Don’t Blame Libertarians for Bipartisan Failures in Iraq and Afghanistan

Have you heard the
news? American foreign policy is in tatters BECAUSE
LIBERTARIANS!

Seriously, GOP blowhards are attacking folks such as Sen. Rand
Paul (R-Ky.) for his foreign policy failures (Paul is slow
to invade and occupy countries). Funny thing is, the Republican
Party’s preferred strategy of stupid goals topped off by terrible
execution isn’t working so well. And don’t expect any help from a
Democratic Party and a president that hasn’t met a country they
don’t want to invade or drone.

In my latest
Daily Beast column, I suggest some basic tenets of a
libertarian foreign policy. Snippet:

All large-scale and long-term military engagements should
actually be put to a specific congressional vote as dictated both
by the Constitution and by common sense. The use of military force
should be governed not by a set of infinitely expandable terms such
as ensuring human rights and expanding democracy, but far narrower
and less grandiose ideals of national defense.

As Rand Paul wrote recently in a response to
criticisms from Rick Perry and other Republicans, “Anytime someone
advocates sending our sons and daughters to war, questions about
precise objectives, effective methods and an exit strategy must be
thoughtfully answered.”

Most importantly, foreign policy should not be reduced to a
synonym for military action and covert operations. The most
powerful weapon the United States has for expanding peace and
enlarging prosperity has nothing to do with guns and bullets and
everything to do with the way in which we have created a nation of
300 million-plus people who generally get along peacefully while
pursuing radically different visions of the good life.

Read the whole thing here.