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Politics : DON'T START THE WAR -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (19767)	3/12/2003 1:26:42 PM
From: Just_Observing	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 25898

Shall We Go to War? by Gregory Bresiger [Posted March 12, 2003] In deciding whether to wage war against yet another regime that has fallen into disfavor with DC, the United States must make some hard choices. Will we follow the traditions of George Washington or those of Woodrow Wilson? As Americans grapple with the hard choices involved in a possible war against Iraq, a larger set of principles is implied in this decision. Can America avoid a repeat of the failed interventions of the last century, the most conspicuous of which was the Vietnam tragedy of the 1960s and 1970s? A debate over that tragic war has been re-opened by two recent books about former presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Robert Kerrey.[1] He was a winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor who lost a limb fighting in Vietnam, a war that subjected this country to obloquy abroad as well as at home. The debate over these books comes at the same time that President George W. Bush insists that the United States must wage war against Iraq, even if means the opposition of much of the world. Will we, or our imperial president, choose empire or will we re-discover ourselves and return to the historic principles of non-intervention? The latter tradition was established by George Washington, who recommended, in his Farewell Address, that Americans stay out of the wars of Europe. He said the young nation should have no permanent military alliances, but should trade with all nations. He warned against "a passionate attachment of one Nation for another." He wrote that the attachment for or against any nation would lead to wars "without adequate inducement and justification."[2] Temporary alliances were acceptable, said Washington, thinking of how our nation had won its independence with the help of the French. But the French were, by Washington's retirement, trying to drag the U.S. into the wars of Europe. Here was an example of why permanent alliances must be avoided. "Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world,"[3] Washington wrote. Washington wanted a minimum of intercourse between governments and a maximum of intercourse between peoples. That was also a sentiment admired by the Manchester School of 19th century Britain, radical MPs who opposed the British Empire. To use Washington's now apparently forgotten words is to understand how dramatically America has moved for its historical roots: "The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible."[4] Even in the latter part of the 19th century, this tradition of non-interventionism remained strong in America. Late in the century there was a suggestion that, considering our insignificance in the world, the nation should close the State Department. These non-interventionist sentiments were expressed in the inaugural address of President Grover Cleveland: "The genius of our institutions, the needs of our people…dictate the scrupulous avoidance of any departure from that foreign policy commended by the history, the traditions and the prosperity of the Republic. It is the policy of independence…It is the policy of peace…It is the policy of neutrality, rejecting any share in foreign boils and ambitions upon other continents." [5] much more at mises.org