jct74
09-13-2013, 07:36 AM
PAUL: The folly of rushing to war
By Rand Paul
Friday, September 13, 2013
Standing against military adventurism is not an isolationist ploy
It seems the most common thing for serial interventionists to do these days is to lob the term “isolationist” at anyone who does not agree with their latest folly, and then set up a straw man about those people not wanting to be involved in the world.
I reject this characterization for myself and others who oppose the United States getting involved in the Syrian civil war.
War is too serious and too deadly for that to enter into our calculations. This is not about scoring political points. This is about taking an intelligent, critical look at the past 15 years of our foreign policy and asking ourselves if we are going about this the right way.
After Sept. 11, 2001, when we were attacked by terrorists, we launched a war against Afghanistan. I supported that war and still believe we were justified and made the correct decision to go. President Bush sought and received the consent of Congress and clearly had the support of the American people.
More recently, President Obama has sought to insert our armed forces into internal wars, with no clear security interest for the United States, and no clear sense of what victory would look like.
Opposing this is not isolationism. It is not withdrawing from the world. It is simply an attempt at a more intelligent, reasoned foreign policy than we have become accustomed to in recent years.
...
read more:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/13/paul-the-folly-of-rushing-to-war/?page=all#pagebreak
By Rand Paul
Friday, September 13, 2013
Standing against military adventurism is not an isolationist ploy
It seems the most common thing for serial interventionists to do these days is to lob the term “isolationist” at anyone who does not agree with their latest folly, and then set up a straw man about those people not wanting to be involved in the world.
I reject this characterization for myself and others who oppose the United States getting involved in the Syrian civil war.
War is too serious and too deadly for that to enter into our calculations. This is not about scoring political points. This is about taking an intelligent, critical look at the past 15 years of our foreign policy and asking ourselves if we are going about this the right way.
After Sept. 11, 2001, when we were attacked by terrorists, we launched a war against Afghanistan. I supported that war and still believe we were justified and made the correct decision to go. President Bush sought and received the consent of Congress and clearly had the support of the American people.
More recently, President Obama has sought to insert our armed forces into internal wars, with no clear security interest for the United States, and no clear sense of what victory would look like.
Opposing this is not isolationism. It is not withdrawing from the world. It is simply an attempt at a more intelligent, reasoned foreign policy than we have become accustomed to in recent years.
...
read more:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/13/paul-the-folly-of-rushing-to-war/?page=all#pagebreak