Liberty, War & Politics - Iraq War, France

March 9, 2003

Mar 6/03 Playing Texas poker, Bush bets all on Iraq by Robert Novak
On July 7, 1996, the Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies issued a paper by six ”prominent opinion makers” laying out ”a new vision for the U.S.-Israeli partnership” that urged an end to ”land-for-peace” concessions. Among many suggestions was to ”focus on removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq.”(1)

Mar 5/03 Why the French behave as they do by Patrick Buchanan
“Had we packed up and come home after the Cold War, and dissolved NATO and other outdated alliances, America would today be the most courted country on earth.” (2)

Mar 3/03 After Baghdad, where do we go? by Patrick Buchanan
“The United States intends to invade and occupy a nation that has not attacked us, to reshape its society, rebuild its government, and redirect its foreign policy to reflect American ideals and serve American interests. ” (3)

Feb 19/03 U.S.: Global governor? by Ilana Mercer
Includes arguments against the U.N.

“… neoconservatives, now heading the administration’s war effort, are not exactly dainty about the sovereignty and national boundaries of other nations.”

“…The smaller the political unit, the more likely it is to reflect the will of the people.”

“…Through its many agencies, the U.N. works tirelessly to undermine traditional Western values of economic freedom and individual responsibility, and to consolidate a coercive global economic order.”

“…As economist Hans-Hermann Hoppe points out, taking from original owners and producers and giving to non-owners and non-producers discourages ownership and production, and encourages non-ownership and non-production.”

However, the U.N. is currently “preventing the violation of rights; in this case the rights of Iraqis to be free of unprovoked aggression.” (4)

Mar 6/03 What You Should Know About War and the Economy by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
Discusses Bastiat’s “Broken Window” fallacy.

“… what the government does day to day, and in particular its military arm, is not an extension of the way the rest of us live. Government knows only one mode of operation: coercion. … Because it is constantly overriding human choices, it makes unrelenting error, …”

“…economic costs associated with war. It does not stimulate productivity. It destroys capital, in the same sense that all government spending destroys capital. It removes resources from where they are productive – within the market economy – and places them in the hands of bureaucrats, who assign these resources to uses that have nothing to do with consumer or producer demand….”

“… Meanwhile, the prospect of war has markets completely spooked. Is this a narrow economic concern? Not in any way. Prosperity is an essential partner in civilization itself. It is the basis of leisure, charity, and a hopeful outlook on life. It is the means for conquering poverty at the lowest rung of society, the basis on which children and the elderly are cared for, …”

“…peace and freedom go together …” (5)

Right Wing to the Rescue: Why the anti-war movement needs Pat Buchanan by Knute Berger
“..Anti-war conservatives speak to these values and place the Bush foreign policy in a context that shows that, as a fundamentally imperial policy, it is un-American. They lay out the practical arguments for why it is doomed to failure…” (6)