Isolationism

The House GOP, Barack Obama, And Libya

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The House of Representatives, led by Speaker John Boehner, slapped President Obama in the face symbolically on Thursday by refusing to back the President’s intervention in Libya. Interesting, since we did not see the Republican House of Representatives refuse to back George W. Bush constantly in his interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But then when one realizes that the Republican House failed to back Bill Clinton in his intervention in Kosovo in 1999, for the same reason to prevent a total massacre of civilians, one understands this is all about politics.

But it also divides the party nationally, as John McCain and Lindsey Graham see it as a sign of isolationism in the party, in their mind a dangerous trend.

Also, the House acted as a “paper tiger” when they went ahead and refused to cut funding for the war effort against Moammar Gaddafi, but then again, NEVER has the House refused to support a President’s intervention in financial terms.

So it comes down to the reality that the War Powers Act is an ineffective way to deal with foreign policy, and the President of the United States, whoever he is, remains the Commander in Chief, with final control over decisions on committing troops overseas!

The Republican Division On Afghanistan Policy: Could It Affect 2012?

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The Republican Party is bitterly divided over foreign policy as the Presidential campaign develops.

Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman have both called for cutting back US involvement in Afghanistan, and may be, theoretically, to the left of President Obama in this regard.

At the same time, Tim Pawlenty came out today for a hard line view on that war, joining the camp of John McCain and Lindsey Graham in calling such a viewpoint of Romney and Huntsman “isolationist”!

Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann have also sounded “isolationist”, with Paul for sure, and Bachmann speaking in that fashion at the recent Presidential debate in New Hampshire.

Who would have thought that foreign policy would divide the GOP, when many believed it was domestic policy, the budget, taxes, and spending that would dominate?

But, actually, it is the spending for the war in Afghanistan, and the involvement in Libya, which is causing the rift in the party, as House Republicans, led by Speaker John Boehner, are pushing a resolution challenging our involvement in Libya under the War Powers Act, something that McCain and Graham have bitterly denounced, and want modified, which may happen!

So this just complicates the battle for the Republican Presidential nomination, and for the Presidential Election of 2012!

94th Anniversary Of America As A World Power: Time For Reflection!

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On this day, 94 years ago, the United States declared war on Germany, the Austro Hungarian Empire, and the Ottoman Turkish Empire, as President Woodrow Wilson took us into the First World War on the side of Great Britain, France, Russia and Italy, in a war to promote “democracy”!

Ever since, this nation has debated the virtues and shortcomings of entering that war, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the Afghanistan War, the Iraq War, and now the Libyan War.

Many have said that we have stretched ourselves thin, seen hundreds of thousands of Americans killed, gone into a tremendous national debt, and yet have not created a safer world for democracy, which is still rare around the world!

This past 94 years is seen by many as an era of the “American Empire”, but which has been detrimental to our national prosperity and growth!

As we recall the sacrifices of our men and women in all of these wars, it is necessary to say we cannot return to “isolationism” as we tried to do in the 1920s and 1930s to our detriment!

But we also cannot be the world’s “policemen” and have troops and bases in more than 100 countries and manage to promote democracy and opportunity at home!

We must realize as a nation that we can only have limited commitments to overseas military adventures, and not allow the “military industrial complex” to promote commitments that we cannot sustain!

We must always remember that while we are the beacon of democracy in the world, we cannot expect everyone worldwide to want to emulate the United States, and we must work to better our own democracy while trying to promote the concept overseas as an ideal, but not one whereby we keep on committing American men and women to die for a cause that is not wholly supported by the people in other nations!