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YALIBERTY.ORG/FPH
April 2010
Contents Executive Director
Jeff Frazee
We recognize that freedom deserves responsibility and therefore we hold ourselves to a high moral character and con-
duct. Integrity emphasizes our stance towards action. Principle defines our outlook towards government. Peace and
prosperity drives our ambitions towards our countrymen.
We inherit a corrupt, coercive world that has lost respect for voluntary action. Our government has failed and
dragged our country into moral decay. The political class dominates the agenda with a violent, callous, controlling
grip. And, for this we do not stand.
Young Americans for Liberty | P.O. Box 2751 Arlington, VA 22202 | http://www.yaliberty.org | roy.antoun@yaliberty.org | April 2010 1
Letter From the Editor
Dear Reader,
House Members, Senators, and State Department staff from both isles of the American political
spectrum have twisted the Republic into a hegemonic Western Democracy. Socialism and excess
taxes have funded and fueled a “compassionate” government to transform agencies such as
USAID into nation-building schemes that have crafted the American economy into an artificial
wave of Keynesian illusory markets. As Realists continue to say that our foreign policy is driven
by “national interest”, we must reevaluate what the national interest is and for once place a cost-
benefit analysis on our foreign policy that includes taxation and, most importantly, human lives .
“Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations--entangling alliances with none, I deem
[one of] the essential principles of our government, and consequently [one of] those which ought
to shape its administration." – Thomas Jefferson
Roy M. Antoun
About the Foreign Policy Handbook Want to write for Foreign Policy 101?
Contact roy.antoun@yaliberty.org
The objective of the Foreign Policy Handbook is to rationally discuss the faults in American
foreign policy and offer practical, liberty-minded solutions. Over the past century, our elected
http://www.yaliberty.org/FPH
leaders have collectively corrupted U.S. foreign relations into a hotbed of backfiring interven-
tionism. It is the job of the youth to mobilize and inform ,because it is we who will be paying
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Commentary | Young Americans for Liberty | The Foreign Policy Handbook | Issue I | April 2010
Young Americans for Liberty | P.O. Box 2751 Arlington, VA 22202 | http://www.yaliberty.org | roy.antoun@yaliberty.org | April 2010 3
Commentary | Young Americans for Liberty | The Foreign Policy Handbook | Issue I | April 2010
Young Americans for Liberty | P.O. Box 2751 Arlington, VA 22202 | http://www.yaliberty.org | roy.antoun@yaliberty.org | April 2010 4
Point/ Counterpoint | Young Americans for Liberty | The Foreign Policy Handbook | Issue I | April 2010
growth, the country also possesses a great amount of natural POINT/ COUNTERPOINT
resources. Russia is the third largest exporter of steel in the
world, and the largest exporter of oil and natural gas. These
commodities give Russia not only wealth, but bargaining power
throughout much of the world. Furthermore, steel and oil are
the key ingredients to create a war machine.
Russia, like the United States, had a bail-out of its big busi-
nesses in reaction to the most recent financial meltdown. Also,
arguably like the United States, Russia has a state owned Where the Tea Parties
“bailout bank” named Vnesheconombank (roughly translated, and the Liberty Movement Diverge:
“Outward Development Bank”). Since 1997, Russia's M2 money Ending Economic Insanity and the
supply has increased from 295.2 billion rubles to 15,565.9 billion Unconstitutional War in Afghanistan
rubles, a 52 fold increase. Since the crisis took hold, Russia has By Nelson Chase
been inflating its money supply like many other Western coun-
tries. Since 2007, Russia's money has been inflated from POINT:
8,995.8 billion rubles to 15,565.9 billion rubles, nearly doubling. There is a rising movement within the United States to re-
An Austrian analysis would obviously state that any economic turn to a limited constitutional based government. They cry for
growth with this much monetary inflation over such a short a return to the founding principles of our great Republic and
period of time is not sustainable. that only this can save us from big government. This is of
In 1992, Russians experienced hyperinflation after increas- course the Tea Party movement and it has brought together
ing its money supply dramatically over a short period of time, a various outraged citizens and has gained high power endorse-
typical result of large government. Perhaps fearful of facing ments from established neoconservative Republican leadership,
hyperinflation again, Russia has been demanding a return to an while claiming to be separate from the Republican Party. The
international gold standard. Russia is rich in gold, and claims Tea Party is a movement with tremendous potential but I find
to have large stores of bullion. With the United States dollar in it one glaring contradiction. This glaring contradiction is in
possibly losing its reserve status as result of the latest financial regards to foreign policy. How many times have you heard a
crisis, Russia is in a good position with its commodities and major Tea Party leader, besides Congressman Ron Paul, come
gold to take advantage of the failings of other countries. More- out and speak against the unconstitutional war in Afghanistan?
over, the return to a gold standard would stabilize Russia's own If we are to return to constitutional principles we need to stop
money supply, allowing for a revival of business. One has to unconstitutional wars. You can’t pick and choose to support
wonder if Russia sees this advantage in light of their own infla- one part of the constitution and then disregard another. This is
tion or as posturing against a United States based reserve for what people in the Tea Party are doing. Health care is unconsti-
political reasons. tutional they say but so is not declaring war since World War II.
Russia's symbol, the bear, has expressed two different at- Somehow these neoconservatives justify fighting wars without
tributes throughout history: ferocity and lethargy. The dichot- following the clear process set forth in the constitution and
omy of the bear between the vicious predator, and the sleeping claim to be for the constitution. How “Realistic” is that? The
hibernator is applicable here as well. Russia's economy cur- Liberty Movement is in danger if the neoconservatives take over
rently struggles with government corruption, and massive infla- the Tea Party movement and the GOP establishment wants to
tion of its money supply, but is propped up by its rich wealth of do just that.
commodities. Russia is currently a sleeping bear with great po- Any movement towards a Constitutional based limited gov-
tential, but a bear nonetheless. ernment must include a movement towards a foreign policy
that returns to the principles of America’s founding fathers.
This is where the neoconservative Tea Party activists, supported
by established Republican leadership, and true Liberty groups
like Young Americans for Liberty & Campaign for Liberty di-
verge. We are told that we should agree to disagree on this
Young Americans for Liberty | P.O. Box 2751 Arlington, VA 22202 | http://www.yaliberty.org | roy.antoun@yaliberty.org | April 2010 5
Point/ Counterpoint | Young Americans for Liberty | The Foreign Policy Handbook | Issue I | April 2010
topic since it is not as important as other challenges facing lib- trade, and diplomacy not nation-building and war. Thus far, the
erty- healthcare reform, out of control spending, and expansion war in Afghanistan does not follow this ideal.
of government. Yet true supporters of Liberty must disagree. If In Article I Section VIII of the constitution the Founders
Americans realistically want to return to fiscal sanity and a lim- gave the power to declare war to the United States Congress as
ited constitutional government then our interventionist foreign part of the checks and balance system that helped curve indi-
policy has to change since it is unconstitutional. Economic re- vidual presidents from having too much power and entangling
sponsibility and Afghanistan are interwoven and this message America in foreign ventures without the consent of the people.
must be put forth. When you examine the constitutionality of The elected officials in the Congress represent the people. Not
the war in Afghanistan and the economic cost of the war it be- since the Second World War has the United States declared
comes clear how interwoven these issues are to freedom and a war. All of the conflicts since have not followed the constitution
limited government. and both Democrats and Republicans are guilty of this. On this
Many people will argue that the war in Afghanistan and basis alone the “war” in Afghanistan is unconstitutional since a
fiscal responsibility are not related. We should cut spending declaration of war, as required by the constitution, has not been
else were and that Afghanistan is one small issues in a larger sea issued. It will save lives, money and start us on the path to lib-
of issues. In reality this is not the case. In October 2009 the De- erty. We can finally start to confidently say that the Constitu-
partment of Defense reported to the House of Representatives tion means something and that we follow the rule of law. We
that it would require an additional $33 Billion to escalate com- can also help our prestige in the world by saying it is not our
bat operations in Afghanistan. This is on top of the $65 billion job to say “We do it this way; so should you.”
Congress authorized for 2010. That’s $98 billion for this year To be truly a liberty movement the Tea Parties must advo-
alone for just the war in Afghanistan. Malou Innocent of the cate for an end to unconstitutional wars and curb national
Cato Institute reported that since 2001 the U.S. Agency for In- spending and debt. These two issues can’t be separated. All un-
ternational Development has spent more than $7.8 billion on constitutional policies must be suspended and liberty restored;
Afghanistan reconstruction. This year alone USAID will spend that’s the true Tea Party message. The GOP establishment
$6 to $7 billion on Afghanistan. Add the $98 Billion and this $7 doesn’t want this because it supports the unconstitutional war
billion and we get over $100 billion spent this fiscal year alone. in Afghanistan. True sons and daughters of Liberty realize that
Our national deficit was $1.4 Trillion in 2009. Imagine if we by ending the war in Afghanistan our nation will cut spending
would have taken the funds for our “war” in Afghanistan and and debt by billions each year and return to a sound constitu-
used it to pay down the deficit? Would that not help return us tional platform for government without hypocrisy. A movement
to fiscal responsibility? Or what if we used it to pay down the for limited constitutional government means no support for
$12 trillion national debt? It would instantly reduce our national policies and actions that are unconstitutional, which the war in
debt this year alone by $105 billion. The reality of the situation Afghanistan is. Tea Party advocates need to tell the GOP to fol-
is that the war in Afghanistan and fiscal responsibility are inter- low this or get out of our movement.
related and can’t be separated.
A return to a government that obeys and follows the Con- COUNTERPOINT:
stitution must require following all the provisions. The Foun-
ders had a noninterventionist foreign policy- one radically dif-
ferent than the past century of American foreign relations. For
the Tea Party to be truly based on Liberty it must return to the
Founders’ original foreign policy. Their foreign policy was sim-
ple, eloquent and above all else, peaceful. Thomas Jefferson said
in his first inaugural address that America wanted “peace, com-
merce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alli- By Roy Antoun
Young Americans for Liberty | P.O. Box 2751 Arlington, VA 22202 | http://www.yaliberty.org | roy.antoun@yaliberty.org | April 2010 6
Commentary | Young Americans for Liberty | The Foreign Policy Handbook | Issue I | April 2010
policy structure. Consequently, we must establish what the wars and bases cost at the expense of the American taxpayer. If
threat is, where it has come from, and how to deal with it in a Congress doesn’t want to buy into the argument that “Empire”
Constitutional, legal, and pragmatic manner. is bad, then perhaps they will realize that our foreign policy is
If the threat is Al-Qaeda, then the Taliban is not. The De- driving us to bankruptcy.
partment of State often forgets that the friends of our past usu- The second solution would be to utilize Special Operations
ally turn into our enemies of today for a particular reason that I forces that do not require hefty military bases or a large occupa-
will delve into later in this counter-point. The Taliban operates tion of U.S. troops. Intelligence Operations and clean “get-in-
as a type of national defense. Those who consist of the Taliban get-out” operations are much more viable and cost-effective.
are individuals who are protecting their homes and are not des- They will target those responsible rather than interfering in
tined to destroy the West as many neoconservatives believe. civilian populations via nation building.
Nevertheless, Al-Qaeda, separate from the Taliban, must still be
dealt with and punished for the crimes committed on Septem-
ber 11, 2001.
The threat of Al-Qaeda has erected from a flawed foreign
policy. The 9-11 Commission Report officially stated that “there
was no confirmed reporting on Saddam cooperating with Bin
Laden on unconventional weapons.” Being that there were no
ties between Iraq and Al-Qaeda, the war waged in Iraq was a
blunder, only angering more locals to reacting on an enlarged
Afghanistan:
American presence in the Middle East. Hence, not only was
American foreign policy mission creeping, but it offered no vi-
able solution to finding those responsible for the criminal acts
of September 11th. The Graveyard of Empires
Since Al-Qaeda is more of an international organization
rather than a militant group operating through national bor- By Jeremy Davis
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Commentary | Young Americans for Liberty | The Foreign Policy Handbook | Issue I | April 2010
ish interests. But before the British could really get comfortable,
resistance was mounting in response to the rule of the pro-
British king Shah Shuja al-Mulk and eventually developed into
a full fledged uprising. The British forces were devastated as
they withdrew from Kabul and eventually all of Afghanistan.
The second Anglo-Afghan war that took place from 1878 to
1880 ultimately resulted in the same outcome as in the first ex-
cursion. Is Iran Really a “Threat”?
In their third go around in 1919, the British Empire’s even-
By Brandon Cestrone
tual withdrawal allowed for Afghani leaders to finally secure the
country’s independence from Great Britain. Most Americans can recall the day the U.S. first launched
Of course more recently, it was the Soviet Empire’s mis- its war against Saddam Hussein with the intent of finding
guided invasion of Afghanistan that lead to its eventual col- “weapons of mass destruction”. Today, evidence reveals that
lapse. there were no WMDs, and Iraq posed no threat to America’s
In 1979, the Soviet Empire began what would turn out to be national security. Yet, our soldiers are still stationed in Iraq,
an utterly ruinous campaign when it invaded the Afghani capi- uncertain why America invaded a sovereign country. Dissi-
tol of Kabul. The Russians battled the U.S. backed Mujahideen dence allows many to view oil as a leading factor in the decision
with a number of heavy handed tactics, although they were not to go to war with Iraq. Others view Iraq as a developing democ-
enough to combat the ambitious dedication of the Afghan in- ratic state, with the U.S. nurturing it into a mature, future ally.
surgents or the rugged terrain of which the Afghans knew so Democratic Peace Theory, of course, has not worked and only
well. compounded the Middle East problem. The theory fragmented
After a decade of battling a losing war against the Afghani the Iraqi state and served as a catalyst of Pan-Arabism working
insurgents, the Soviets were forced to withdrawal from the bor- against American imperialism.
ders of Afghanistan in a disastrous and bloody defeat. As the Did we learn anything from Iraq? Nation building costs
world’s second most powerful military at the time, the Russians both money and precious human lives. Entangling a state in
could not outlast the Afghani people fighting on their own turf. foreign wars can lead to bankruptcy, we have seen with the for-
This conflict contributed to the bankruptcy of the Soviet Union mer Soviet Union. Occupation on foreign land fuels disdain and
and the soon after collapse of their empire. animosity. Although there has been talk and chatter of an inva-
And now the American Empire is bogged down in what has sion of Iran, the thought is unrealistic and impractical. A med-
become its longest war since the invasion in 2001. The death dling in Iran’s affairs will only perplex and expand our current
count for both U.S. soldiers and Afghani civilians climbs as hegemonic problems.
President Obama commits 30,000 more troops to continue an The Middle East has a complex history compiled with Euro-
unwarranted occupation. The United States currently finds it- pean and American intervention. In 1951 the Iranian govern-
self in an almost mirror position as many of the past empires ment nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company [AIOC] only,
who stepped foot inside the Afghani borders. after the company was nationalized by the British. In 1950, the
But perhaps the most underlying key element in all of these AIOC earned annual profits of about 200 million pounds, but
examples is the ability of a small guerilla style fighting force to Iran only received about eight percent in royalties. So small an
give some of the world’s greatest powers ever known a run for amount, it did not balance the taxes and dues paid to Britain.
their money. The facts just stand that this region simply cannot Britain, along with the United States, overthrew the democrati-
be conquered militarily. Just by the mere act of being there, in cally elected leader Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953 as a strate-
their lands, provokes a fervent spirit of resistance in the Afghani gic move to protect their interests in the region. These Western
people that apparently cannot be broken despite the military states then installed the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi to rule
might forced upon them. Iran in absolute power. The Shah of Iran would repress his own
The American Empire is destined to meet a similar fate to people, and later hold 53 Americans hostage for 444 days in
those of past empires whom thought to expand their imperialis- 1973.
tic clutches over the seemingly unconquerable lands of Af- Recently, we have seen a defensive Iran test missiles in
ghanistan.
Young Americans for Liberty | P.O. Box 2751 Arlington, VA 22202 | http://www.yaliberty.org | roy.antoun@yaliberty.org | April 2010 8
Commentary | Young Americans for Liberty | The Foreign Policy Handbook | Issue I | April 2010
hopes to gain regional legitimacy. Now, propaganda has galva- the president for making bold changes in the direction of nu-
nized public support against Iran for supposed nuclear weap- clear non-proliferation and disarmament.
ons, but again without any evidence. Iran has exaggerated its What critics and supporters have in common, is that they
enriched supply of uranium; it has yet to reach a fully capable are both blowing these changes way out of proportion, giving
enrichment of 20% uranium stock, let alone the 90% it needs to Obama either more credit or more blame than he is due. Take
create a nuclear weapon. Matt Drudge for instance, who dramatically overstated the ad-
The U.S. has threatened to place additional sanctions on ministration’s changes with a bright red, all-caps headline at
Iran, cutting off the oil supply into the country. Sanctions are The Drudge Report that said: “NO NUKES – EVEN IN SELF-
an act of aggression and have the potential of uniting the Ira- DEFENSE!”
nian people against U.S. Rather, diplomatic relations should be Obama's nuclear policy does not completely restrict the use
conducted through free trade and negotiations, not provocative of nuclear weapons, no matter what, even in self defense. What
naval maneuvers along the Persian Gulf, threatening Iran’s it does is modestly narrow potential U.S. nuclear targets. The
Abadan oil fields. Wall Street Journal wrote a more accurate summary: “The
It is easy to see that Iran poses an exaggerated threat to Obama administration will release a new national nuclear-
America. Although Iran is an oppressive state that obstructs weapons strategy Tuesday that makes only modest changes to
liberty, its revolution must come from within – and it has. This U.S. nuclear forces, leaving intact the longstanding U.S. threat
is a chance for America to avoid past mistakes. Invading foreign to use nuclear weapons first, even against non-nuclear nations.”
countries does not pacify regimes; it creates them. Imperialism So critics can relax, and die-hard opponents of nuclear
is no stranger to the Middle East. weapons don’t have much to thank the president for. The new
policy hardly leaves America vulnerable, causes us to look weak,
or even makes a truly substantial change to American nuclear
policy at all.
It’s just like seemingly everything else this administration
has done from renaming the Global War on Terror (officially
changing it to “Overseas Contingency Operation”) to closing
Guantanamo (while reserving the right to outsource torture to
other countries and detain “suspected terrorists” without
charges indefinitely)- it’s just more window-dressing for the
same old Bush-Era, Cold War-Era, imperialist policies of the
status quo.
Obama’s Nuclear Policy Not to mention, that this new policy does nary a thing
Is Just More Hyped Up “Change” about our conventional foreign policy problems, which survive
intact from previous administrations. If America is committed
By Wesley Messamore to a more peaceful world free of nuclear weapons, why does it
continue to provoke other nations with the long arm of its mili-
There was a lot of fanfare on both sides of the partisan di-
tary-industrial complex?
vide when President Obama announced a “substantially” re-
Why does Obama’s Secretary of State threaten sanctions
vamped American nuclear strategy earlier this month. Accord-
against Iran (when the cutting of economic ties is theoretically
ing to The New York Times, “Mr. Obama described his policy as
and empirically proven to increase the likelihood of armed hos-
part of a broader effort to edge the world toward making nu-
tilities)? Why does Obama garrison troops in over a hundred
clear weapons obsolete, and to create incentives for countries to
countries? Why does it pick sides in ethnic civil wars in Iraq
give up any nuclear ambitions.”
and Afghanistan? Why does Obama continue all of these poli-
Critics are unhappy with a policy that they believe makes
cies if he is for peace and non-proliferation?
America less safe and perfectly exemplifies their image of
Any true peace monger who’s paying attention should call
Barack Obama as a weak head of state, hell-bent on apologizing
on the President to take bold action toward truly disarming our
for American greatness and making unnecessary concessions to
nuclear arsenal and dismantling our bankrupt overseas empire.
the world. Meanwhile supporters are predictably fawning over
If Bush’s doctrine of preemption by conventional warfare was
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Commentary | Young Americans for Liberty | The Foreign Policy Handbook | Issue I | April 2010
morally indefensible, how much worse is Obama’s willingness from the new world market exploitation by the Great Powers.
to use nuclear preemption at his discretion against the people The declining Ottoman Empire sought western style
of another country? reform, often from rising European pressure. A dislocated econ-
Nuclear weapons have no legitimate military purpose. They omy, diminished power and influence, and loss of territory con-
are inherently weapons of mass murder. Because of their power tributed to a burst of violent movements against the invading
and blast radius, nuclear weapons can exist for no other pur- occupiers. The Ottomans experienced drastic change as in-
pose than to indiscriminately wipe out large swaths of civilian creasing external reform pressure led to the Ottoman Land Law
population. This is never, ever justified under any circum- of 1858, resulting in the displacement of peasant land. The poli-
stances. cies of the world powers also influenced relationships between
Indeed, deliberately targeting civilians for political or mili- the Ottoman Empire and their minorities, mainly the Armeni-
tary purposes is terrorism. America has no right to be a terrorist ans. The external influence of the Great Powers, along with in-
nation. It’s morally embarrassing enough that our country ternal conflict, led to a horrific Armenian massacre from 1914-
claims the right to police the world for nuclear weapons, when 1916, resulting in upwards of one million deaths.
ours is the only country that’s ever actually used, not just one, By 1914 the error of choosing the Central Powers
but two. brought an end to Ottoman sovereignty. The League of Nations
in 1922 sealed the political fate of the countries. For Britain and
France, control of the Arab countries was important because of
interests in the region, mainly political power. The British
Mandate facilitated the creation of a Jewish national homeland,
which led to the Palestinian revolt of 1936 -1939. The establish-
ment of Israel by Britain would lead to violence and instability
still occurring today. By the 1950’s, anti-imperialism was at an
apex as Gamal Abdel Nasser attempted to unite the Arab world
against the foreign invaders. Eventually, the Arab nationalism
movement faded but kept anti-imperialism alive in the memory
of Arabs.
What can America learn from Europe’s foreign policy in the
Middle East? Since their first contact in the 18th century, the
What America Can Learn from Great Powers have forced western reform onto a culture and
European Imperialism people they did not understand. Anti-imperialism would later
unite the Arab world to clash against foreign occupation. This
in the Middle East? was not about religion. This was about foreign powers occupy-
ing Arab land. When interpreting history, it is important to em-
By Brandon Cestrone pathize with the subject and look through the eyes of the peo-
ple affected. How would Americans feel if foreign invaders oc-
Up until the middle of the 18th century, the relation-
cupied their land and established rule over their people? There
ship between Europe and the Ottoman Empire was of identical
are lessons to be learned from interpreting the history of impe-
strength. By the last quarter of the century this began to shift,
rialism. It causes violence, suffering, and hatred, not prosperity
and a fissure formed between Europe and The Ottoman Em-
and peace.
pire’s technological skills. By the 19th century, Europe domi-
nated the world through their unmatched military, communi-
cation, and economic systems. The Napoleonic Wars brought
Europe into the heart of the Muslim world. Once the Napole- OPINION
onic wars ended, European influence and power spread
throughout the Ottoman world. Britain, Russia, and France
would slowly begin their imperial expansion, starting from the
outskirts of the Ottoman Empire inwards. Peasant life suffered
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Opinion | Young Americans for Liberty | The Foreign Policy Handbook | Issue I | April 2010
Their Minds
of my favorites is “what difference does it make to the dead, the
orphans and the homeless whether the mad destruction is
wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of
By Brendon DeMeo
liberty or democracy (Goodman 2008)?” With the Left, focusing
on the peace and humanitarian aspects of noninterventionism
When trying to explain a noninterventionist foreign policy is key.
to Liberals or Conservatives, it is usually most effective to en- Neoconservatives are much different. They may be at-
gage them with their political angle in mind. If you recruit for tracted to your Gadsden flags and pocket Constitutions, but
Young Americans for Liberty, or any other liberty-oriented when they find out you’re a noninterventionist, well, their dis-
group, on a college campus, you are likely to come across peo- position can change. They view a noninterventionist stance as
ple who want to know your foreign policy. For neoconserva- weak, naïve and “isolationist.” You will probably hear the term
tives, this is usually their number one issue, which is why “isolationist” a lot, so learn how to refute it. We noninterven-
they’re willing to vote for candidates like John McCain, Rudy tionists are not isolationists. Isolationists want to isolate their
Giuliani, or Mitt Romney, who promulgate a foreign policy they country from the outside world; we are in favor of free and
agree with, as well as Big Government on the home front, and open trade. We agree with John Quincy Adams who said that
not for small government Republicans such as Ron Paul or Gary America should not go around the world, searching for mon-
Johnson. For Liberals, well, love for President Obama and the sters to destroy.
Democratic Party runs deeper than love of principle for many of Focus on quotes from the Founding Fathers, as neoconser-
them; so as Obama and the Democrats embrace intervention- vatives still respect these men. George Washington once said,
ism, many are going along with them. “peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations; en-
Liberals are generally easy to debate foreign policy with. tangling alliances with none.” That perfectly summarizes the
Sometimes, when they see you around Gadsden flags, handing noninterventionist position in one quote. Emphasize that non-
out pocket Constitutions, they will assume you have a neocon- interventionism is conservative, and that no matter what the
servative foreign policy. This is one reason you should be very reasons were for entering Iraq and Afghanistan, they have be-
upfront about your foreign policy when recruiting, it may draw come nation building exercises. Remember that our alliance
many liberals and others in because they like what they hear with Israel is rather entangling. However, many libertarians,
about foreign policy, but it’s often not readily apparent. Regret- such as I, greatly respect Israel. As a Christian, I also trust God
tably, as I mentioned, many are more dedicated to President to protect Israel – the United States does not have to do it.
Obama than their principles, just as many Republicans were Americans enlisted in the military to defend the United States,
more dedicated to George W. Bush and the Republican Party not Israel, the United Kingdom or nations like Georgia. If they
than their principles. want to die for those countries, or others, they are free to join
These Liberals, while they support interventionism now their military. I would not recommend the use of the term
that the Democrats are in charge, are swayable. Their main “antiwar” to describe yourself to a neoconservative. Always use
counterargument to assertions that the President is breaking the term noninterventionist, or say that you share the Founders
campaign promises on Iraq is that Obama is getting the US out views on foreign policy.
of Iraq, but is doing it responsibly. However, few know that There’s a lot more to debating foreign policy than that, of
Obama actually plans on leaving 50,000 troops in the war- course. Naturally, the more you study foreign policy, the easier
debating it becomes. But remember to approach people with
Young Americans for Liberty | P.O. Box 2751 Arlington, VA 22202 | http://www.yaliberty.org | roy.antoun@yaliberty.org | April 2010 11
Opinion | Young Americans for Liberty | The Foreign Policy Handbook | Issue I | April 2010
Young Americans for Liberty | P.O. Box 2751 Arlington, VA 22202 | http://www.yaliberty.org | roy.antoun@yaliberty.org | April 2010 12
Article Sources | Young Americans for Liberty | The Foreign Policy Handbook | Issue I | April 2010
Article Sources:
Roy Antoun
Tuchman, Barbara. The Guns of August. Random House Publishing. New York, NY (1962)
Eland, Ivan. The Empire Has No Clothes. The Independent Institute. Oakland, CA (2008)
Daniel Suraci
Nelson Chase
Samples, John. "Tea Partiers Shouldn't Date the GOP." February 4, 2010. http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=11198 (accessed April
8, 2010).
Innocent, Malou. “Leaving Afghanistan Moves Beyond Left vs. Right.” March 10,2010. http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=11437
(accessed April 8, 2010).
Jefferson and Washington are quotes from Ron Paul, The Revolution (Grand Central Publishing) 2009, p. 9
I am paraphrasing George W. Bush from a speech in 2000. I find this quote to be very ironic. The Full quote is, “I am 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 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.” President Bush said this in a debate with Al Gore in
2000. It is quoted in Ron Paul‟s, The Revolution (Grand Central Publishing) 2009, p. 11
Brandon Cestrone
Hourani, Albert. A History Of The Arab People ( New York: Warner, 1991)
Bloxham, Donald. The Great Game Of Genocide (New York: Oxford, 2005)
Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism In The Twentieth Century (New Jersey: Princeton, 2003)
Dowty, Alan. Israel/Palestine (Cambridge: Polity, 2008)
Brendon DeMeo
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About the Writers | Young Americans for Liberty | The Foreign Policy Handbook | Issue I | April 2010
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Young Americans for Liberty | The Foreign Policy Handbook | Issue I | April 2010
Young Americans for Liberty | P.O. Box 2751 Arlington, VA 22202 | http://www.yaliberty.org | roy.antoun@yaliberty.org | April 2010 12