A Strong National Defense, Without Nation-Building

Bob Barr understands the need for a strong national defense, but he categorically rejects the efforts of the current adminstration--and John McCain--to use the men and women of the United States armed forces to nation-build. Barr, from his website:

• "For far too long and at the cost of American blood and treasure, our great military has been too willingly and quickly used for purposes other than national defense. Our fighting men and women deserve better and the integrity of our nation must be restored.
• Our National Defense policy must renew a commitment to non-intervention. We are not the world's police force and our long, yet recently tarnished, tradition of respecting the sovereignty of other nations is necessary, not from only a moral standpoint, but to regain the respect of the world as a principled and peaceful nation.
• The proper use of force is clear. If attacked, the aggressor will experience firsthand the skillful wrath of the American fighting man. However, invading or initiating force against another nation based upon perceived threats and speculative intelligence is simply un-American. We are better than the policy of pre-emptive warfare."

These principles are fundamentally the principles of the Republican Party, before it was hijacked by the current administration, who promised a foreign policy that was careful not to engage in nation-building, but delivered precisely the opposite.

Indeed, the issue of fiscal restraint--again, a core value of the GOP, pre-George W. Bush--is intimately related to a sensible foreign policy. Many conservatives are outraged at the prolonged nature of the Iraq conflict, and its exorbitant cost. Yet John McCain offers only more of the same. On this issue, a return of the Republican Party to its roots can best be accomplished by voting for Bob Barr, a true conservative, and rejecting the policies of John McCain.

More from Bob Barr on national defense and foreign restraint can be found here.