Community | July 02, 2010 | 43 comments

Ron Paul: Most Powerful Army Fighting War Against People Who Have NO Tanks! NO Planes! NO Ships!

ScottyT
Rep. Ron Paul asking the difficult question as to why we are still in Afghanistan and Iraq?

Perhaps you should be asking some tough questions too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skWt4uUwzSs
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43 comments // Ron Paul: Most Powerful Army Fighting War Against People Who Have NO Tanks! NO Planes! NO Ships! // Video

  • iamaman
  • iamaman
  • iamaman
    • +2
      iamaman  
    • Image
    • From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Paul

      This article is semi-protected until February 17, 2011 to prevent violations of Wikipedia's biographies of living persons policy.

      Ron Paul

      "Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 14th district Incumbent Assumed office January 3, 1997 Preceded by Greg Laughlin
      Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 22nd district
      In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1985 Preceded by Robert Gammage
      Succeeded by Tom DeLay In office April 3, 1976 – January 3, 1977 preceded by Robert R. Casey Succeeded by Robert Gammage

      Born August 20, 1935 (1935-08-20) (age 74) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
      Political party Republican (1976–1988) Libertarian (1988) Republican (1988–present)

      Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American physician and REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN for the 14th congressional district of Texas. Paul is a member of the Liberty Caucus of Republican congressmen which aims to limit the size and scope of the federal government,[2] and serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Joint Economic Committee, and the Committee on Financial Services, where he has been an outspoken critic of American foreign and monetary policy. He has gained notoriety for his right-libertarian positions on many political issues, often clashing with both Republican and Democratic Party leaders. Paul has run for President of the United States twice, first in 1988 as the nominee of the Libertarian Party and again in 2008 as a candidate for the Republican nomination."

      HE IS A NEO-CON! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-conservative

      "Neoconservatism is a right-wing political philosophy that emerged in the United States of America, and which supports using American economic and military power to bring liberalism, democracy, and human rights to other countries.[1][2][3] Consequently the term is chiefly applicable to certain Americans and their strong supporters. In economics, unlike paleoconservatives and libertarians, neoconservatives are generally comfortable with a welfare state; and, while rhetorically supportive of free markets, they are willing to interfere for overriding social purposes.[4]

      The term neoconservative was used at one time as a criticism against proponents of American modern liberalism who had "moved to the right".[5][6] Michael Harrington, a democratic socialist, coined the current sense of the term neoconservative in a 1973 Dissent magazine article concerning welfare policy.[7] According to E. J. Dionne, the nascent neoconservatives were driven by "the notion that liberalism" had failed and "no longer knew what it was talking about."[8] The term "neoconservative" was the subject of increased media coverage during the presidency of George W. Bush.[9][10] with particular focus on a perceived neoconservative influence on American foreign policy, as part of the Bush Doctrine.[11] The term neocon is often used as pejorative in this context."

    • 1 year ago
  • ScottyT
  • iamaman
  • ScottyT
  • ScottyT
  • iamaman
    • +1
      iamaman  
    • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ_Z_XG0L2c

      ron paul a hypocrite republican socialist,

      Constituent Assistance

      Through his casework staff, Congressman Paul is ready to help his constituents in the 14th Congressional district of Texas handle any problems with federal government agencies. If you are having trouble getting an answer from a federal agency in a reasonable time or feel you have been treated unfairly, he will work to resolve the problem or get you the information you need. While he cannot guarantee a favorable outcome, he will do his best to help you receive a fair and timely response to your problem.

      Congressman Paul has helped thousands of constituents with:

      * FEMA
      * Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
      * Immigration Matters
      * Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
      * Medicare
      * Military Cases
      * Passports
      * Securing Military Medals for Veterans
      * Social Security Administration (SSA)
      * Veteran's Benefits
      * any other Federal Government Department or Agency

      In order for you to receive immediate assistance with a federal agency, please complete this form.

      so he's against social welfare but endorses the use of it?

    • 1 year ago
  • ScottyT
    • -1
      ScottyT  
    • iamaman:

      What's wrong with that? His constituents pay into all those programs. He represents them. Sure, he doesn't support any of these programs, but he's not going to turn his back on the people who voted for him and who he represents. Does that not seem to be a proper role of an elected representative?

    • 1 year ago
  • iamaman
    • +3
      iamaman  
    • http://Infowars.com

      "Republican Steele’s Afghanistan Remarks Praised by Ron Paul"


      Timothy R. Homan
      Bloomberg
      July 4, 2010

      Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, whose remarks suggesting the U.S. will lose the war in Afghanistan have prompted some Republicans to demand his resignation, won praise from Representative Ron Paul.

      “Michael Steele should not resign,” Paul, a Texas Republican and former Libertarian Party presidential candidate, said today in a statement. “Michael Steele has it right and Republicans should stick by him.”

      http://www.prisonplanet.com/republican-steele%E2%80%99s-afghanistan-remarks-prai...

    • 1 year ago
  • ScottyT
    • -2
      ScottyT  
    • iamaman:

      I can't necessarily jump on the Michael Steele bandwagon, but I will say that it is a breath of fresh air to see a Republican party leader come to his senses about the war in Afghanistan.

      We should have never stayed there in the first place. There's no need to stay there now.

    • 1 year ago
  • iamaman
    • +2
      iamaman  
    • Image
    • from "Letters To A New President" (July 2008) By Senator Robert C. Byrd (1917-2010)

      Pg. 95 (4th paragraph)

      "WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH."

      "It was as if ABC had suddenly cut into "This Week" with the film version of 1984, starring John Hurt as Winston Smith, and we were suddenly listening to Big Brother adjusting the party line everyday, and expecting the cowed masses to go along. Not in America, Mr. Bush.
      The nation can and does demand more of its leaders, and you, new President, must do your part to help win back trust. It will be harder to gain the confidence of the American people than it was for the confidence to be drowned in a river of falsehoods. I do not think that we as a nation can afford any more of that. It will not always be easy for you to meet challenging circumstances with the truth. But there is inspiration in the scriptures: 'So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples. and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.' "

      from merriem-websters

      Main Entry: 2cow
      Function: transitive verb
      Etymology: probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Dan kue to subdue
      Date: 1581

      : to destroy the resolve or courage of ; also : to bring to a state or an action by intimidation —used with into
      synonyms see intimidate

      — cowed·ly \ˈkau̇(-ə)d-lē\ adverb

      http://byrd.senate.gov/

    • 1 year ago
  • PressCore
    • +2
      PressCore  
    • I'll wager it was the Corporate Invasion of Iraq & Afghanistan Hitler Bush/Cheny
      engineered ( via the 9/11 WTC Holocost they permitted to exploit their false flag )
      that inspired James Cameron's 3D movie Avatar. The News came out of Canada
      in early 2004 that Bush/Cheny schemed from the late 90s to invade Afghanistan.Iraq,Iran. And that their purpose is two fold. Michael Moore's
      Documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 exposed the direct connection between Hitler
      Bush as an unregistered foreign agent for the Bin Ladens who are a Multi
      Billionaire Saudi Arabian Oil Magnate family. Obviously Bush wanted to double
      the price which the Saudi Arabians he worked for would get for their oil once
      Iraq their competitor was put out of commission. But the world Big Oil Monopoly
      needed all 3 countries in tow as their " client States " so that Bush/Cheny
      could secure them to have new Oil & natural gas pipelines built to replace
      the ailing Alaskan oil pipeline. That was built in 1975, and wasn't intended to
      last this long. Nor can it. The global warming caused by fossil fuel burning
      has melted the perma frost on which the pipeline is founded. Watch the
      Documentary which Al Gore produced: An Inconvenient Truth sometime
      and see sagging trees, sinkholes, cracks in the pipeline. Bush/Cheny
      stood to become Billionaires if their ambitious scheme worked. It hasn't
      yet. But that's the real reason why the U.S. military is in those 2 countries.
      Monsanto is there for its own sinister purposes, as is DuPont.

      You can listen to the idiot shits of this world who swallow the propaganda
      the Gummint wants to sell the Corporate cover up story with. Like parrots
      they talk their talk. But it's MONEY that walks the walk. No Corporation would
      piss on Afghanistan if it were on fire unlesst tons of money were to be
      made from Afgthanistan's strategic value. They eyed Cuba & Hawaii
      the same way in the late 1800s. Bush Jr. openly admitted to admiring
      the tactics of Adolph Hitler who also knew the only way you can steal
      a country's resources is to first steal their real estate. " Hearts & minds "
      is right. Too bad the ones that uttered that weren't the ones who originated
      that idea. That statement derived from a statement first uttered by the senior
      Rothschild whose decendants form the cornerstone owners of the Federal
      Reserve. The Banksters of the NWO needed that fiat money printing press
      to fuel the Corporations operations in the same way 18 wheelers need the
      oil to derive diesel fuel from to deliver the products you buy at Wally World.

    • 1 year ago
  • iamaman
  • artemis6
  • iamaman
    • +1
      iamaman  
    • http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Ron_Paul_Energy_+_Oil.htm

      Ron Paul on Energy & Oil
      Republican Representative (TX-14); previously Libertarian for President

      Big Oil profits ok; Big Oil subsidies are not
      Q: Bush’s energy bill provided billions of dollars in tax breaks & subsidies to the oil companies with the goal of boosting domestic production at a time of record profits. Do you support that?

      A: I don’t think the profits is the issue. The profits are okay if they’re legitimately earned in a free market. What I object to are subsidies to big corporations when we subsidize them and give them R&D money. I don’t think that should be that way. They should take it out of the funds that they earn.
      Source: 2007 GOP debate at Saint Anselm College Jun 3, 2007

      Voted NO on removing oil & gas exploration subsidies.
      Creating Long-term Energy Alternatives for the Nation (CLEAN) Act

      * Title I: Ending Subsidies for Big Oil Act--denying a deduction for income attributable to domestic production of oil, natural gas, or their related primary products.
      * Title II: Royalty Relief for American Consumers Act--to incorporate specified price thresholds for royalties on oil & gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico.
      * Title III: Strategic Energy Efficiency And Renewables Reserve--makes the Reserve available to accelerate the use of clean domestic renewable energy resources and alternative fuels.

      Proponents support voting YES because:

      This legislation seeks to end the unwarranted tax breaks & subsidies which have been lavished on Big Oil over the last several years, at a time of record prices at the gas pump and record oil industry profits. Big Oil is hitting the American taxpayer not once, not twice, but three times. They are hitting them at the pump, they are hitting them through the Tax Code, and they are hitting them with royalty holidays put into oil in 1995 and again in 2005.

      It is time to vote for the integrity of America's resources, to vote for the end of corporate welfare, to vote for a new era in the management of our public energy resources.

      RON PAUL IS A HYPOCRITE

      hypocrite

      Main Entry: hyp·o·crite
      Pronunciation: \ˈhi-pə-ˌkrit\
      Function: noun
      Etymology: Middle English ypocrite, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin hypocrita, from Greek hypokritēs actor, hypocrite, from hypokrinesthai
      Date: 13th century

      1 : a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion
      2 : a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings

      — hypocrite adjective

    • 1 year ago
  • ScottyT
    • -2
      ScottyT  
    • iamaman:

      Probably because most Congressional acts with cutesey names like the CLEAN Act or the PATRIOT Act do the opposite of what they profess to do. I can tell you this, he won't vote for a piece of crap bill that's going to grow the government at the expense of the U.S. taxpayer. Furthermore, if you take the time to read some of the omnibus bills that travel through Congress, you'll see that there's a lot MORE THAN ONE ISSUE that gets tacked on to those monstrosities.

      Just because a bill claims to end subsidies doesn't mean that it's not going to subsidize some other thing. If I'm not mistaken, the coal and natural gas industry got a HUGE break out of that one.

      And no, I don't believe Ron Paul is a hypocrite--he's a politician. Go back to your dictionary.

    • 1 year ago
  • iamaman
  • TomTucker
  • iamaman
  • ScottyT
    • -2
      ScottyT  
    • iamaman:

      I actually enjoyed reading Justice Sotomayor's dissent in Citizens' United...I'm not a big fan of big business hiding behind the guise of corporate personhood. However, it's a double edged sword if you analyze the balancing effect through practices such as collective bargaining and political action committees.

      Yes, corporate influence has a lot to do with it. Yes, our elected representatives are beholden to the corporations. Yes, the military industrial complex profits off of this. And yes, it is a totally corrupt system.

      But, ultimately, it is PEOPLE who start wars--and it's going to be PEOPLE who end wars.

    • 1 year ago
  • PressCore
    • +1
      PressCore  
    • ScottyT:

      The People will continue to act like heroin/crack addicts fueling their
      cars up at gas stations unless & until a viable alternative is offered them.
      The early 70s movie 3 Days of the Condor featuring Cliff Robertson &
      Robert Redford illustrated that all too clearly before the Arab Oil Embargo
      hit in the Winter of 1973 into 1974 to drive the point home. ( Paraphrased )
      Cliff Robertson: " You think you're high ethical standards of right vs wrong
      are going to matter to the average person ? They only care so long as we
      in the CIA leep the Oil flowing so that they can gas up their cars " " Take
      that away from them, and you'll see how long your high ethical standards
      of right vs might interest them, HA ! " Thats why they call it a Monopoly.
      As Richard Pryer used to say in the 1980s: " You go looking for Justice
      and that's what you'll find. Just us " Again that's why they call it a Monopoly.
      People must have had rocks in their heads to have allowed them to maintain
      their Monopoly for the past 100 years.

    • 1 year ago
  • pjacobs51
  • kennymotown
  • ScottyT
  • pjacobs51
  • ScottyT
    • +1
      ScottyT  
    • pjacobs51:

      I am all too aware of what we did to Mossadiq back in 1953. Our foreign policy is deeply flawed, and will be our downfall if it is not corrected. Sadly, our corporate masters seem to believe otherwise.

    • 1 year ago
  • artemis6
  • artemis6
  • kennymotown
  • ScottyT
  • RoBot_rOcKer
  • Radical_Centrist
  • artemis6
  • tommic
    • -1
      tommic  
    • It was Ron Pauls Party that engauged Iraq, we are currently drawing down forces there, after August the only troops left should be at the Air base, which I can sadly say is too bad.

    • 1 year ago
  • ScottyT
  • TomTucker
  • ArchDruid
  • Radical_Centrist
    • +2
      Radical_Centrist  
    • ArchDruid:

      I live in the 14th Congressional District of Texas, and he wins by larger margins each time he runs. This past election the Neo-Cons pulled out all stops and fielded 4 opponents against him in the primary and he won WITHOUT even a run off.

    • 1 year ago
  • futuregen
    • +3
      futuregen  
    • http://www.democracynow.org/2010/7/1/fmr_marine_state_department_official_matthe...

      Matthew Hoh resigning over the Afghanistan war.

      "MATTHEW HOH: Well thanks for having me on Amy. you know, I think the question that should be first and foremost in every American’s mind is those 102 NATO troops, 59 I believe for Americans who were killed this month, how does that affect Al Qaeda? How did those deaths make this country safer? How did those deaths improve our national security? I think that should be the first question people ask, what are we out of this war, what are the benefits of spending $150 billion a year and losing 50, 60 good young men and women of every month?

      AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to ask about the comparisons between Vietnam and Afghanistan. In a recent speech of yours, you quoted the following passage of Robert McNamara who served as defense secretary during the escalation of the Vietnam war. This is McNamara speaking in 1995, 20 years after the Vietnam War ended.

      ROBERT MCNAMARA: We were fighting, and we didn’t realize it, a civil war. Now, true, there were some obviously Soviet and Chinese influence and support and no question the communists were trying to control South Vietnam, but it was basically a civil war. And one thing we should learn is you can’t fight and win the civil war without side troops. Particularly not when the political structure in the country is dissolved. So it wasn’t the press that was the problem, the problem was that we were in the wrong place with the wrong tactics.

      AMY GOODMAN: Let me put that question and McNamara’s comments to Matthew Hoh, former State Department official in Afghanistan.

      MATTHEW HOH: Very haunting comments. As you look at these two wars and compare them and you see the nature of the government, you see the nature of the countries, the way the population lives, the differences among the population, the natural schisms in the population and the history of those countries, the modern history of those countries, there are a lot of comparisons. I’m hesitant to say it is Vietnam over again, but there are some good comparisons, particularly in the fact we’re backing a corrupt and illegitimate government that is opposed by a good portion of the population, particularly in eastern and southern Afghanistan. The rural Pashtun population is excluded from that Afghan central government and there’s a rebellion against it and that’s where you do see the similarities between Vietnam and Afghanistan. I’ll also say you referenced Dan Ellsberg earlier and if your audience has not seen the Dan Ellsberg documentary, I recommend it. He talks about being on an airplane in Vietnam with Secretary McNamara and briefing him that they’ve gone and seen all the different provinces and they’ve not seen anything good or anything positive. As soon as they get off the airplane, McNamara tells the press corps that things are going well in Vietnam. You have the same experiences here. I was aghast when I heard Senator McCain when in his opening statements to General Petraeus the other day saying that it’s going well in Helmand province, that the military has cleared Marjah of Taliban. Which is completely untrue. You see some of those parallels too with our political leadership in terms of whether or not what they’re saying actually reflects the reality of the situation in Afghanistan."

    • 1 year ago
  • futuregen
    • +2
      futuregen  
    • http://www.democracynow.org/2010/7/1/conyers

      A savings of $33 billion here.

      "JUAN GONZALEZ: We’re joined by Democratic Congressman John Conyers. He’s the chair of the House Judiciary Committee and the co-chair of the "Out of Afghanistan" caucus. He’s speaking today at a press conference with other lawmakers opposed to the $33 billion earmarked for the escalation of the war in Afghanistan. The funding is contained in the supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010. The press conference is being held one day after the end of the bloodiest month for international troops in Afghanistan. Congressman Conyers, welcome to DEMOCRACY NOW!

      REP. JOHN CONYERS: What a pleasure to be on the show. Top of the morning to both of you.

      JUAN GONZALEZ: Can you tell us in terms of your efforts now to oppose this increase in funding, why you’re doing it and what do you see, especially after this conversation we’ve been having here on the sacking of General McChrystal, as to what the future holds for our nation in Afghanistan?

      REP. JOHN CONYERS: Well, it’s never been clear to me that through war we can bring peace, especially when we’re the invaders, we’re the ones using drones. We’re causing civilian deaths to many people who would otherwise be more friendly to us. We’re creating the terrorists. This is not being lost on most of the people in the country now. Our constituents now want us out of both Afghanistan and Iraq, and what we’re doing now is forming a way to discuss this with our president in an effort to make him more comfortable with doing what most people want him to do and what we thought he was going to do in the first place, namely, to clearly disengage from the military, increase the diplomatic activity, and bring in some help in terms of food supplies, aid, and positive build up of these countries and to make as many friends as we can over there rather than this ninth year of what has now become a debacle in every respect.

      AMY GOODMAN:Congressman Conyers, what is the War is Making Your Poor Act?

      REP: JOHN CONYERS: The War is Making You Poor is a brilliant device by Grayson, my colleague Alan Grayson, in which we’re doing just three things. One, we limit the amount of funding of the wars in both countries. We eliminate the federal tax on all Americans that make less than $35,000 a year. And as a result, and this has been confirmed by the Joint Committee on taxation, we reduce the debt by almost $16 billion. Our debt. So it’s a combination of things that are happening now, Amy, that make it clear to more and more members of Congress that you can’t keep a straight face on all of this incredible indebtedness, talk about all of the money that we have shovelled out to Wall Street and credit isn’t loosening up, unemployment is still at all-time highs. We’re projected in Detroit to have more foreclosures on homes than last year. So we’ve got to turn with especially all of the shouts about being fiscally conservative, the way to climb out of this is to reduce the obligations of our government. Here we are in hundreds of billions of dollars of war debt and our President is saying we now have to have an emergency funding which is merely another way of saying we’re going to specially fund the Afghanistan surge. It makes no sensee and I thing militarily it is not logical and of course morally, I can’t remember anything like this since Korea and Vietnam, to be honest with you."

    • 1 year ago
  • futuregen
    • +2
      futuregen  
    • Image
    • http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/28/naomi_klein_the_real_crime_scene

      Naomi Klein discusses the G-20 summit financial decision:

      "But what there would be was very decisive action on deficit reductions. These leaders announced that they would halve their deficits by 2013, which is shocking and brutal cut. You know, I don’t believe—maybe some of the leaders intend on keeping—making good on this promise, but, on the other hand, they can hide behind this promise as the excuse to do what a lot of them want to do anyway, and say, you know, "We have no choice; we made this commitment." But so, just to put this in perspective, if the US were to cut its deficit, its projected 2010 deficit, in half by 2013, that would be a cut of $780 billion, you know, if there were no tax increases in that period. So, you know, that’s why I wrote the piece that came out this morning in Canada’s national newspaper The Globe and Mail, that what actually happened at the summit is that the global elites just stuck the bill for their drunken binge with the world’s poor, with the people who are most vulnerable, because that is really who’s going to pay, when they balance their budgets on the backs of healthcare programs, pension programs, unemployment programs."

      _________________________________

      So if we eliminated the Pentagon and the CIA, I bet we could come up with $780 billion.

    • 1 year ago
  • Buddha2112
    • +3
      Buddha2112  
    • Sense? In CONGRESS?! How come no one listens to him? It's as if we have a chance to save ourselves from ourselves and no one wants to.

      We will fall much like the Romans if this continues... And we repeat history... again and again, because no one cares.

    • 1 year ago
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