Ive heard a number of insulting Republicans (i.e. Newt Gingrich, Charles Krauthammer, Steve Hayes, etc.) call Ron Paul names for his foreign policy proposals WITHOUT any specifics other than his lack of support of a preemptive bombing of Iran (I also support the lack of action against Iran). As an Independent that will vote for Ron Paul in the primary with some reservations, here is a specific that I would like answered. Piracy off of the Somalia coast. A significant amount of USA oil comes from Saudi Arabia (~10-15 %) and the barges must pass by Somalia. IF the USA closes all of its overseas military bases, how does one deal with the kidnapping/piracy threat of commercial oil barges? 1. Require all oil barges to carry firepower superior to the threat of any Somali pirate. If so, who pays for the firepower (i.e. government or shipping operator)? If the shipping operator must pay for their own protection, how do they deal with the potential political ramifications of oil-exporting countries requiring the absence of military equipment on cargo ships? 2. Ignore the threat. What happens if multiple ships are held in ransom. Do we now send military support from the USA all the way to Somalia? A lot of time and lost efficiency. Do we pay the ransom? Weakness that will wreck the economy of the USA. The fear of naval ships in the region is a powerful deterrent to piracy that can not be ignored. Will other countries step up their military support of the region? 3. Increase USA oil production to eliminate Saudi Arabia as a supplier? In other words, is Ron Paul a simpleton or will peace really work? Has he worked this out or is he shooting from the hip like the previous idiot Obama?
We should treat them like the Barbary States, give them a tribute, but also tell them if anything gets screwed up Somalia will be turned into as glass factory.
The US has carriers, that's all that is needed. For piracy, for Iran, for anything realistically foreseeable. Ron Paul doesn't want to eliminate America's defenses, he wants to eliminate America's waste overseas. We shouldn't have more US soldiers on the Korean border than on the American border. We shouldn't be building schools and cities in the Middle East when we could be doing that in America, and so on. Anyone who isn't a crony for the war industry will know that, God forbid anything happened, the US would be able to shut down any threat within minutes with or without bases littered all over the map.
Permanent military bases are fairly useless anyway. I would rather build 30 more carriers. Hell, build double runway carriers like the world has never seen. If the Geneva convention won't allow, pull out of it. America has done a lot to develop the world. However, when one quits giving away free wealth to protect their self, those used to the freebies tend to flip out. Basically, America kicking the world off her tit is the premise for WW3. I don't believe in man made global warming, but GW is real. We are not only going to need the Pacific and Atlantic fleets, but we will now need an Arctic fleet as well. Supreme Naval and Air power is the only way 300 million could hold off 6 billion. We need factories up and running from coast to coast, kicking out ships, jets and munitions ASAP. Pulling our wealth out of China is also a must. If cheap labor is needed, I would prefer us send the jobs to Mexico. A staunch ally in global affairs. And that many factories there would be a super reversal of migratory trends for low wrung workers.
Ron Paul is for a strong defense, and Ron Paul has stated that using the military to ensure that shipping lanes and trade routes remain open is a perfectly valid use of the military. But that is a far cry from past and current U.S. foreign policy. Current U.S. foreign policy is one of interference, agitation, and intervention. We have 100's of bases open all over the globe. The U.S. accounts for 42% of all military spending in the world - for comparison, China spends 7.8%. War is big business - BIG BUSINESS!!! and that money is tirelessly put back to work to influence policy. Paul is mercilessly, and falsly attacked and misrepresented by media talking heads and politicians who are committed to advancing their own careers - hence, they go where the money and influence is. The leadership of both political parties are completely corrupt and worse. Ron Paul is the only candidate who represents a threat to their stranglehold on power, and as such he is the only candidate that represents the hope that freedom and sanity can be restored to America. The debt clock is representative of what the criminal ruling elite of this country have done to the American people. http://www.usdebtclock.org/ Ron Paul wants to get that ticker running in the other direction; restore the boundaries of Constitutional restriction between the branches; and restore the Constitution as a protection for the American people against their government. My wife is due to give birth to our son in just a few days - he is going to enter this world approx. $134,000 in debt. That is nothing short of disgraceful - every American should be ashamed of what they are doing to this country and to posterity. There was a time in America when parents were committed to ensuring that their children had a better life and future than they did - what we are handing down to posterity now is monstrous amounts of debt and empowered governmental control systems. In just a few generations, Americans have fallen from "the Greatest Generation", to generations of ignorant parasites. Truly all Americans should be deeply ashamed of what they are passing on to posterity. Ron Paul is our last and only hope of mounting a revolution to stop America's impending collapse.
As a Democrat, Ron Paul's foreign policy is one that I 100% agree with and I know it is the reason why some democrats and younger people are interested in him as president.
Has anything that we have done upto this point prevented iran from obtaining enriched uranium ? If you do the same thing over and over and expect a different result your called crazy. Is our current national security strategy sane ?
