"I'm not so sure the role of the United States is to go around the world and say, 'This is the way it's got to be.' ...I think one way for us to end up being viewed as 'the ugly American' is for us to go around the world saying, 'We do it this way; so should you.'"
...
"Somalia started off as a humanitarian mission and changed into a nation-building mission... And that's where the mission went wrong. The mission was changed. And as a result, our nation paid a price. And so I don't think our troops ought to be used for what's called 'nation building.' ... I think what we need to do is to convince the people who live in the lands [themselves] to build the nations. Maybe I'm missing something here-we're going to have kind of a 'nation-building corps' from America?"
...
"If we're an arrogant nation, they'll resent us. If we're a humble nation, but strong, they'll welcome us. Our nation stands alone right now in the world in terms of power, and that's why we've got to be humble."
I didn't pay attention to the Presidential race back then so I don't remember what type of platform Bush ran on. Although I do like what he said above, I was shocked to read it. How different is that than the actions taken over the past 8 years? Of course, you can argue that "9/11 changed everything", and I can definately understand the concern after what happened in that tragic event. But didn't our nation go way beyond what was justifyable in its response? Under Bush, we became all the things that he said in 2000 that we should not become.
Paul goes into much greater detail about his reasons for a non-interventionalist foreign policy. It is a policy that was once advocated by traditional conservatives. Now, however, Republicans have become "The War Party". If the party could return to its roots, I might be able to refer to myself proudly as a Republican. At this point, however, third-party candidates seem to be the most attractive option.
2 comments:
I found that pretty revealing as well. Funny how fast everyone forgets about the stuff that was said eight years ago, or maybe they just don't want to think about it. It really is amazing the turnaround Bush had on that stance.
http://www.davidcarlsonpolitics.com
The term "republican" doesn't mean what it used to, that's for sure. I guess libertarian is closer to what it used to mean...
I'm with you though. Hard to call yourself a republican in this day and age.
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