We do things in our national interest as we should. More than any nation in the history of the world, we have set people free. We buy oil; we don’t steal it. I don’t give a damn why the Islamofascists want us dead. I want them dead first. We could leave Israel tomorrow. We could remove our troops from Mideast soil tomorrow. They still want us dead.
What Ron Paul doesn’t understand, and what the Paulbots don’t understand is that this doesn’t go back to 1920. This goes back centuries. They want us dead. They want Western Civilization dead. They want us all to convert or die.
I do not trust Ron Paul to defend this nation. No matter how much I agree with him on the need to shrink government and expand individual freedom, he can never by my commander in chief.
You’re quite right, of course - the “shores of Tripoli” refers to a corrupt Muslim piracy operation funded by Muslim nations in Thomas Jefferson’s times. The only reason they didn’t attack the new American mainland back then is that it took too long to get across the Atlantic for their hedonistic tastes.
The next time I meet Ron Paul, I’ll be sure to discuss John Quincy Adams’ report to the Continental Congress about the Barbary States.
I wonder if we are not in many ways duplicating and expanding a tax and spend mentality among religious fanatics who don’t give a rat’s ass about freedom as we attempt to stabilize Iraq.
When I say a “meaner” approach to fanatical enemies, I mean learning about them, infiltrating, and neutralizing in a manner that strikes fear into any potential followers. It can be done without sending in whole armies and attempting to set up little Americas all around the world. This seems to be the lines along which Ron Paul is thinking, and I do not think them unreasonable or unpopular, provided he is properly understood.