[John D]

When has Dr. Paul suggested gutting our military?

He wants to cut our military in half. He says one submarine is suitable to patrol our entire eastern coast. He wants to experiment with allowing perverts in the military. What more could he do?

Again. The Ron Paul foreign policy/defense strategy is a 21st Century manifestation of the Washington/Jefferson foreign policy.

Washington did not want gays in the military. In the 18th century our enemies could not launch a missile strike that could destroy us in a matter of minutes.
Cut and Run may be living in the 18th century, but the rest of us are living in the 21st.

[Ohioan]

Which of the candidates have urged removal of Homosexuals from the military? I agree with you on that issue, but do not believe that that provides a clear choice. It is an issue that most simply try to avoid.

As for Iran's missile capabilities? I believe that what missiles they have were, at least in part, provided by North Korea, however North Korea chooses to use their own technology. In any case, the capability is far behind other nations. The answer is, of course, the Reagan program for space defenses against all potential foes--not focusing on one of many potential foes.

I have dealt with this situation in Pseudo Pragmatism--Political Folly.

The issue is not whether we have adequate defense. Of course, we must have adequate defense. What we must not do is waste our resources in fights that undermine our historic credibility, while undermining our eventual ability to deal with far more serious potential threats.

There is another aspect of this, I have not addressed before this moment; and that is this:

Obama is an amoral opportunist. He is undoubtedly considering the classic maneuver of the demagogue in power, seeking to enhance his power; and that is a sudden crisis, that he is able to control. The almost hysterical focus of certain Republican candidates on Iran, is pure opportunity for Obama. He can pick an incident--perhaps solely of his own creation--and attack Iran, putting many Republicans into a real quandry, trapped by their own rhetoric.

I do not know whether Obama's Islamic background is Shiite of Sunni. If the latter, this ploy would be all the more appealing to Obama.

William Flax