Lew Rockwell: Why Do They Hate Us?There was a brief period of time when the Libertarian option appealed to me. Oh, not enough to get me to vote for the kooks, but enough to make their positions seem more consistent than the Democrats or Republicans.
But the Libertarians always fell down on foreign policy, where their positions are largely indistinguishable
from the radical left, as Lew Rockwell reveals in a column today:
Such was the case after 9-11. Every close observer of the events of those days knows full well that these crimes were acts of revenge for US policy in the Muslim world. The CIA and the 911 Commission said as much, the terrorists themselves proclaimed it, and Osama underscored the point by naming three issues in particular: US troops in Saudi Arabia, US sanctions against Iraq, and US funding of Israeli expansionism.
Chickens coming home to roost, as F-Troop Indian Ward Churchill put it. Of course, if the US had removed its troops from Saudi Arabia, lifted the sanctions, and stopped funding the Israelis, Osama would have been happy with us, right?
Uh, no. Then it would have been some issues nearer and dearer to Rockwell's heart, like US licentiousness, gay marriage, etc. The idea that these are legitimate grievances that we should heed leads to Chamberlain. Rockwell quotes Ron Paul:
"I'm suggesting that we listen to the people who attacked us and the reason they did it, and they are delighted that we're over there because Osama bin Laden has said, 'I am glad you're over on our sand because we can target you so much easier.' They have already now since that time – have killed 3,400 of our men, and I don't think it was necessary."
Labels: Lew Rockwell, Ron Paul
