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From
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Peace and Prosperity in 2002?
by Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)
January 11, 2002
The events of September 11th, the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan,
and economic troubles at home all serve to make 2002 a year of great
uncertainty for America. The President already has warned the nation
that 2002 will be "a war year," and economic recovery in the near
future seems unlikely. It is easy for us to lose sight of the primary
responsibility of our government during troubled times, because we
naturally are anxious to have Washington eradicate terrorism and
"fix" the economy. Yet we should not forget that peace and prosperity
are best secured by a government that secures liberty for its
citizens. The best formula for securing liberty is limited government
at home and a noninterventionist foreign policy abroad.
Nonintervention in the self-determination of the Afghan people should be our goal as
that nation begins to rebuild its government. While we certainly were justified in our
military actions against bin Laden and his networ
k, we must not allow ourselves to engage in nation building in Afghanistan. Neither
America nor the UN should seek to install a government, and we certainly should not
allow ourselves to become involved in another endless
UN "peacekeeping" operation similar to Kosovo. Our goal should be to get our troops
out of the country as soon as possible and remain neutral toward the various factions
still vying for power. The best solution may be fo
r Afghanistan to break up into several countries based on ethnic and religious
differences, with a Pashtun government in Kabul and the south and various mujahidin
governments in the north. Regardless of the outcome, we mu
st recognize that history teaches us time and again that we should not involve
ourselves in the internal conflicts of foreign nations.
Prosperity at home can only be achieved if we do not allow government to engage in
the kind of runaway spending that marked the final months of 2001. Congress allowed
terrorism to serve as an excuse for billions in speci
al interest spending that had little or nothing to do with September 11th or fighting
terrorism. The fiscal year 2002 budget, already bloated with billions of dollars in
unnecessary and counterproductive spending before S
eptember 11th, has become a grab bag for every group or industry seeking a handout.
Several federal agencies and bureaucracies needlessly receive more funding than
originally requested by President Bush. Dangerous foreign
aid spending also grows next year, sending more of your tax dollars overseas to fund
dubious regimes that often later become our enemies � the Taliban being a poignant
example. Congress cannot continue to increase spendi
ng each year and expect tax revenues to keep pace. Deficit spending and tax increases
will be the inevitable consequences. No reasonable person can argue that our current
$2 trillion budget does not contain huge amounts o
f special interest spending that can and should be cut by Congress,
especially when we are confronted with terrorist threats and an
economic crisis.
Ron Paul, M.D., represents the 14th Congressional District of Texas
in the United States House of Representatives.
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