Re: On the Elimination of Osama bin Laden

He had me until here.

" Tragically, one result may be the acceptance of torture as a legitimate
tool for pursuing our foreign policy. A free society, calling itself a
republic, grounded in the rule of law, should never succumb to such evil."

I understand his reluctance to accept torture (however he defines it is fine
for this purpose), but then in the same email to read his enthusiastic
acceptance of Marque and Reprisal (which is essentially mercenaries and
privateers seeking and killing our enemies), well it seems to me he only
cares about blood on people's hands when it is ours.

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of david white
Sent: Monday, May 09, 2011 12:14 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [DADL-OT] On the Elimination of Osama bin Laden

http://paul.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1860:on-
the-elimination-of-osama-bin-laden&catid=62:texas-straight-talk&Itemid=69

On the Elimination of Osama bin Laden        

Last week marked an important milestone in the war on terrorism for our
country.  Osama bin Laden applauded the 9/11 attacks.  Such deliberate
killing of innocent lives deserved retaliation. It is good that bin Laden is
dead and justice is served.  The way in which he was finally captured and
killed shows that targeted retribution is far superior to wars of aggression
and nation-building.  In 2001 I supported giving the president the authority
to pursue those responsible for the vicious 9/11 attacks.  However, misusing
that authority to pursue nation-building and remaking the Middle East was
cynical and dangerous, as the past ten years have proven.

It is tragic that it took ten years, trillions of dollars, tens of thousands
of American casualties and many thousands of innocent lives to achieve our
mission of killing one evil person.  A narrow, targeted mission under these
circumstances was far superior to initiating wars against countries not
involved in the 9/11 attacks, and that is all we should have done.  This was
the reason I emphasized at the time the principle of Marque and Reprisal,
permitted to us by the US Constitution for difficult missions such as we
faced.  I am convinced that this approach would have achieved our goal much
sooner and much cheaper.

The elimination of Osama bin Laden should now prompt us to declare victory
and bring our troops home from Afghanistan and Iraq.  Al Qaeda was never in
Iraq and we were supposedly in Afghanistan to get Osama bin Laden. With bin
Laden gone, there is no reason for our presence in the region - unless
indeed it was all about oil, nation-building, and remaking the Middle East
and Central Asia.

Hopefully bin Laden does not get the last laugh. He claimed the 9/11 attacks
were designed to get the US to spread its military dangerously and
excessively throughout the Middle East, bankrupting us through excessive
military spending as he did the Soviets, and to cause political dissention
within the United States.  Some 70 percent of Americans now believe we
should leave Afghanistan yet both parties seem determined to stay.  The best
thing we could do right now is prove bin Laden a false prophet by coming
home and ending this madness on a high note.

Tragically, one result may be the acceptance of torture as a legitimate tool
for pursuing our foreign policy. A free society, calling itself a republic,
grounded in the rule of law, should never succumb to such evil.

At the very least we should all be able to agree that foreign aid to
Pakistan needs to end immediately.  The idea that bin Laden was safely
protected for ten years in Pakistan, either willfully or through
incompetence, should make us question the wisdom of robbing American
citizens to support any government around the world with foreign aid.  All
foreign aid and intervention needs to end.

Our failed foreign policy is reflected in our bizarre relationship with
Pakistan. We bomb them with drones, causing hundreds of civilian casualties,
we give them billions of dollars in foreign aid for the privilege to do so,
all while they protect America's enemy number one for a decade.

It is time to consider a sensible non-interventionist foreign policy as
advised by our Founders and authorized by our Constitution. We would all be
better off for it.

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