The LP's Iraq Exit Plan
The LP’s plan, Iraq Exit Strategy, ignores the reality of the much larger war that we are in. It appears to have been largely written before the January, 2005 elections, or at least ignores the mindset change that occurred in Iraqi citizens as a result of that election.
The plan falsely assumes that the presence of US troops in Iraq is the cause of the “insurgency”. Nothing could be further from the truth. Terrorist attacks have been going on for more than 200 years. Some of the more recent ones include the bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1982/3, the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993(?), the attack on the USS Cole, 9/11, and, more recently, the London attacks of 7/7/05. Many of them were conducted by Wahhabists, radical Islamic fundamentalists, whose modern day goal is the reestablishment of the Caliphate and the complete eradication of anyone who is not a Wahhabist. In other words, they would take great delight in killing most, if not all, libertarians. See Jerusalem Issue Brief
The larger problem is all the corrupt kleptocracies in the Middle East including “Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan; the endemic poverty and underdevelopment that resulted for most of the 20th century; the U.N.-imposed creation of Israel in 1948; and finally, in recent decades, American support for the bleak status quo.” See Misreading Islam (caveat: this was written before the 2005 elections) The LP plan does nothing to deal with these realities. See also The Sorry Bunch, Listen and learn from our enemies
This exit plan, and our general approach to foreign policy, puts the LP in the position of being Neville Chamberlain, writ small. Appeasement is not the answer and the LP needs to dump the yellow streak running down its back. If you want to be a purist, go join the monks, er objectivists. A national political party should serve the nation it purports to represent and we are not a nation of cowards. If the LP wants to be a respected player in national politics, we need to create realistic solutions to these larger problems.
The plan falsely assumes that the presence of US troops in Iraq is the cause of the “insurgency”. Nothing could be further from the truth. Terrorist attacks have been going on for more than 200 years. Some of the more recent ones include the bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1982/3, the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993(?), the attack on the USS Cole, 9/11, and, more recently, the London attacks of 7/7/05. Many of them were conducted by Wahhabists, radical Islamic fundamentalists, whose modern day goal is the reestablishment of the Caliphate and the complete eradication of anyone who is not a Wahhabist. In other words, they would take great delight in killing most, if not all, libertarians. See Jerusalem Issue Brief
The larger problem is all the corrupt kleptocracies in the Middle East including “Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan; the endemic poverty and underdevelopment that resulted for most of the 20th century; the U.N.-imposed creation of Israel in 1948; and finally, in recent decades, American support for the bleak status quo.” See Misreading Islam (caveat: this was written before the 2005 elections) The LP plan does nothing to deal with these realities. See also The Sorry Bunch, Listen and learn from our enemies
This exit plan, and our general approach to foreign policy, puts the LP in the position of being Neville Chamberlain, writ small. Appeasement is not the answer and the LP needs to dump the yellow streak running down its back. If you want to be a purist, go join the monks, er objectivists. A national political party should serve the nation it purports to represent and we are not a nation of cowards. If the LP wants to be a respected player in national politics, we need to create realistic solutions to these larger problems.
posted by David Aitken | 12:43 PM
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