Saturday, April 3, 2010

2010 Who can End the Wars in the Mid-east?

The Wars in the middle east will not end unless the American Voters campaign heavily during 2010 for US withdrawal of military forces.

The leading forces behind the peace movement have lost their way! With Democrats who promised peace now the only ones in congress who support the continued occupation and military action in the middle east, the many voices are silent.

Libertarians: Obama should end Afghanistan War

March 31st, 2010 · 17 Comments

Press release posted at LP.org:
WASHINGTON – After President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan over the weekend, Libertarian Party Executive Director Wes Benedict issued the following statement today:
“President Obama just called the Afghanistan War ‘absolutely essential.’ Nothing could be further from the truth. The U.S. armed forces are being used for nation-building. The president, as commander-in-chief, has the power to end this war, and he should begin doing so immediately.
“The cost of this war, in both lives and money, is staggering, and it will become more so if the president maintains his current course. Forcing current and future American taxpayers to turn over hundreds of billions of dollars for this counterproductive effort is deeply unjust.
“Even worse, the American effort in Afghanistan is propping up a hopelessly corrupt government, which is alienating the Afghan people and causing them to blame the United States even more for their problems.
“There is zero chance that American military power will create a stable and honest government in Afghanistan. But even if that were possible, it would still lie completely outside the jurisdiction of the U.S. government.
“The Libertarian Party recognizes that United States faces some threat of terrorism, but we think that fighting foreign wars is one of the worst possible ways to deal with that threat.
“Disturbingly, President Obama is demonstrating a complete faith in government power in almost every aspect of American policy. From foreign wars, to the economy, to health care, the president thinks that government power is always the solution. Libertarians disagree: we believe that government power, which is always coercively enforced, is usually the problem.
“War supporters often say that if we leave Afghanistan without ‘winning,’ it would be a slap in the face of the soldiers who have fought and died there. But there’s nothing in Afghanistan to win. The only winning move is for our military to come back to America. American soldiers have been brave enough to fight and die in Afghanistan, but cowardly politicians want to send more to their deaths just so they can save face at home. I hope American citizens and politicians have the guts to admit it’s time for a new strategy: bring our soldiers home from Afghanistan without delay.
“Sooner or later, politicians will be forced to admit that Afghanistan is a mistake. They’re already admitting that Iraq was a mistake. At a recent event sponsored by the Cato Institute, Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher said, ‘In retrospect, almost all of us think [Iraq] was a horrible mistake…Now that we know that it cost a trillion dollars, and all of these years, and all of these lives, and all of this blood…all I can say is everyone I know thinks it was a mistake to go in now.’ Republican Congressman Tom McClintock agreed, saying, ‘I think everyone [in Congress] would agree that Iraq was a mistake.’
“It’s too bad they didn’t listen to the Libertarian Party before they started that disastrous war. Maybe they’ll listen to us now.”
In September 2008, the Libertarian National Committee adopted the following resolution opposing the war in Afghanistan:
“WHEREAS the government of the United States should return to its historical libertarian tradition of avoiding entangling alliances, foreign quarrels, and military adventures; and
“WHEREAS the stability and security of Afghanistan lie outside the jurisdiction of the government of the United States; and
“WHEREAS the Libertarian Party recognizes that the only legitimate role of the military is to defend America against direct attack or the imminent threat of attack;
“THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Libertarian National Committee calls on the government of the United States to withdraw the armed forces of the United States from Afghanistan, without undue delay.”
For more information, or to arrange an interview, call LP Executive Director Wes Benedict at 202-333-0008 ext. 222.
The LP is America’s third-largest political party, founded in 1971. The Libertarian Party stands for free markets and civil liberties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party at our website.
Filed Under: Libertarian Party

17 responses so far ↓

  • 1 paulie // Mar 31, 2010 at 12:45 pm
    And from the Advocates’ Liberator Online…
    GOP Congressmen: Most GOPers in U.S. House Now Think Iraq War a Mistake
    It’s a little late.
    But — according to two prominent conservative Republican congressmen — the vast majority of GOP members of Congress now think it was wrong for the U.S. to invade Iraq in 2003.
    Their startling statements were made at a Cato Institute panel on conservatism and war. Participating were U.S. Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), and John Duncan (R-Tenn.).
    Both Rohrabacher and McClintock voted in favor of the invasion. Duncan was one of only six Republican congressmen who did not.
    The moderator, conservative activist Grover Norquist, asked the congressmen how many of their colleagues now think the war was a mistake.
    Congressman Rohrabacher said:
    “I will say that the decision to go in, in retrospect, almost all of us think that was a horrible mistake. …Now that we know that it cost a trillion dollars, and all of these years, and all of these lives, and all of this blood… all I can say is everyone I know thinks it was a mistake to go in now.”
    Congressman Tom McClintock similarly concluded:
    “I think everyone [in Congress] would agree that Iraq was a mistake.”
    The U.S. has spent at least a trillion dollars on that war, and by some estimates the total cost may be three trillion dollars — or more. Over 4,000 American soldiers have died, and over 60,000 were wounded or otherwise hurt. Figures of Iraqi deaths are controversial; estimates range from over 100,000 to one million or more deaths due to the invasion and occupation.
    Think twice next time, guys.
    * * *
    Next time? How about voting to cut off funds for the war and bring the troops home now?
  • 2 Jill Pyeatt // Mar 31, 2010 at 1:26 pm
    This is an excellent article. Thanks, Wes!
  • 3 Dear .......oops! // Mar 31, 2010 at 2:12 pm
    When LBJ [even when trying to out Goldwater Senator Goldwate] got elected in 1964 it was assumed that an exit sign was firmly planted on the quagmire of Viet Nam ……….
    When Obama, my Yokohama Momma, was elected in 2008 …………
    [Don't blame me, I did not vote for either one!]
    ——— Lake
  • 4 paulie // Mar 31, 2010 at 3:56 pm
    Meanwhile, some formerly antiwar Democrats/progressives are now favoring continued and expanded war…
    http://libertarianpeacenik.blogspot.com/2010/03/progressives-who-oppose-and-support-war.html
  • 5 Michael H. Wilson // Mar 31, 2010 at 6:28 pm
    Once again a nice piece.
  • 6 Dear .......oops! // Mar 31, 2010 at 7:04 pm
    paulie // Mar 31, 2010:
    Lake’s modification:
    Meanwhile, some antiwar Democrats/progressives are now
    awaiting [less and less patiently]
    for an end to this horrible and
    continuing and expanded war ….…
    along with the rest of the nation!

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