3.3 International Affairs

3.3 International Affairs

American foreign policy should seek an America at peace with the world and its defense against attack from abroad. We would end the current U.S. government policy of foreign intervention, including military and economic aid. We recognize the right of all people to resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights. We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups.

This plank is the first one where the clear message is most likey to be muddled. America does not own the rest of the world anything, as was discussed earlier, but it is in the best interest of our people to not allow the free flow of goods and services to be compromised. Thus we will walk a bit of a tight rope. We cannot afford to be isolationists, yet neither are we imperialistic.

The world has gotten mre dangerous with time, not safer. In 1908 the possibility of a single military attack that could kill, literally, billions of people did not exist and now it does. Worse, the number of nations with the ability to carry out such devastating attacks is on the rise. Each military advancement represents a new threat, and the threats are world wide.

At the same time America stands against terrorism. The war on terror is a political boondoggle to be sure, but neither should America simply turn a blind eye to those in such serious need. Rather than sending the Marines, we should equip and train those in need to meet their own needs. While this action would, technically, be military aid, it would be thousands to millions of times less expensive than our current path, and many times more effective. Not only would this path enable those in bondage the ability to free themselves, but it would remove the hazards to our own people. We would have very few, if any, troops in the theater of combat and would not have to sustain an ultimately unwelcome occupation force.

It is a romantic notion that the United States was formed by the courageous actions of the American revolutionary soldier. It is accurate, but not the whole story. One of the critical components was the intervention by France. With the arrival of the French fleet the British were no longer free to range the coast as they had done, and the issue was quickly decided. In turn American intervention in France brought on the liberation of France. We Libertarians hold up as our symbol that of Lady Liberty, a gift given too us by the French for the hope we bring to the world. We cannot forget that liberty is not always won from the inside alone, but that outside intervention is sometimes required.

Nothing could produce a better place to live for all people, including Americans, than a world at peace with liberty and justice for all.