Let me begin this article by summarizing American foreign policy in one sentence. We are an imperialist world power that has the authority to do whatever we please.
One only needs to look at the words and actions of our government in the past few months to see this dangerous philosophy in action.
Take, for example, the Bush administration's insistence that Iran is supplying arms and technology to Iraqi insurgents. Although there exists little to no evidence to support this claim, let's assume that it's true.
America is a foreign power that invaded Iraq without a declaration of war and is now in the midst of a bloody military occupation with no foreseeable end.
While the U.S. continues to make accusations, pressure Iran and increase its violent rhetoric towards the country, the underlying moral philosophy of the administration is laid bare. The basic assumption of our government and, unfortunately, of many U.S. citizens is that we are a world power that can invade and attack with impunity and if another country interferes, then they too will face consequences. When we accuse Iran of assisting insurgents we are implying that we are the good guys and they are the bad guys.
However, we have already preemptively attacked two Middle Eastern countries, destabilized the entire region and threatened Iran with sanctions and bombs while operating under the guise of what we have learned to call the "War on Terror."
While Iran may not be a model democratic state, it hasn't committed nearly as many atrocities as our own government has in the past seven years.
Although the U.S. government has meddled in foreign affairs, assassinated leaders and installed brutal military dictators, we still act with the notion that, because we are the United States of America, we are enabled and even obligated to do such things. Essentially the government acts as if it owns the world.
Unfortunately, I find this exact same attitude in nearly every one of our presidential candidates.
John McCain stated that staying in Iraq for 100 years would "be fine with him."
For some reason McCain and Romney feel that our national defense must revolve around some sort of international offense. Even Obama and Hillary, who are seen as a Democratic solution to the Republican war, are scaling back their anti-war rhetoric as our country drifts towards a conflict with Iran.
Many leaders would like to portray these Middle Eastern conflicts as inevitable when, in reality, we are the instigators! This is the exact reason why many early American presidents adopted non-intervention policies. When we attempt to involve ourselves in the internal affairs of other countries, we inevitably create conflict and exacerbate the situation.
Americans are dying everyday not because we are under attack from a worldwide terrorist organization bent on murder and destruction, but because we are in their country disrupting their lives.
Our dollar is plummeting while we print off paper money out of thin air to fund wars that have been based on lies and falsified evidence and yet presidential candidates still talk of war and occupation!
If you want a president who follows the Constitution, the cornerstone of our entire nation, who will get the U.S. out of Iraq, Afghanistan, and the other 100 countries that we have a military presence in, then I suggest Ron Paul.
His policies and actions make sense and during presidential debates he answers questions without resorting to the bullying and slandering that have come to dominate American politics.
Instead of blaming the falling dollar and coming recession on other factors, he has accurately shown that middle class Americans are suffering because of the irresponsibility of our own government.
Although his chances are slim, I can only hope that the next president won't follow this philosophy of aggression and war that has turned America into the enemy of the world.
Matt Nitkoski '08
Business
Be the first to comment on this article!