La Costa, CA
September 20, 2015
Occupy Peace: The Need To Avoid Foreign Entanglements
by Rich Scheck
The clear intention of the Founders was stated numerous times by them:
when it comes to foreign policy, it is essential to avoid foreign entanglements!
That is quite the opposite of what we have now as the official policy of both
political parties is to intervene relentlessly in the affairs of countless nations.
Our “empire of bases” as described by the late Chalmers Johnson in his
Blowback Trilogy entails the placement of hundreds of thousand of US troops
in over 100 countries at an estimated 1,000 military installations spread across
the entire planet.
With the urge to achieve Global Manifest Destiny and institute Pax Americana,
our humanitarian interventionists operate under the questionable doctrine of
the unitary executive to by-pass the constitutionally mandated requirement
that Congress declare war.
Hawks abound amongst the Republicans and most of the Democrats who
think they have the right to protect the abused and neglected masses of those
countries they chose to select as the focus of their shock and awe techniques.
Intoxicated by the strength of our military hardware and the desire to display
their ability to achieve full spectrum dominance, these national leaders have
violated the Nuremberg mandate constraining wars of aggression and notions
of preemptive war.
Led by so-called Neocons—warmed over Marxists inspired by Leo Strauss’s
invitation to use noble lies to manipulate the public—their ranks are filled by
those holding key positions in all recent Administrations as well as members
of the Washington punditry and think tanks.
The harm they have collectively done to our political, military, financial and
moral well-being is incalculable. Yet as Robert Parry so brilliantly explains
in the article below, they remain unaccountable for their failures and continue
to receive unjustified attention from the media and elected leaders.
I believe it is appropriate to answer Parry’s hypothetical question in the affirmative.
Are Neocons an Existential Threat?
Few leaders of any importance resist the lure of this Washington consensus.
Ross Perot attempted to challenge it with his third-party campaign in 1992 and
achieved impressive results by garnering nearly 20% of the vote. But that did
not stop Bill Clinton from imposing a no-fly zone over Iraq or launching massive
air-strikes on Serbia in 1999.
Pat Buchanan attempted to run for president several times as both a Republican
and on the Reform Party that remained after Perot’s exit from the national scene.
His efforts fell far short of impacting any change in policy.
More recently, Ron Paul ran in 2008 and 2012 as a Libertarian non-interventionist
within the Republican Party with a strong emphasis on avoiding foreign wars and
aid. His efforts were impressive but again fell way below what was needed to
reverse the incursions started by President Bush with almost seemless continuity
in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and elsewhere under Mr. Obama.
Ralph Nader’s campaigns in recent years focused mainly on domestic issues as
is true of Bernie Sanders today. Sanders has not come anywhere near what some
might want him to say about US willingness to violate one of its core principles…….
avoiding foreign entanglements!
Other than fringe candidates like Jessie Ventura and Cynthia McKinney, no one of
any substance is out there on the hustings calling for major changes. Rand Paul
sounded initially like he was similar to his Dad but has failed to build on his legacy.
One non-political figure has recently articulated a plea to restore the wisdom of
our Founders in a movement styled Occupy Peace. The leader heading this
group is Gerald Celente, the publisher of the Trends Forecast Journal.
He is pushing for a return to the very concept invoked by The Founders: No
Foreign Entanglements! http://occupypeace.us/
It is impossible to predict at this time how successful his project will be. But it
is totally proper to be grateful someone has embraced this bedrock doctrine
and reminded us what a key it is for the United States to recover its soul.
I wish him and all associated with his endeavor the best of luck and God’s speed!