Monday, August 19, 2013

Rand Paul's Libertarian Egyptian Policy Is Penny Wise and Pound Foolish

American Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte and Democratic Representative Keith Ellison joined the call to suspend aid to Egypt on Sunday, after last week's crackdown on the pro-Morsi Moslrm Brotherhood by the military that left hundreds dead. Senator Ayotte said, "The United States gave the military-installed interim government time to take appropriate actions, but now it's time to use the funds as bargaining chip." Ayotte, who had supported continuing aid to Egypt after the July 3 ouster of Morsi, appeared on NBC "Meet the Press," and said President Barack Obama was right to suspend joint military exercises and condemn violence last week, but he didn't go far enough. "I think he fell short when he really didn't come out and call out the real question on the suspension of aid, because that is the real influence that we have with Egypt," Ayotte said. [Note that the Arab world's leaders have pledged to make up any funds withdrawn by the US or the EU.] Repesentative Ellison said that the United States should pull back on aid to Egypt until the bloodshed stops and the strife-torn country returns to a path toward democracy : "I would cut off aid," Ellison said on ABC's "This Week." "In my mind, there's no way to say that this was not a coup. It is. We should say so. And then we should follow our own law, which says we cannot fund the coup leaders." Ellison said the administration needs to engage in "intense diplomacy" with Egypt, and Congress needs to "suspend aid" to the country until its leaders establish a set of Democratic protocols and stop the violence. Ellison and Ayottte were joining the call made by influential Republican Senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina to end the aid to Egypt. Graham warned on Sunday that Egypt could become a "failed state" and a safe haven for al-Qaida."The [Muslim] Brotherhood will go underground, al-Qaida will come to their aid, and you're going to have an armed insurgency, not protesters, on your hands in the next 60 days or 90 days,” said Graham on CBS's "Face the Nation.""We're going to have to suspend our aid because we can't support the reaction of the military, even though the Brotherhood overplaying their hand started this, we can't support what the military's doing in response," Graham said. Graham, who just returned from a trip to Egypt with McCain, said, "What would happen if we cut off the aid is that Western tourism ends in Egypt for the foreseeable future for as far as the eye can see. Western investment comes to a standstill. Egypt becomes a begger client state of the Arab Gulf states. Egypt’s future is really damned." McCain renewed his call on Sunday to stop the aid. "For us to sit by and watch this happen is a violation of everything that we stood for," said McCain on CNN's "State of the Union." "We're not sticking with our values." Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul said on "Fox News Sunday" that US aid to Egypt was more likely to "buy a chateau in Paris" for an Egyptian military leader than "bread in Cairo" for the poor. "I don't think we're buying any friendship with the Egyptian people," Paul said especially when people see tanks supplied by the US to the Egyptian military on the streets of Cairo."We are not winning the hearts and minds of the Egyptian people," said Paul. "The aid has to end." But Republican Representative Pete King told "Fox News Sunday" that cutting aid could reduce US influence over Egypt's interim government."I'm reluctant to cut off aid," King said. ~~~~~ Here, dear readers, we have a microcosm of the stupidity afloat in America today concerning foreign policy generally and Egypt in particular. That it was Republicans and not Democrats leading the charge against the Egyptian military makes little difference. Both parties are naive and amateurish beyond belief when it concerns the Moslem Brothethood, Egypt's and Israel's future, aw well as the desire of most peoole in the Middle East to find their way to self-government. Senator Graham's statements supoort continuing aid to the Egyptian military - how he arrived at his conclusion to stop that aid defies logic. What is shocking is that the most senior military affairs expert in the GOP, John McCain, should lead the parade. It is extremely worrying. We may take some comfort in the fact that McCain is serving his last term as Senator from Arizona and will "fade away," having already proved he cannot win a presidential election. Far more dangerous is the position being espoused by Senator Rand Paul, a heavyweight contender to be the 2016 GOP presidential candidate. The libertarian siren song Paul is singing sounds sweet to a nation tired of war and islamist plots and terrorism - and I dare say, tired of the entire Middle East and Arab world. Senator Paul's call to abandon Egypt to the Brotherhood would save money and American lives -- right up to the moment when Egypt, stripped of its military glue, implodes in civil war, and the Middle East with it, thereby also calling Israel's existence into question. On that day, America will have no choice but to engage the Brotherhood and its offspring, Hamas, directly. Senator Rand's penny wise policies will then be seen to be hundreds of billions of pounds foolish.

6 comments:

  1. I have been drifting towards the Libertarian point of view for a while now. I have always been a card carrying conservative and a life long member of the GOP, simply because there is very little to No responsible conservative view points in the democratic party.

    My problem is the "ISOLATIONISTS" stance that is front and center in the Libertarian action plan. I can't sit by and not care about the rest of the world and to help those that are in the predicament as the Libyan & Egyptians are right now.

    Rand Paul's stance on this Middle East dilemma is at best for me a great sign of weakness and looking for the easy way out.

    Of all the "coup" leaders that we have helped out and even put a few into power over the past 50 years ... why now do we hunker down and want to play innocent. Not supporting the Egyptians that stand against the Brotherhood will be the cause of death and destruction.

    I simply do not comprehend what this ground swell to abandon and turn is all about.

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  2. Sen. Paul decision to follow a hardline Libertarian view on "isolationism" leaves me for one without a viable candidate for the 2016 Presidential election.

    It is difficult to believe that someone can be so unbending over a pure political view as to ignore the millions of lives that will be adversely affect by such a policy as he is advocating.

    In his first real test of Foreign Policy I think he came up on the loosing side.

    I understand that there is a vast difference in foreign aide between a "true" libertarian and a Burke/Locke /Goldwater/Buckley/Reagan Conservative.

    It's like the story ... A beggar is sitting on the sidewalk and a man stops and gives him his last dollar and apologizes to the beggar that he wished it could be more. a little while later a well dressed business man stops and gives the beggar $5.00. WHO GAVE MORE ???

    I think the first man. he gave from his heart and soul.

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  3. Senators Kelly Ayotte, McCain, Graham,Paul and the list goes on that advocate withdrawing military aid to Egypt right now leave me speechless.

    I do not understand the thought process that lead them to this unexplainable, non-supportive decision.

    Forget all about the Arab nations and specifically Egypt right now. Do they not care about Israel at all. And do they think that down the road weeks, months, years, decades that we , the United States of America may not need to ask for help from someone. maybe not monetary help, just any form of help.

    We are making a bad situation worse by following such an action as they are suggesting.

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  4. Terrific blog and good going taking a stab at Rand Paul.

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  5. We should defend what is right with our strength and determination. But we should also go into every foreign affairs situation with our eyes wide open and understand that 100% of our desires is unreal.

    Defending the constitutionally-elected government of countries, and respecting the rule of law, are a noble goals for U.S. foreign policy; goals that sometimes call for sacrifices.

    However Egypt, under the Muslim Brotherhood, deserves neither defense nor respect.

    Democracy is a myth in Egypt, whether manipulated by the Muslim Brothers or the Egyptian army. But in general I believe that the army better protects the aspirations of ordinary Egyptians than do the religious zealots Obama favors in Libya, Egypt, Syria and elsewhere.

    The following is not Participation Democracy at any acceptable level :

    In a country of 82 million people, 25 million are registered voters. Only 33 percent voted in the first round and 31 percent voted in the second round. Thus, 16.5 million voters declined to vote. That means some 8.5 million voters decided the fate of Egypt.

    The informal results show that just fewer than 5.5 million people made the decision for 82 million Egyptians that Egypt will be a more devout Islamist state, governed by Sharia. They overwhelmingly abandoned the last 60 years of Egyptian political history and US involvement in Egypt.

    But again to wake up next week and have a democracy like ours in Egypt is unrealistic by any evaluation. lets take the best deal on the table, be watchful and helpful in the future in Egypt and nurture what is hope there.

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    Replies
    1. As much as I respect Sen. Paul and admire 95% of what he stands for ... he is wrong on this one. And I believe that "hindsight" will again prove to be 120% correct.

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