was targeted for attack because we are the brightest beacon of freedom and opportunity in the world."
According to Osama bin Laden, they attacked us because of our ties with Israel, the Saudi royal family and our many bases in the Muslim world, including the ones in their holy land.
In fact, our overall foreign policy has been the problem, but those who criticize it are labeled "unpatriotic" and "un-American." In the South Carolina debate, Ron Paul suggested that terrorists attacked us because we are "over there." Consequently, Giuliani claimed that was a "pretty extraordinary statement" and recommended that Ron Paul revoke his statement and apologize.
His comments were misinterpreted to mean that the American people are to blame for the Sept. 11 attacks. Our foreign policy is to blame, not the American people. My girlfriend can come home from a bad day at work and shoot me because I did not put the toilet seat down. That doesn't mean what she did was right or that I am to blame for my death. It just means that I invited it.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
Doctor Bulldog
posted 2/12/08 @ 9:43 AM CST
One must ask why they are attacking other countries that have no involvement in the Middle East.
To say that al-Qaeda attacked the U.S. because of its involvement in the Middle East is to ignore centuries of Islamic conquest and doctrine. (Continued…)
Jed Pressgrove
posted 2/12/08 @ 1:44 PM CST
One must ask why people share red herrings instead of addressing the issue presented in the article.
Jimi Hendrix
posted 2/14/08 @ 1:15 PM CST
Good article. The light of these truths has been far too long obscured by naysayers crying "unpatriotic" and such. Ron Paul is the true conservative presidential candiate. (Continued…)
Ryan
posted 2/15/08 @ 4:59 PM CST
I have heard several people use the "un-American" label for wanting to come home. For those of you who live under a rock about our history, there was a multi-national peacekeeping force in Lebanon during a time of civil war in 1982-83, in which an American barracks was bombed in Beruit. (Continued…)
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