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Ron Paul: End the Libyan War!

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Published : April 01st, 2011
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Last week the Obama Administration took the United States to war against Libya without bothering to notify Congress, much less obtain a Constitutionally-mandated declaration of war. In the midst of our severe economic downturn, this misadventure has already cost us hundreds of millions of dollars and we can be sure the final price tag will be several times higher.


Why did the US intervene in a civil war in a country that has neither attacked us nor poses a threat? We are told this was another humanitarian intervention, like Clinton’s 1999 war against Serbia. But as civilian victims of the US-led coalition bombing continue to add up, it is getting difficult to determine whether the problem we are creating on the ground is worse than the one we were trying to solve.


Though the administration seems to be playing with semantics, calling this a “kinetic military action,” let’s be clear: this is a US act of war on Libya. Imposing a no-fly zone over the air space of a sovereign nation is an act of war, as Secretary of Defense Robert Gates pointed out before the bombing began. That the administration hesitates to call this war, possibly due to the troubling Constitutional implications, does not mean that it is not one. Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution could not be clearer: the power and obligation to declare war resides solely in the US Congress.


There was ample time and opportunity for the administration to consult the UN, NATO and the Arab League before going to war, but not the US Congress.


Aside from the manner in which the administration took us to war, it is also troubling that our government has taken a decisive stand for one side of an internal conflict in another sovereign country. The administration speaks out of both sides of its mouth on this, claiming that the US is not attempting to overthrow the Gaddafi regime while clearly benefitting the rebels and stating that Gaddafi must leave. Does this make any sense? Gaddafi may well be every bit the “bad guy” we are told he is, but who are the rebels we are assisting? Do we have any clue? Will they bring freedom and prosperity to Libya if they are victorious? We might like to hope so, but the fact is, we don’t know. Michael Scheuer, former head of the CIA’s Bin Laden unit, explained in a recent article that there is plausible reason to believe the rebels are current or former Islamist mujahedin, eager to engage in jihad. Indeed, Gaddafi has fought against Libyan Islamists for years and is seen by them as a bitter enemy. Astoundingly, it may well be that we are assisting al Qaeda in this new war!


The costs of this terrible mistake cannot be ignored. Congress has been locked in battles over budget cuts and agonizing over ways to save money. Recent proposed spending cuts have by now been completely wiped out with this new war! Will we be rebuilding Libya ten years from now? Will Congress simply roll over and rubber stamp more emergency spending bills for this new war as they have done in the past? We must end our participation in any attack on Libya immediately and I have signed on to legislation that would do exactly that. Congress must assert its Constitutional authority and rein in an administration clearly out of control.


 




Ron Paul

www.house.gov/paul



Copyright Dr. Ron Paul 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Congressman Ron Paul of Texas enjoys a national reputation as the premier advocate for liberty in politics today. Dr. Paul is the leading spokesman in Washington for limited constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies based on commodity-backed currency. He is known among both his colleagues in Congress and his constituents for his consistent voting record in the House of Representatives: Dr. Paul never votes for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution. In the words of former Treasury Secretary William Simon, Dr. Paul is the "one exception to the Gang of 535" on Capitol Hill.
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Congressman Paul,

I cannot tell you how much this issue burns me up. The only thing that has infuriated me to a comparable degree in the last decade is Obamacare, stripping natural-born citizens suspected of terrorism of their citizenship without due process, and the 9/11 attacks by al-Qaida.

When I see the quotes made by Senator Obama and, better yet, the emphatic and unrestrained threats made by Senator Biden in 2007 about precisely the matter of war conducted on a "unilateral" basis, my eyes roll back into my skull. This was a candidate whose bread and butter is supposed to be Middle Eastern wars and constitutional procedure.

I am not sure if the decision to go to war is wise or not. Our debasement of the currency and the effect this has on oil prices makes Middle Eastern wars inevitable. But, the attitude of the president and certain members of his cabinet--the utter contempt these former legislators have for the rights and powers of the popular assemblies and for the Constitution--beggars belief. It is staggering.

The constitutional compact is broken--this is not new--but if broken, it had at least continued to function in some form. Sure, we do not declare wars, but we got "authorization". The charade is over now; they don't even pretend to care about the law or democratic assemblies. They were elected, and they have the guns. What else matters?

And, who will stop them? Who will, like the Tunisian merchant, burn himself to death in protest? Who will defy the government by revolt or even passive resistance? Nobody. Certainly not me. To be swallowed up by the demagogues in government and the media? The Constitution is shattered and finished. There is a war in Libya, and there is a war on--not only the fabric of our society--but on language itself, where words are debased faster than currency. "Law" and "war" are now meaningless, and everyone stares at pictures of cruise missiles like children dazzled by fireworks. Those who know better merely shrug their shoulders.

There is no way now for my neighbor and I to live in peace. It is now a naked struggle for power, without deliberation or patience, respect or dialogue. Today it is some distant, foreign land with a crazed dictator being fought on the basis of abstract and lofty "principle", for "humanity". Tomorrow, it will be you and I scrapping for the raw elements of power like dogs in a Libyan street.

Hail to our constitutional scholars! Hail to our armed forces! Hail to our elected representatives! And hail to the constitutional oath!
Latest comment posted for this article
Congressman Paul, I cannot tell you how much this issue burns me up. The only thing that has infuriated me to a comparable degree in the last decade is Obamacare, stripping natural-born citizens suspected of terrorism of their citizenship without due pr  Read more
John O. - 4/1/2011 at 2:56 PM GMT
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