PDA

View Full Version : Ron Paul in 2002 : Wisdom Before the Iraq War




OptionsTrader
11-03-2007, 04:43 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLV7zDhKzDY

Ron Paul speaking before the House of Representatives before the Iraq War, on September 4, 2002 and October 8, 2002. Pleading for the Congress to listen to reason and open up the Constitution before thrusting this nation into this war without merit. I posted this a few weks ago in the member work spotlight forum and it got buried. Just putting it here for any newcomers to see.

Jordan
11-03-2007, 05:14 PM
Easily the best RP video

OptionsTrader
11-03-2007, 06:13 PM
Easily the best RP video

14 other videos that I have posted to YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=OptionsMonster

My favorites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bCRc2ub8hU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHVJgsyvXX4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ylk69fDO4U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1l0e5Q2nGA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLV7zDhKzDY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L4lR4jZcPw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1CX7B5K9Lc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEmIpb9leXY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSnuexdIAYE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZybPTUtpLF0

JosephTheLibertarian
11-03-2007, 06:50 PM
I think Ron Paul could've had a good chance in 2000. I have seen many times people say things like "Ron Paul is the most fiscal conservative candidate... I'd vote for him if we weren't at war"

OptionsTrader
11-05-2007, 05:30 PM
Bump.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLV7zDhKzDY

Ron Paul speaking before the House of Representatives before the Iraq War, on September 4, 2002 and October 8, 2002. Pleading for the Congress to listen to reason and open up the Constitution before thrusting this nation into this war without merit. I posted this a few weks ago in the member work spotlight forum and it got buried. Just putting it here for any newcomers to see.

OptionsTrader
11-05-2007, 07:04 PM
...

OptionsTrader
11-05-2007, 09:20 PM
...

OptionsTrader
11-05-2007, 11:50 PM
Shameless Bump for the 1000 viewers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLV7zDhKzDY

Ron Paul speaking before the House of Representatives before the Iraq War, on September 4, 2002 and October 8, 2002. Pleading for the Congress to listen to reason and open up the Constitution before thrusting this nation into this war without merit. I posted this a few weks ago in the member work spotlight forum and it got buried. Just putting it here for any newcomers to see.

terlinguatx
11-05-2007, 11:59 PM
...

amonasro
11-06-2007, 12:03 AM
That's a fantastic video. So many great moments and he really speaks like a President. Everyone browsing by should see this.

OptionsTrader
11-06-2007, 09:41 PM
That's a fantastic video. So many great moments and he really speaks like a President. Everyone browsing by should see this.

I agree. Bump.

OptionsTrader
11-06-2007, 09:42 PM
...

OptionsTrader
11-10-2007, 03:39 PM
Bump.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLV7zDhKzDY

Ron Paul speaking before the House of Representatives before the Iraq War, on September 4, 2002 and October 8, 2002. Pleading for the Congress to listen to reason and open up the Constitution before thrusting this nation into this war without merit. I posted this a few weks ago in the member work spotlight forum and it got buried. Just putting it here for any newcomers to see.

walt
11-10-2007, 03:52 PM
wow, that is awesome

OptionsTrader
11-10-2007, 04:02 PM
wow, that is awesome

Yes it is. Pass the link around.

OptionsTrader
11-15-2007, 07:39 PM
...

OptionsTrader
11-19-2007, 06:49 PM
...

OptionsTrader
11-20-2007, 04:00 PM
Pass this link around.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLV7zDhKzDY

Ron Paul speaking before the House of Representatives before the Iraq War, on September 4, 2002 and October 8, 2002. Pleading for the Congress to listen to reason and open up the Constitution before thrusting this nation into this war without merit. I posted this a few weks ago in the member work spotlight forum and it got buried. Just putting it here for any newcomers to see.

OptionsTrader
11-30-2007, 05:25 PM
A request by a youtube user regarding my video:

"Please, please, please - repost this video on YouTube and other video sites as many times as you can - if you are technically capable of doing so.

Only 3,817 people have watched it. It is a message that should be heard by millions - not just three thousand.

Thanks! "

Pass this link around.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLV7zDhKzDY

Ron Paul speaking before the House of Representatives before the Iraq War, on September 4, 2002 and October 8, 2002. Pleading for the Congress to listen to reason and open up the Constitution before thrusting this nation into this war without merit. I posted this a few weks ago in the member work spotlight forum and it got buried. Just putting it here for any newcomers to see.

Patrick Henry
11-30-2007, 05:27 PM
bump

plb
11-30-2007, 05:31 PM
repost it so it gets seen as a new video ;)

OptionsTrader
12-21-2007, 02:02 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLV7zDhKzDY

OptionsTrader
02-06-2008, 09:20 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLV7zDhKzDY

OptionsTrader
03-10-2008, 03:22 AM
~ 6 month bump Ron Paul for the Long Haul:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bCRc2ub8hU

And bump for the vid relevant to this thread (everyone needs to see it):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLV7zDhKzDY

hawks4ronpaul
03-10-2008, 06:21 AM
I love this man! And Hillary claims she was fooled into voting for it by Bush- HAH!

A President who Cannot Be Fooled:

http://hawks4ronpaul.blogspot.com/2008/01/president-who-cannot-be-fooled-ron-paul.html

pinkmandy
03-10-2008, 06:49 AM
I think Ron Paul could've had a good chance in 2000. I have seen many times people say things like "Ron Paul is the most fiscal conservative candidate... I'd vote for him if we weren't at war"

Ugh. If people vote for him we won't be at war! Why don't they get that? :rolleyes:

hawks4ronpaul
03-10-2008, 07:00 AM
Ugh. If people vote for him we won't be at war! Why don't they get that? :rolleyes:

Paulite: "We need to withdraw our troops."

Neocon: "We can't...all our equipment would be stolen while our troops were away."

Paulite: "We'll withdraw our equipment."

Neocon: "What!!??...and leave our troops there with no equipment?"


http://hawks4ronpaul.blogspot.com/2008/03/how-to-withdraw-from-iraq-safely-mahan.html

OptionsTrader
03-10-2008, 03:46 PM
Felt like ranting a little.


For decades, the deciders occupy, bomb, promote warfare, and profit from both sides of regional warfare in the lands of the so-called evil doers.
It is said that a handful of evil doers, mostly fom Saudi Arabia and funded by the Pakistani government, retaliate on our homeland.
The deciders assert the evil doers attacked this country because the evil doers hate our liberty.
The deciders take away our liberty as a result.
The deciders assert that a global war is necessary to make the homeland safe.
The global war will not include "allies" Saudi Arabia or Pakistan, but Afghanistan and Iraq instead, based on 3 columns of evidence that all are proved to be lies.
The deciders kill hundreds of 1000's of Iraqis in retaliation.
The deciders fund a multi-trillion dollar extravagant war that depletes the people of the homeland of their present and future wealth, setting off a recession, at best.
The evil doers are now in greater number, and resent the deciders even more, placing the homeland at increased risk.
The deciders take away further freedoms from us asserting that since we are now even less safe than before.
The deciders, Hillary Clinton included, label the Iran military a terrorist organization, opening the door for another invasion.
The economy further deteriorates and gold prices are spiking, oil prices are spiking, and estimates for future economic growth point to a serious downturn in the economy.

It is 8 months before the homeland's presidential election, and the only candidate that was right all along about 1) the foolishness of an Iraq invasion, 2) the foolishness of transferring the power of declaring war to the president from the Congress, 3) the foolishness of sacrificing liberty for the perception of safety, 4) the foolishness of the paper money system that steals wealth from the poor and middle class and transfers it immorally to the wealthy; this man is shunned by the media and the media hype non-news as if a revolutionary candidate with the answers does not exist. And, instead, a charismatic socialist that will not scale back the American empire and will usher in a new era of fascism is touted by the media every 10 seconds as what the country needs.

We need to take power away from these deciders. Taking that power is the only solution.
Check out:
http://www.freedom-force.org

OptionsTrader
03-10-2008, 03:51 PM
For anyone that has not yet read this:

http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2002/cr091002.htm

September 10, 2002
Congressman Ron Paul
U.S. House of Representatives
September 10, 2002

QUESTIONS THAT WON'T BE ASKED ABOUT IRAQ

Soon we hope to have hearings on the pending war with Iraq. I am concerned there are some questions that won’t be asked- and maybe will not even be allowed to be asked. Here are some questions I would like answered by those who are urging us to start this war.

1. Is it not true that the reason we did not bomb the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War was because we knew they could retaliate?

2. Is it not also true that we are willing to bomb Iraq now because we know it cannot retaliate- which just confirms that there is no real threat?

3. Is it not true that those who argue that even with inspections we cannot be sure that Hussein might be hiding weapons, at the same time imply that we can be more sure that weapons exist in the absence of inspections?

4. Is it not true that the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency was able to complete its yearly verification mission to Iraq just this year with Iraqi cooperation?

5. Is it not true that the intelligence community has been unable to develop a case tying Iraq to global terrorism at all, much less the attacks on the United States last year? Does anyone remember that 15 of the 19 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia and that none came from Iraq?

6. Was former CIA counter-terrorism chief Vincent Cannistraro wrong when he recently said there is no confirmed evidence of Iraq’s links to terrorism?

7. Is it not true that the CIA has concluded there is no evidence that a Prague meeting between 9/11 hijacker Atta and Iraqi intelligence took place?

8. Is it not true that northern Iraq, where the administration claimed al-Qaeda were hiding out, is in the control of our "allies," the Kurds?

9. Is it not true that the vast majority of al-Qaeda leaders who escaped appear to have safely made their way to Pakistan, another of our so-called allies?

10. Has anyone noticed that Afghanistan is rapidly sinking into total chaos, with bombings and assassinations becoming daily occurrences; and that according to a recent UN report the al-Qaeda "is, by all accounts, alive and well and poised to strike again, how, when, and where it chooses"?

11. Why are we taking precious military and intelligence resources away from tracking down those who did attack the United States- and who may again attack the United States- and using them to invade countries that have not attacked the United States?

12. Would an attack on Iraq not just confirm the Arab world's worst suspicions about the US, and isn't this what bin Laden wanted?

13. How can Hussein be compared to Hitler when he has no navy or air force, and now has an army 1/5 the size of twelve years ago, which even then proved totally inept at defending the country?

14. Is it not true that the constitutional power to declare war is exclusively that of the Congress? Should presidents, contrary to the Constitution, allow Congress to concur only when pressured by public opinion? Are presidents permitted to rely on the UN for permission to go to war?

15. Are you aware of a Pentagon report studying charges that thousands of Kurds in one village were gassed by the Iraqis, which found no conclusive evidence that Iraq was responsible, that Iran occupied the very city involved, and that evidence indicated the type of gas used was more likely controlled by Iran not Iraq?

16. Is it not true that anywhere between 100,000 and 300,000 US soldiers have suffered from Persian Gulf War syndrome from the first Gulf War, and that thousands may have died?

17. Are we prepared for possibly thousands of American casualties in a war against a country that does not have the capacity to attack the United States?

18. Are we willing to bear the economic burden of a 100 billion dollar war against Iraq, with oil prices expected to skyrocket and further rattle an already shaky American economy? How about an estimated 30 years occupation of Iraq that some have deemed necessary to "build democracy" there?

19. Iraq’s alleged violations of UN resolutions are given as reason to initiate an attack, yet is it not true that hundreds of UN Resolutions have been ignored by various countries without penalty?

20. Did former President Bush not cite the UN Resolution of 1990 as the reason he could not march into Baghdad, while supporters of a new attack assert that it is the very reason we can march into Baghdad?

21. Is it not true that, contrary to current claims, the no-fly zones were set up by Britain and the United States without specific approval from the United Nations?

22. If we claim membership in the international community and conform to its rules only when it pleases us, does this not serve to undermine our position, directing animosity toward us by both friend and foe?

23. How can our declared goal of bringing democracy to Iraq be believable when we prop up dictators throughout the Middle East and support military tyrants like Musharaf in Pakistan, who overthrew a democratically-elected president?

24. Are you familiar with the 1994 Senate Hearings that revealed the U.S. knowingly supplied chemical and biological materials to Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war and as late as 1992- including after the alleged Iraqi gas attack on a Kurdish village?

25. Did we not assist Saddam Hussein’s rise to power by supporting and encouraging his invasion of Iran? Is it honest to criticize Saddam now for his invasion of Iran, which at the time we actively supported?

26. Is it not true that preventive war is synonymous with an act of aggression, and has never been considered a moral or legitimate US policy?

27. Why do the oil company executives strongly support this war if oil is not the real reason we plan to take over Iraq?

28. Why is it that those who never wore a uniform and are confident that they won’t have to personally fight this war are more anxious for this war than our generals?

29. What is the moral argument for attacking a nation that has not initiated aggression against us, and could not if it wanted?

30. Where does the Constitution grant us permission to wage war for any reason other than self-defense?

31. Is it not true that a war against Iraq rejects the sentiments of the time-honored Treaty of Westphalia, nearly 400 years ago, that countries should never go into another for the purpose of regime change?

32. Is it not true that the more civilized a society is, the less likely disagreements will be settled by war?

33. Is it not true that since World War II Congress has not declared war and- not coincidentally- we have not since then had a clear-cut victory?

34. Is it not true that Pakistan, especially through its intelligence services, was an active supporter and key organizer of the Taliban?

35. Why don't those who want war bring a formal declaration of war resolution to the floor of Congress?

MusoSpuso
03-10-2008, 04:30 PM
Ron's hella pissed in these speeches. He all but stomps off afterwards. Nice. I'd be pissed too if I were trying to speak sense into a bunch of brain dead power hungry back scratching politicians.

amonasro
03-10-2008, 04:50 PM
http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2005/cr012605.htm

1. What if the policies of foreign intervention, entangling alliances, policing the world, nation building, and spreading our values through force are deeply flawed?
2. What if it is true that Saddam Hussein never had weapons of mass destruction?
3. What if it is true that Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden were never allies?
4. What if it is true that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein did nothing to enhance our national security?
5. What if our current policy in the Middle East leads to the overthrow of our client oil states in the region?
6. What if the American people really knew that more than 20,000 American troops have suffered serious casualties or died in the Iraq war, and 9% of our forces already have been made incapable of returning to battle?
7. What if it turns out there are many more guerrilla fighters in Iraq than our government admits?
8. What if there really have been 100,000 civilian Iraqi casualties, as some claim, and what is an acceptable price for “doing good?”
9. What if Rumsfeld is replaced for the wrong reasons, and things become worse under a Defense Secretary who demands more troops and an expansion of the war?
10. What if we discover that, when they do vote, the overwhelming majority of Iraqis support Islamic (Sharia) law over western secular law, and want our troops removed?
11. What if those who correctly warned of the disaster awaiting us in Iraq are never asked for their opinion of what should be done now?
12. What if the only solution for Iraq is to divide the country into three separate regions, recognizing the principle of self-determination while rejecting the artificial boundaries created in 1918 by non-Iraqis?
13. What if it turns out radical Muslims don’t hate us for our freedoms, but rather for our policies in the Middle East that directly affected Arabs and Muslims?
14. What if the invasion and occupation of Iraq actually distracted from pursuing and capturing Osama bin Laden?
15. What if we discover that democracy can’t be spread with force of arms?
16. What if democracy is deeply flawed, and instead we should be talking about liberty, property rights, free markets, the rule of law, localized government, weak centralized government, and self-determination promoted through persuasion, not force?
17. What if Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda actually welcomed our invasion and occupation of Arab/Muslim Iraq as proof of their accusations against us, and it served as a magnificent recruiting tool for them?
18. What if our policy greatly increased and prolonged our vulnerability to terrorists and guerilla attacks both at home and abroad?
19. What if the Pentagon, as reported by its Defense Science Board, actually recognized the dangers of our policy before the invasion, and their warnings were ignored or denied?
20. What if the argument that by fighting over there, we won’t have to fight here, is wrong, and the opposite is true?
21. What if we can never be safer by giving up some of our freedoms?
22. What if the principle of pre-emptive war is adopted by Russia, China, Israel, India, Pakistan, and others, “justified” by current U.S. policy?
23. What if pre-emptive war and pre-emptive guilt stem from the same flawed policy of authoritarianism, though we fail to recognize it?
24. What if Pakistan is not a trustworthy ally, and turns on us when conditions deteriorate?
25. What if plans are being laid to provoke Syria and/or Iran into actions that would be used to justify a military response and pre-emptive war against them?
26. What if our policy of democratization of the Middle East fails, and ends up fueling a Russian-Chinese alliance that we regret-- an alliance not achieved even at the height of the Cold War?
27. What if the policy forbidding profiling at our borders and airports is deeply flawed?
28. What if presuming the guilt of a suspected terrorist without a trial leads to the total undermining of constitutional protections for American citizens when arrested?
29. What if we discover the army is too small to continue policies of pre-emption and nation-building? What if a military draft is the only way to mobilize enough troops?
30. What if the “stop-loss” program is actually an egregious violation of trust and a breach of contract between the government and soldiers? What if it actually is a backdoor draft, leading to unbridled cynicism and rebellion against a voluntary army and generating support for a draft of both men and women? Will lying to troops lead to rebellion and anger toward the political leadership running the war?
31. What if the Pentagon’s legal task-force opinion that the President is not bound by international or federal law regarding torture stands unchallenged, and sets a precedent which ultimately harms Americans, while totally disregarding the moral, practical, and legal arguments against such a policy?
32. What if the intelligence reform legislation-- which gives us bigger, more expensive bureaucracy-- doesn’t bolster our security, and distracts us from the real problem of revamping our interventionist foreign policy?
33. What if we suddenly discover we are the aggressors, and we are losing an unwinnable guerrilla war?
34. What if we discover, too late, that we can’t afford this war-- and that our policies have led to a dollar collapse, rampant inflation, high interest rates, and a severe economic downturn?

OptionsTrader
03-11-2008, 11:39 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLV7zDhKzDY

Cowlesy
03-11-2008, 11:50 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLV7zDhKzDY

Ron Paul speaking before the House of Representatives before the Iraq War, on September 4, 2002 and October 8, 2002. Pleading for the Congress to listen to reason and open up the Constitution before thrusting this nation into this war without merit. I posted this a few weks ago in the member work spotlight forum and it got buried. Just putting it here for any newcomers to see.

That's one of my favorite Ron Paul clips out there.

OptionsTrader
03-11-2008, 11:56 PM
That's one of my favorite Ron Paul clips out there.

If you Google "Ron Paul" Iraq 2002, it is the second hit.

If you YouTube "ron paul" iraq, it is the first hit.

I wish more people would do those searches...

OptionsTrader
05-28-2008, 08:03 PM
A 7 month+ bump.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLV7zDhKzDY

wgadget
05-28-2008, 08:12 PM
This one is good, too. It's an interview with Bill Moyers about the same topic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itx9ij_9OjU

satchelmcqueen
05-28-2008, 08:29 PM
bumpity...

brandon
05-28-2008, 08:32 PM
Good to hear these speeches again. I love Paul's one minute speech before congress in the video OP posted. The passion in his voice is striking.

RSLudlum
05-28-2008, 08:35 PM
This one is good, too. It's an interview with Bill Moyers about the same topic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itx9ij_9OjU

that's the show that introduced me to RP way back when!!! I used to be (still am to certain extent) a very advid viewer of PBS, Moyers, Frontline, Nova, Austin City Limits; got to get my yearly money's worth of my $50 contributions :)

qh4dotcom
05-28-2008, 10:00 PM
Great video

OptionsTrader
05-31-2008, 05:52 AM
Great video

Views: 53,981

Needs more in light of some new neocon converts as a result of the Scott McClellan issue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLV7zDhKzDY

Pass it around please.