Re: Our 30 Year Mistake
"Karl" <[email protected]>
| Newsgroups | gmane.music.dadl.ot |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
No, he takes a VERY isolationist approach. If he could soften that, he would be a serious contender. From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Johne Cook Sent: Monday, February 07, 2011 12:32 PM To: DADL (off topic) Subject: Re: [DADL-OT] Our 30 Year Mistake Foreign policy is not Ron Paul's strong suit. Johne Cook | http://raygunrevival.com | http://authorculture.blogspot.com | “I am not responsible for actions of the imaginary version of me you have inside your head.” Attributed to Teresa Nielsen Hayden On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 2:30 PM, Lance McLain <lance-X3DuywwxauBWk0Htik3J/[email protected]> wrote: Oh sure...make a mess and then say, it's not my job to clean it up. regards, -Lance > david white > http://paul.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content <http://paul.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1825:our-> &view=article&id=1825:our- > 30-year-mistake&catid=62:texas-straight-talk&Itemid=1&Itemid=69 > > Our 30 Year Mistake > > The events in Egypt of late have captured the attention of the world, as > many > thousands of Egyptians take to the streets both in opposition to and in > favor > of the current regime. We watch from a distance hoping that events do not > spiral further into violence, which will destroy lives and threaten the > livelihoods of average Egyptians caught up in the political turmoil. > > I hope that Egyptians are able to work toward a more free and just > society. > Unfortunately, much of the blame for the unrest in Egypt and the resulting > instability in the region rests with US foreign policy over the past > several > decades. The US government has sent more than $60 billion to the Egyptian > regime since the Camp David Accords in 1978 to purchase stability, > including > more security for the state of Israel. We see now the folly of our > interventionist foreign policy: not only has that stability fallen to > pieces > with the current unrest, but the years of propping up the corrupt regime > in > Egypt has led the people to increase their resentment of both America and > Israel! We are both worse off for decades of intervention into Egypt’s > internal affairs. I wish I could say that we have learned our lesson and > will > no longer attempt to purchase – or rent – friends in the Middle East, but > I > am afraid that is being too optimistic. Already we see evidence that while > the US historically propped up the Egyptian regime, we also provided > assistance to groups opposed to the regime. > > So we have lost the credibility to claim today that we support the self- > determination of the Egyptian people. Our double dealing has not endeared > us > to Egyptians who now seek to reclaim their independence and national > dignity. > > “Diplomacy” via foreign aid transfer payments only makes us less safe at > home > and less trusted overseas. But the overriding reality is that we simply > cannot afford to continue a policy of buying friends. We face an ongoing > and > potentially deepening recession at home-- so how can we justify to the > unemployed and underemployed in the United States the incredible cost of > maintaining a global empire? Moral arguments aside, we must stop sending > hundreds of billions of dollars to foreign governments when our own > economy > is in shambles. > > American media and talking heads repeatedly pose the same loaded > questions: > Should the administration encourage the Egyptian president to remain or to > resign? Should the US ensure Mohamed ElBaradei or current vice president > Omar > Suleiman succeeds current president Mubarak? The best answer to these > questions is that we should just do nothing, as Eisenhower did in 1956. > We > should leave Egypt for Egyptians to figure out. Some may claim that this > is > isolationism. Nothing could be further from the truth. We should > enthusiastically engage in trade and allow travel between countries, but > we > should stay out of their internal affairs. We are in fact more isolated > from > Egypt now than ever, because the regime we propped up appears to be > falling. > We have isolated ourselves from the Egyptian people by propping up their > government, as we isolate ourselves from Tunisians, Israelis, and other > recipients of our foreign aid. Their resentment of our interventionist > policies makes us less safe, because we lose our authority to conduct > meaningful diplomacy when unpopular regimes fall overseas. We also > radicalize those who resented our support for past regimes. > > Let us hope for a more prosperous and peaceful era for the Egyptians, and > let > us learn the lessons of our thirty year Egyptian mistake. > > -- > dadl-ot mailing list > http://mail.thehood.us/mailman/listinfo/dadl-ot_thehood.us > http://news.gmane.org/gmane.music.dadl.ot > regards, -Lance -- dadl-ot mailing list http://mail.thehood.us/mailman/listinfo/dadl-ot_thehood.us http://news.gmane.org/gmane.music.dadl.ot -- dadl-ot mailing list http://mail.thehood.us/mailman/listinfo/dadl-ot_thehood.us http://news.gmane.org/gmane.music.dadl.ot