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Ron Paul: America’s “Sociology Of Imperialism”

President Barack Obama announced this weekend that he has decided to use military force against Syria and would seek authorization from Congress when it returned from its August break. Every Member ought to vote against this reckless and immoral use of the US military. But even if every single Member…

President Barack Obama announced this weekend that he has decided to use military force against Syria and would seek authorization from Congress when it returned from its August break. Every Member ought to vote against this reckless and immoral use of the US military. But even if every single Member and Senator votes for another war, it will not make this terrible idea any better because some sort of nod is given to the Constitution along the way.

Besides, the president made it clear that Congressional authorization is superfluous, asserting falsely that he has the authority to act on his own with or without Congress. That Congress allows itself to be treated as window dressing by the imperial president is just astonishing.

The President on Saturday claimed that the alleged chemical attack in Syria on August 21 presented “a serious danger to our national security.” I disagree with the idea that every conflict, every dictator, and every insurgency everywhere in the world is somehow critical to our national security. That is the thinking of an empire, not a republic. It is the kind of thinking that this president shares with his predecessor and it is bankrupting us and destroying our liberties here at home.

According to recent media reports, the military does not have enough money to attack Syria and would have to go to Congress for a supplemental appropriation to carry out the strikes. It seems our empire is at the end of its financial rope. The limited strikes that the president has called for in Syria would cost the US in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey wrote to Congress last month that just the training of Syrian rebels and “limited” missile and air strikes would cost “in the billions” of dollars. We should clearly understand what another war will do to the U.S. economy, not to mention the effects of additional unknown costs such as a spike in fuel costs as oil skyrockets.

I agree that any chemical attack, particularly one that kills civilians, is horrible and horrendous. All deaths in war and violence are terrible and should be condemned. But why are a few hundred killed by chemical attack any worse or more deserving of US bombs than the 100,000 already killed in the conflict? Why do these few hundred allegedly killed by Assad count any more than the estimated 1,000 Christians in Syria killed by US allies on the other side? Why is it any worse to be killed by poison gas than to have your head chopped off by the U.S. allied radical Islamists, as has happened to a number of Christian priests and bishops in Syria?

For that matter, why are the few hundred civilians killed in Syria by a chemical weapon any worse than the 2000-3000 who have been killed by Obama’s drone strikes in Pakistan? Does it really make a difference whether a civilian is killed by poison gas or by drone missile or dull knife?

In “The Sociology of Imperialism,” Joseph Schumpeter wrote of the Roman Empire’s suicidal interventionism:

“There was no corner of the known world where some interest was not alleged to be in danger or under actual attack. If the interests were not Roman, they were those of Rome’s allies; and if Rome had no allies, then allies would be invented. When it was utterly impossible to contrive an interest – why, then it was the national honour that had been insulted.”

Sadly, this sounds like a summary of Obama’s speech over the weekend. We are rapidly headed for the same collapse as the Roman Empire if we continue down the president’s war path. What we desperately need is an overwhelming Congressional rejection of the president’s war authorization. Even a favorable vote, however, cannot change the fact that this is a self-destructive and immoral policy.

ron paul

Ron Paul is a former U.S. Congressman from Texas and the leader of the pro-liberty, pro-free market movement in the United States. His weekly column – reprinted with permission – can be found here.

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49 comments

Centrist View September 2, 2013 at 8:19 pm

“… a spike in fuel costs as oil skyrockets.”

What to make of this???
http://nikkihaley2014.com/
(Sounds like it won’t be a Great Day at the Gas Pump.)

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Darkside101906 September 2, 2013 at 8:24 pm

Higher than that… where did u find that??? That is funny.

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Darkside101906 September 2, 2013 at 8:22 pm

Well, apparently people who voted for him never cared about the “EMPIRE”… the whole oh well all empires fall eventually is the attitude that’s gonna do us in. Hope congress says no or ur hope amd change will be a third world country when ur gas is $10 a gallon and u can’t afford food.

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Sarah Palin Forever September 2, 2013 at 9:15 pm

Yeh they could have voted for John McCain or Mitt Romney.Two real peaceniks there.

You Republicans are hilarious!

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Smirks September 2, 2013 at 9:18 pm

Good ol’ bomb bomb bomb, bomb-bomb Iran himself. lol…

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Darkside101906 September 2, 2013 at 11:00 pm

I’m not a republican. So I’m not sure who ur talking too. I don’t like obama.

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Starr September 2, 2013 at 11:14 pm

Nor do u have too. Says the one with the name sarah Palin forever. Oh but that’s roght if u don’t like obama, ur evil… oh go to hell

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Sarah Palin Forever! September 3, 2013 at 7:50 am

Of course you’re not.

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Jackie Chiles September 3, 2013 at 2:04 pm

At this point, I’m not even sure what being a republican means.

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SparkleCity September 3, 2013 at 11:52 pm

Sadly, that old chessnut about empires failing or fading away is about 100% spot on……

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TontoBubbaGoldstein September 2, 2013 at 9:39 pm

If there are any Norwegians that read FITSNEWS (or anyone else that feels froggy): could someone please explain the whole Obama/Nobel Peace Prize thing to TBG.

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Polyphemos September 3, 2013 at 2:56 am

“A møøse ønce bit my sister. Nø, rilli..”

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9" September 3, 2013 at 4:35 am

Hello? “The Alamo doesn’t have a basement!!!”

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shifty henry September 2, 2013 at 9:55 pm

If (9″) catches that photo – in 5,4,3,2,1, ……….

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9" September 2, 2013 at 11:44 pm

You mean ,Ron Paul(PMGO*)? Fritz is still my guy,but since you’re waiting, and into him:

http://wonkette.com/448018/sexy-shirtless-ron-paul-photos-ignite-americas-hearts

*Puking My Guts Out

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shifty henry September 3, 2013 at 7:20 am

Haw-Haw… I was jokingly referring to the main photo of Little Barry Fauntleroy!

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9" September 4, 2013 at 1:38 am

But he’s black(sorta)! GBIWM’S only..

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#syriaradiobattalion September 2, 2013 at 9:56 pm

TRANSLATED FRENCH & GERMAN INTEL ASSESSMENTS OF SARIN (GB) ATTACK:
http://syriaradio.blogspot.com

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SparkleCity September 2, 2013 at 10:23 pm

If Ron Paul was around and in control in 1940 we would either be speaking Japanese or German right now

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Fear Monger September 2, 2013 at 10:43 pm

I’m sure we’ll be speaking Arabic if we don’t bomb Syria.

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The Colonel September 3, 2013 at 9:09 am

That language is so (@*#^ing hard to speak I wouldn’t count on us speaking it if they bombed New York. Wait,…

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Halfvast Conspirator September 3, 2013 at 10:32 am

They don’t need to, they control all the taxis

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lifeisgood54 September 2, 2013 at 11:25 pm

RP is very intelligent but you are so right _ he missed this critical history lesson- Hitler and others started like this.
Unfortunately, humans will find a way to be at war but the blatant slaughter of innocents being tolerated by a global community is obscene.

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TontoBubbaGoldstein September 3, 2013 at 7:37 am

Hitler and others started like this

Hitler certainly didn’t follow the “eye doctor to world leader” template. Don’t know of any others of the top of my head. (But TBG has high hopes for 2016!)

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TontoBubbaGoldstein September 3, 2013 at 7:28 am

Just to point out two (of an incredible number of flaws in your theory). Japan attacked the US. Germany declared war on the US. While Ron Paul is a “Golden Rule” kind of guy., he is not a “turn the other cheek” kind of guy when it comes to national defense.
Now, if Ron Paul had been around and in control in 1917…there would probably not have even been a World War II. So there.

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RonPauL September 3, 2013 at 9:25 am

thank you, good to know someone understand the good Dr. :)

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Jan September 3, 2013 at 3:21 pm

Actually, you are wrong, because Dr. Paul would have pulled us out of our territories in the Pacific long before the war with Japan, and he never would have agreed to assist England in their war with Germany. The independent nation of Hawaii would have fallen to the Japanese with no interference from us (no foreign entanglements), and Germany would have had no reason to declare war on the US as we would definitely not have been supplying the British.
With the good Doctor at the helm we probably could have avoided war with both Japan and Germany, at lest until they were ready to join forces and attack us. Of course by that time, Germany would probably have developed the Atom Bomb.

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TontoBubbaGoldstein September 3, 2013 at 4:48 pm

Although none of us can know what would have happened under “alternate history” scenarios, TBG believes that, without Wilson’s misguided (though well-meaning) intervention in WWI, Germany would have probably signed a truce with the allies and without the punishing Treaty of Versailles, Hitler and the National Socialists would have never risen to power.
TBG doesn’t see any reason why Imperial Japan would invade Hawaii (the Philippines, yes).
TBG will also point out that FDR avoided war with Japan and Germany until they were ready to attack us. (Actually TBG believes that FDR forced Japan’s hand with the oil embargo and, after Pearl Harbor, Hitler saw the writing on the wall.)

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Tom September 3, 2013 at 7:01 pm

I have to disagree. They would have wanted Hawaii because it is an excellent locations for navel and air bases. Especially if you wanted the capacity to threaten the US Mainland. But even more importantly it would make an excellent base location for the US in the event of a conflict.

TontoBubbaGoldstein September 3, 2013 at 8:54 pm

You make a good point.

Jan September 3, 2013 at 3:37 pm

Oh, and as far as 1917 and WWII, we don’t know that WWII would not have occurred. All we know is it would have been a very different war, because if Ron Paul had been elected President in 1916, by 1939 we would have been looking at a United States of Europe with its capital in Berlin.

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TontoBubbaGoldstein September 3, 2013 at 4:52 pm

TBG is not a big fan of the European Union, either.

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SparkleCity September 3, 2013 at 11:35 pm

No, Ron Paul would have stood by and let the Lusitania go unanswered and stood by as the Turks took over what was left of the Middle East as allies of Germany and more than likely gas would have been $2.00/gallon at the peak of US oil production in the early 1970’s instead of ~30 cents/gallon ( I was around then when K-Mart gas was 17 cents/gallon in 1970). Saw the whole thing go to shit as a result of the Yom Kippur War in Oct 1973 as a bullet-proof paratrooper on the Green Ramp at Pope AFB waiting to go toe to toe with the Ruskies on 25 Oct 1973. That alert scared the shit out of me and the economy hasen’t been the same since. The 40th anniversary of the war is next month and Yom Kippur is 13-14 Sept this year. I get a little uneasy every Yom Kippur since Oct 1973 and this one might be a dozy………

Japanese expansion in the 30’s and 40’s had absolutely nothing to do with WWI and your boy Ron Paul would have stood by and not embargoed the Japanese which did of course set the stage for Pearl harbor but non the less his mindset would not have said or done one thing about the rape of China and Indonesia just an “Oh-well,shit happens” as he so aptly stated in his latest manifest

No matter how you slice it, war with Germany and Japan was inevitable. All it took was one spark and the Japanese thought we would have no stomach for a fight due to the dip-shit isolationists back then. Ron Paul would have been one of them and just the guy they would have wanted to be president around 1940.

In all probability, Ron Paul would have been a card carrying member of the KKK in the ’20’s (“Ni**ers,Jews and Catholics need not apply/stay out of town”) & the Bund in 38 – 40.

You can put your money on that.

My personal opinion on this whole situation is this a job for the UN and if the UN can’t get a handle on this with our support, then we should leave it at that and state that the UN is only good for health and agricultural matters and nothing else and greatly reduce its funding.

Air strikes ain’t gonna do much especially when we have diddled around and they have had plenty of time to move shit around. I served in Bosnia and this ain’t Bosnia

Only thing that might work is seal off Syria at their borders and quarantine like the Cuban Missile Crisis. No more weapons or resupply, allow only food,medicine and essential fuel stocks. But you’re gonna need troops on the ground for that……….

Then again, the French just might come out on top of this. That was sorta their back yard as part of “The Great Game” and as a big player in the Suez Crisis in the late 50’s – talk about wheeling & dealing. That was in October as well………..

But that is another story for another day……………

Long and short: “Fuck a bunch of Ron Paul” – crazy old bastard……

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TontoBubbaGoldstein September 4, 2013 at 7:22 am

Come on SC, you are really going out on a limb, extrapolating 1970 gas prices from whether or not the US got involved in WWI!!

TBG gets a little uneasy around Yom Kippur, also.

….embargoed the Japanese which did of course set the stage for Pearl harbor…

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SparkleCity September 4, 2013 at 7:40 am

No I was extrapolating the Turks in WWI and IF the German and her allies has WON WWI due to your guy Ron Paul staying out of WWI IF he was prez at the time.

I’m a Gentile so my unease is a direct result of Yom Kippur 1973 and us going to DEFCON 3 and Israel damn near going nuclear a few days after the war started and on 25 Oct when we were alerted.

“Like some Civil War soldier said, I’ve been scared a number of times, but I was never as scared as I was at Shilo”

Insert Yom Kippur ’73 for me…….

Jackie Chiles September 3, 2013 at 2:02 pm

Wait, the U.S. bombed Japan and Germany in 1940?

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Polyphemos September 3, 2013 at 2:53 am

As much as I like Dr. Paul, I would not use Schumpeter’s book. It was not intervention which expanded the Roman Pomarium, but rather the incessant series of invasions from the early Celts (Gauls) to the Germans to the Vandals and so on. Their biggest foe was not some presumed enemy beyond the walls, but rather inflation and ethical dissolution. This is not to say that there was no interventionism, but instead, the real culprit was something far more basic.

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shifty henry September 3, 2013 at 7:10 am

whoops – again!

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SparkleCity September 3, 2013 at 11:49 pm

I have read much about Rome’s expansion into western Europe and being of Celtic descent I have more than my share of ill feelings about Rome.

I have come to the conclusion that the only way countries/nations prosper is either by conquest or true trade. Unfortunately one usually gets mixed up with the other and bad shit happens every time. Rome’s expansion to absorb more riches and materials through conquest ran into that old bugaboo of the “Law of Diminishing Returns”. They needed to expand in order to get more stuff and it got more expensive to get the stuff and the stuff wasn’t as plentiful as in earlier times and so forth and so on and the citizens of Rome were getting in a squeeze from the excesses of Rome.

There’s a lesson there somewhere……..

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The Colonel September 3, 2013 at 6:39 am

Ron Paul is a former U.S. Congressman from Texas and the leader of the pro-liberty, pro-free market, pro- wacky idea, pro-goofy rhetoric, non legislative accomplishment, lack of any real historical depth, non-existent personality movement in the United States. His weekly column – reprinted with permission – can be found lining bird cages and tacked to Dr. Paul sycophants bulletin boards all over the country – all 23, 241 of them.

Will, you didn’t publish his whole by-line, I added it for you…

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shifty henry September 3, 2013 at 7:08 am

whoops!

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TontoBubbaGoldstein September 3, 2013 at 8:52 am

Hmmmm, maybe there is a lesson for us there after all….

Ya think?

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SparkleCity September 3, 2013 at 11:53 pm

Colonel

Now you’re talking about my people – the Celts

Ever hear of Vercingetorix (sp) of Gaul or Bodica of Britian?

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The Colonel September 4, 2013 at 5:55 am

Vercingetorix was Chief of the Arverni (a Gaulish Tribe). He soundly defeated the Romans at the battle of Gergovia in central France only to be defatted four months later defending his fortress in Alesia. He was captured, held for several years and led through the streets of Rome in Julius Caesar’s “Triumph”. Vercingetorix was strangled to death privately in prison.

Alesia was the turning point in the Gallic Wars. Though the Gauls vastly outnumbered the Romans, Caesar built a wall around the Gaulish fort to enforce a siege then with typical Roman efficiency, reduced the fort and won the battle – he had help, Mark Antony and Titus Labienus were two of his more capable subordinates.

The Celtic Queen Boudicca fared only slightly better, after having to watch while her two daughters were raped to death, she led an uprising. After defeating early Roman incursions into her kingdom in what is now known as East Anglia, she wound up taking poison in her throne room after a series of defeats by the Romans. While she was one of the original “ass kicking women of history”.

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SparkleCity September 4, 2013 at 7:31 am

Yep,

I figured you would know who they were.

Fuckin Romans

But you gotta hand it to them they were organized and ruthless

Welcome back BTW. How was your deployment.?

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The Colonel September 4, 2013 at 7:49 am

It’s 1620 here (the time not the year though whenever I venture out into the countryside I sometimes wonder… ).
7 months left.

SamAdams2010 September 5, 2013 at 1:49 pm

I’ve always wondered if they still taught the lessons of history in the academy. Boooha

Skeet Jones September 4, 2013 at 11:11 am

you’re an idiot

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The Colonel September 4, 2013 at 2:42 pm

Well thanks Skeet – where’s my over under when I need it…

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