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One cynical description of Libertarians is that they are immoral people
who dont want to pay their taxes.<br>
<br>
However, one can hardly imagine a more immoral position than support
for the Endless War.<br>
<br>
"Simon Black" had this to say in his Sovereign Man newsletter today--<br>
<br>
****<br>
<br>
<h1 style="font-weight: normal;"> </h1>
<span style="font-family: American Typewriter;"><font size="4">Sovereign
Man<br>
</font></span><span style="font-family: American Typewriter;"><font
size="4">Notes from the Field </font></span>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span
style="font-family: American Typewriter;"><font size="4"><br>
</font></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> <font face="verdana, geneva" size="2">Date: March
22, 2011 <br>
Reporting From: Denver, Colorado, USA<br>
</font></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: small;">Have
you ever seen the devastation from a BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile?
It's beyond description. Standing in the impact area, it's as if
nothing has ever existed there before. </span><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: small;">It's
naive to think that something with so much destructive power is
unlikely to cause 'collateral damage.' I can only imagine the
consequences of 159 and counting, the amount of force that has been
unleashed in Libya as yet by western governments.</span><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: small;">This
morning, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates shrugged off any implication
that military strikes are responsible for significant civilian
casualties in Libya... while at the same time playing down America's
role and the timeline for continued action.</span><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: small;">This
is insane. You are either at war, or you are not. Warfare requires
clearly defined objectives, competent generals, and well-resourced
fighting forces... it cannot be waged with half-measures and stammering
equivocation. </span><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: small;">Yet,
here we are again, watching bureaucrats tap dance in front of voters,
playing down the long-term ramifications of engagement and outright
rejecting the idea of regime change as an intended objective.</span><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: small;">They
feel 100% justified in their decision to wage a half war without
getting their hands dirty, rejecting any consequences to civilians, all
under the auspices of protecting civilians... but only Libyan
civilians. </span><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: small;">Much praise
has been heaped on Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy, and the UN Security
Council for their 'political courage,' taking action in the face of
popular backlash to defend Libyans.</span><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: small;">"Political
courage" is an oxymoron. Everything these people do is for their
professional gain, to be reelected, and the fallout of these decisions
costs lives and economic misfortune. The cost of the munitions alone so
far is over a quarter billion dollars, let alone the human cost.</span><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: small;">Barack
Obama himself said in 2002, "What I am opposed to is the attempt by
political hacks... to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise
in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income?--?to distract us from
corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the
worst month since the Great Depression. That's what I'm opposed to. A
dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on
principle but on politics."</span><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: small;">Sounds great. Spoken like a true Nobel
Laureate. </span><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: small;">The
intellectual dishonesty and hypocrisy involved is phenomenal. The UN
Security Council resolution (#1973) which 'authorized' this invasion,
expresses condemnation for Qadaffi's deleterious actions against his
own people...</span><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: small;">...
nevermind that the exact same thing is happening in Bahrain (which
produces only 10% of Libya's oil) where the US Navy's 5th Fleet is
headquartered with front row seats to the show;</span><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: small;">... nevermind that governments have
hardly uttered a word about the situation in Bahrain or Saudi Arabia;</span><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: small;">...
nevermind that the western world has proven itself incompetent at
regime change after the occupations of both Iraq and Afghanistan; </span><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: small;">...
nevermind that 10-years of warfare have worn out the spirit and morale
of fighting forces to the point that they are twisted into taking
trophy photos of dead civilians like a 16-point buck;</span><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: small;">...
nevermind that you can't just step in, bomb some targets, step out, and
expect a peaceful, stable, democratic, pro-Western society to
materialize out of thin air;</span><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: small;">...
nevermind that the coalition forces lack the moral authority to cherry
pick which countries to invade and which civilian populations to ignore.</span><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: small;">When
they lack moral authority, they simply create it out of thin air.
Politicians and bureaucrats equate morality with legality. If something
is legal, it must be just... and if it's not legal, they'll pass a law
or resolution making it legal... and hence just.</span><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: small;">This
is the way they operate-- using regulatory technicalities to wrap
themselves in a blanket of righteousness in order to execute their
agenda. As Tacitus said, "the more corrupt the state, the more numerous
the laws."</span><br>
<br>
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