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 Entangling
Alliances
In the name of clamping down on "terrorist
uprisings" in Pakistan , General Musharraf has declared a state
of emergency and imposed martial law. The true motivations behind
this action however, are astonishingly transparent, as the reports
come in that mainly lawyers and opposition party members are being
arrested and harassed. Supreme Court justices are held in house
arrest after indicating some reluctance to certify the legitimacy
of Musharraf's recent re-election.
Meanwhile, terrorist threats on US interests may be more likely
to originate from Pakistan , a country to which we have sent $10
billion.
Now we are placed in the difficult position of either continuing
to support a military dictator who has taken some blatantly un-Democratic
courses of action, or withdrawing support and angering this nuclear-capable
country. The administration is carefully negotiating this tight-rope
by "reviewing Pakistan 's foreign aid package" and asking
Musharraf to relinquish his military title and schedule elections.
By the time he complies with the requests of the White House sufficiently
to continue to receive his "allowance," courtesy of the
American taxpayer, his mission will be accomplished. A more friendly
Supreme Court will be installed and enough of the opposition party
will be jailed or detained to assure an outcome of the elections
that will meet with his approval. All the while, our administration
lauds Musharraf as a trusted friend and ally.
So much for a War on Terror. So much for making the world safe
for democracy.
Free trade means no sanctions against Iran , or Cuba or anyone
else for that matter. Entangling alliances with no one means no
foreign aid to Pakistan , or Egypt , or Israel , or anyone else
for that matter. If an American citizen determines a foreign country
or cause is worthy of their money, let them send it, and encourage
their neighbors to send money too, but our government has no authority
to use hard-earned American taxpayer dollars to mire us in these
nightmarishly complicated, no-win entangling alliances.
When we look at global situations today, the words of our founding
fathers are becoming more relevant daily. We need to understand
that a simple, humble foreign policy makes us less vulnerable and
less targeted on the world stage. Pakistan should not be getting
an "allowance" from us and we should not be propping up
military dictators that oppress people. We should mind our own business
and stop the oppressive taxation of Americans that makes this meddling
possible.
Ron Paul
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