Soft-Pedaling the Barbarians

FrontPageMagazine ^ | Myles Kantor

[VinnyTex]

Soft-Pedaling the Barbarians

FrontPageMagazine.com | September 13, 2001

I AM a libertarian. The murderous aggression perpetrated this Tuesday by terrorists therefore incenses me. 

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The most bizarre response to the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and Pennsylvania massacres is an attempt by some libertarians to rationalize it as an entailment of American foreign policy.  Justin Raimondo, editorial director of Antiwar.com, writes in “Terror: The Price of Hegemony”:

Crashing down along with this symbol of capitalism [the World Trade Center], modernity, and civilization is the overweening hubris of a government – and a people – who thought themselves immune. It is the doctrine of “American exceptionalism,” the theory that the US – blessed by Providence and released from the travails faced by other nations – is immune, exempt not only from the rules that govern and limit the powers of other nations, but also from history itself. For history – and not only history but physics – tells us that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Raimondo concludes:

We stand at the apex of power, and the French have even invented a special term for the hubristic heights of the American Imperium: they call us the hyperpower. It was coined to describe a power outside human history, outside the ordinary rules and conditions attached to human existence, a power without parallel or precedent. We were all about actions, and not about consequences: unlike the empires of the past, America was thought to be exempt from any possible reaction to its imperial edicts. Now we know it isn't true: too bad we had to learn the hard way.

American foreign policy thus spawned the slaughter of September 11.  The perpetrators acted less out of autonomous choice than as agents of historical inevitability who, Raimondo implies, taught America a salutary lesson in humility.

Former Libertarian Party presidential candidate Harry Browne also describes September 11 deterministically in “When Will We Learn?” (also at Antiwar.com): “Our foreign policy has been insane for decades. It was only a matter of time until Americans would have to suffer personally for it. It is a terrible tragedy of life that the innocent so often have to suffer for the sins of the guilty.”  Browne asks after citing American intervention in Sudan, Iraq, and elsewhere, “Did we think the people who lost their families and friends and property in all that destruction would love America for what happened?  When will we learn that violence always begets violence?”

The arguments made to rationalize September 11 apply to another terrorist: Timothy McVeigh.  McVeigh also perpetrated mass murder in response to an act of federal violence, and his slaughter too could be explained as having been begotten by federal slaughter.  It is a contemptible illogic that denies human volition, and it is no less contemptible regarding Tuesday’s terrorists. 

Murray N. Rothbard writes in the classic For a New Liberty, “The libertarian creed rests upon one central axiom: than no man or group of men may aggress against the person or property of anyone else.”  He observes of war, “War…is mass murder, and this massive invasion of the right to life, of self-ownership, of numbers of people is not only a crime but, for the libertarian, the ultimate crime.”  The mass murder perpetrated on September 11 is antithetical to the libertarian creed, an act of war, and very much “the ultimate crime.”  For a libertarian to soft-pedal it is obscene incoherence. 

Going far beyond a sound opposition to the federal government’s aggression abroad, Raimondo and Browne have attempted to mitigate terrorists’ accountability for massacring thousands of Americans.  Freedom’s ethics certainly entail denouncing the imperial presidency, and they sure as hell entail denouncing mass murder without equivocation or tacit exculpation.  Libertarians of all people should not need to be reminded of this. 

Myles Kantor is a columnist for FrontPageMagazine.com, LewRockwell.com and editor of the website FreeEmigration.com. Kantor’s radio show “On Liberty” can be heard Sundays at 7 p.m. Eastern Time on WWFE AM 670 in the Miami Dade area (and in Havana, Cuba!). Those outside the listening area can visit http://www.freeemigration.com/video/index.htm. E-mail him here.

[ICU812]

The premise of the article is wrong, Browne and Raimondo are NOT trying to rationalize, mitigate or soft pedal the attack. They are trying to explain why, in their opinion, America became a target.

It should be pointed out that Browne supported assasinating guys like Bin Laden during the '00 campaign(something Raimondo criticized him for).

[mrustow]

See also:

It DID Happen Here

[CWOJackson]

Great post and excellent analysis. Open attempts to rationalize or justify these attacks, in anyway, simply offers an excuse for the cowards who commited them.

[StratRant]

You could not be more wrong, ICU812. Harry Browne goes far beyond explaining why the attack took place. First of all, he assesses blame for the attack and then he gives his own view of what should be done about it.

Harry Browne asserts that the murder of tens of thousands of Americans is nothing more than part of a tit for tat struggle between equally culpable parties. That view is obscene. Americans do not sanction the slaughter of civilians, we do not celebrate the murder of innocents abroad, and our government does not condone or sponsor the sort of religious bigotry behind terrorist attacks. Period.

After making ludicrous claims about our military history, Harry Browne gives the following three point plan for dealing with the murder of tens of thousands of Americans by foreign agents:

First of all, stop the hysteria. Stand back and ask how this could have happened. Ask how a prosperous country isolated by two oceans could have so embroiled itself in other people's business that someone would want to do us harm. Even sitting in the middle of Europe, Switzerland isn't beset by terrorist attacks, because the Swiss mind their own business.

Second, resolve that we won't let our leaders use this occasion to commit their own terrorist acts upon more innocent people, foreign and domestic, that will inspire more terrorist attacks in the future.

Third, find a way, with enforceable constitutional limits, to prevent our leaders from ever again provoking this kind of anger against America.

Let me put this in simple terms: Harry Browne's position is that we are supposed to accept the wholesale slaughter of our own citizens and then "prevent our leaders" from acting in defense or retaliation! In Harry Browne's view, the bullies of the world have a moral right to murder Americans but Americans, through their government must unilaterally surrender lest we risk "provoking" further anger.

It's no wonder that the Libertarian Party has never won a significant election. With people like Harry Browne at the helm, it is certain that they never will.

[Texasforever]

Going further, Harry Browne and Justin Raimondo should be brought up on charges of giving aid and comfort to the enemy in a time of war.

[riley1992]

I, too, am a libertarian (small "l") and agree with this piece.

[johnboy]

"Americans do not sanction the slaughter of civilians ... "

But this, of course, is not true at all ... after all, how many thousands of civilians did we slaughter in, e.g., Serbia?

[StratRant]

Johnboy,

How many people who were fully aware of the situation in Serbia sanctioned it? Very few, my friend. We are not a nation of savages, but a nation besieged (and sometimes, unfortunately, governed) by them.

[ICU812]

Ok I re-read Browne's column in light of your comments. Let me say whether you agree with him or not he certainly has awful timing, NOBODY wants to hear this now, there are people still trapped alive for GOD's sake. Secondly I will criticize Browne for not affirming the righteousness of American retaliation. Libertarianism is, after all, a philosophy that condemns the initiation of force, it isn't an inherently pacifist ideology, it allows for self-defense and retaliation. Personally I'd like to draw and quarter the bastards responsible.

That being said why is it so controversial to point out that we painted a target on our backs? Hell, half the despots in this world were installed or supported by the US during the Cold War.

As far as being "equally culpable" I agree that his lack of talk of retaliation gives the impression that he believes US foreign policy is 'morally equivalent' to an act like the WTC attack. I'd like to hear more from him on that before I make a judgement.

Harry Browne's position is that we are supposed to accept the wholesale slaughter of our own citizens and then "prevent our leaders" from acting in defense or retaliation!

Well what he actually said was:

resolve that we won't let our leaders use this occasion to commit their own terrorist acts upon more innocent people, foreign and domestic, that will inspire more terrorist attacks in the future.

Emphasis on innocent. That says to me he isn't trying to prevent retaliation but he is decrying the indiscriminate use of force. Retaliate ONLY against those responsible, destroy terrorists, not villagers or asprin factories. At least thats how I read it.

My solution: repeal the Executive Order against assasinations and take out Bin Laden and his associates. But just those responsible, not the whole region he happens to be in when we catch up to him.

[branicap]

I belive that with a people like you(no offence)who have no clue what the rest of the world think or feel about USA,Black Tuesday was inevitable!

Your supremacist view(besieged by savages)is beyond comment!Your foreign policy is,very much,responsible for the tragedy!And,Raymondo and Brown are right!Americans should contemplate for a few moments,their actions abroad,and try to understand why some people have a reason to strike back!

Dead Americans are "innocent civilians" and they are,indeed!But,foreign civilians are "collateral damage"!And,that is a root of resentment!

But,I think that this tragedy will not be a wake up call,but just one on the chain of future disasters!

I am deeply saddened by the death and carnage in NY,city that was my home for couple of years!But....who cares,we humans,are very stupid and will never learn!

[CWOJackson]

Raimondo and Browne are offering rationale to explain the actions of cowards AND justify their own personal political histories. By doing this they are doing nothing more than making excuses for these cowards and showing how shallow they are.

Raimondo claims that "With one well-coordinated blow, the entire free world has been paralyzed."

This demonstrates how much of a fool he is. The unarmed citizens on two of those doomed flights fought their attackers and succeeded in preventing them from hitting their intended targets. Thousands upon thousands of Americans are standing in line for hours waiting to give blood. Strangers are digging through rubble, without being asked, without being paid, looking for survivors.

These are real Americans and the reason why these cowardly attacks failed...and why Raimondo and Browne, and people like them, are wrong and will remain obscure amatuers.

[Maelstrom]

Time to give Mr. Brown the ole' Heave Ho

[Unam Sanctam]

To say that the United States has mistreated Arabs is just preposterous. The Gulf war involved a specific breach of international law by Saddam Hussein, i.e., the military takeover of another country, viz. Kuweit. As for the Palestinian issue, the United States supported in good faith the peace process begun at Oslo. If that process had worked out, there would have been many in the US that would have supported and helped a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. The Clinton Plan offered the Arabs the Old City of Jerusalem for gosh sakes! If they were serious about peace, they should have grabbed the Clinton plan, plus a large reparations payment in return for waiving the right of return for 1948-49 refugees and sought a peaceful accommodation. The Arabs are not serious about seeking a peaceful way out. They are not willing to make one compromise. They just want to destroy Israel and all Israeli Jews. They dance in the street at the death of 10,000 innocent civilians. Therefore, they have no right to criticize American actions in the region.

[BlueLancer]

Mornin', Riley.

God, I wish that someone would just put old Justin .. and his @sshole-buddy Michael Rivero .. out of their misery.

[norton]

Raimondo, Browne, et al have the same rights as do we.
Sometimes they are right, or almost so, and sometimes they are dead wrong.
This piece is neither, it may be bad timing but otherwise it at least raises questions we should be able to address.

This is the strongest nation in the world, even as we decry its loss of divisions, armor, and level of training.
Even as we field an Air Force that can't afford to fly, we are stronger than any enemy.

We are also a reasonably free society that wants very much to believe that anyone can become just and good if given the opportunity.
That worked so long as we were a european nation set down in the new world. It worked so long as we on got leadership such as Carter or Clinton once in a very great while. It was hoped to be working up until 9/11/01 after eight years of assinine foreign policy and support for some of the very people who helped murder those Americans.

This forum has quite steadily asserted that Islamic terrorism resides in the Albnian armies we support just as it resides in the Islamic Taliban, PLF, and in a couple of ME governments.
Probably very true. Probably something to consider while trying to rebuild and decide on our next actions.

Both of the attributes above, the fact of our strength and the myth of our being able to make things "right" by our own actions and beilefs, make us a target for the (yes) barbarians.
Fact of life.

It is also a fact that we can make mistakes, see note above regarding Carter,Clinton, and the Balkans, when we have done so we owe it to the myth to consider and to go ahead and try to make it right again.

Unfortunately, that comes along side the reality of our obligation to strike back at the murderers because the murderers are not afraid of the divisions and the tanks. They don't care that we may have assisted their allies because we beieved them to be the "little guy" (or for the oil). They simply hate the existance or any beliefs that do not coincide with theirs.

[CWOJackson]

Browne and raimondo are seldom right, just persistent in their wrongness. This using of our dead to try to support their pathetic political beliefs is sickening...much like these two individuals.