Veterans Day 2010: A Time to Reflect
I spent almost nine years of my life serving in the United States Air Force. Â I was always in a combat support unit so I never saw any “action”. Â Near the end of my career President George H.W. Bush felt his “new world order” was in danger and decided American blood was worth shedding to protect the Emir of Kuwait and his monarchy. Â It was at this time I started to question our foreign policy.
Soon after Desert Shield/Storm, I left the military and went to university. Â Needless to say, after years of thought and study I became a staunch anti-interventionist, what they called in Cleveland’s day, anti-imperialist. Â If one takes the time to study the history of our republic, one would learn that, as Ron Paul notes, anti-interventionism is the foreign policy of the Founders!
As you take time to reflect upon the service of our Veterans today, take a moment to also think about the human cost of intervention abroad. Â How many American families have been devastated by death, crippling injuries and countless examples of mental anguish! Â But also think of the Iraqi and Afghani families who have lost not only family members, but their homes and their entire existence. Â Yet, there has not been a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan since 2002. Â There were no WMDs in Iraq. Â Yet, we have occupied both nations for going on ten years.
Was the cost worth this adventure in interventionism?