The massacre continues in Syria day-by-day, with only ten victims on good days and 200 on bad days.  The dictator Assad is using a modern army with tanks inside a town against terrified civilians. 

No one can do anything because the UN Security Council has not given the green light to do the obvious such as shooting up the tanks from above when it’s easy. ( See my 1/31/12 posting: “What To Do About Syria:…”)

The US is not going to do anything without the moral approval of the totalitarian Chinese mafia or the approval of the simple Russian mafia, the heir to yet another totalitarian criminal, genocidal regime.  We are all equal, after all.  Finland and Iceland are the moral equivalents of North Korea and of Equatorial Guinea. 

I don’t know what Romney or Gingrich or Santorum would do about the Syrian slaughter if they were president.  I know well what a President Paul would do because he has told us: The same as Obama or less. 

My libertarian friends follow faultlessly their libertarian Republican candidate, Ron Paul, whose firm stance is that all American military interventions abroad are either evil or only made necessary by our past misdeeds.  My main libertarian interlocutor on this blog, Crackpotcrackshot , routinely adds that we should never yield to the temptation of humanitarian military intervention because you can never know who started it.  In mainstream libertarian minds the world seems to be just like the playground in grade school: The 150- pound boy bully beats the little girl’s head on the ground but you don’t know who started it so, you must not intervene. 

Those are people who insist they can act only out of principle.  They would not vacillate from their immobility if they were in power no matter what the death toll were in Syria or anywhere. 

I have repeatedly called Republican candidate Ron Paul on this blog someone who does not care about facts.  I have said that he keeps spontaneously spouting invented pseudo-facts.  That is, he does not just embellish or exaggerate or stagger when in unfamiliar territory as even honest politicians will do.  He volunteers invented statements that shore up his positions.  I have hoped that some of his supporters would show me in time that what I think are pseudo-facts are real facts, that I am simply under-informed.  Since this has not happened I have decided to ask congressman Paul for explanations in the more direct way I know.  On 02/07/12, I sent his campaign the question below through the “Contact us “ feature of his website.  Incidentally during the last presidential campaign, I sent the “birth question” to the Obama website in the same manner.  I received a clear response in less than three days. 

Twice, I heard Congressman Paul say this or something very close, “Even the head of Mossad has stated that Iran possessing nuclear weapons would not be an existential issue for Israel.” 

I have done a reasonable search and I can’t find the quote or anything like it.  Perhaps, you could direct me.  Thank you in advance.  In case you are wondering, I am not anyone’s political operator but just a citizen who tries to follow candidates seriously. ( JD)

My guess is that the Paul campaign will make no effort to respond to my query.  It could be because they are too busy.  It could be because his following is a cult that does not brook questions, any questions.  I am guessing that the latter is correct.  If, contrary to my expectations, I receive any answer, I will promptly publish it on this blog. 

6 Responses to The Syrian massacre: What Pres.  Paul Would Do

I think the reason libertarians are reluctant to argue with you anymore is because it is burdensome to grapple with another person’s imagination. 

Are you not the guy, after all, who said that there were no military troops in Saudi Arabia in 2001?  Are you not the guy who would justify a war with another state because some barbarians living there throw acid into the eyes of little girls?  Are you not the guy who just now compared the people of Syria to a little girl in need of rescuing? 

What happened to the old paternalistic French Empire?  Better yet: what happened to all of the people living in France’s former colonies? 

You also have a habit of putting words into the mouths of people you disagree with.  I have never said that the United States should never yield to fighting a war in which our national security is not threatened.  I regret that we went into the Balkans (we’re still there 16 years later and there is no peace or prosperity in sight) and am relieved that we avoided a guerrilla war in East Africa.  I am tired of repeating myself. 

You have attempted to put words into Ron Paul’s mouth as well, and to no avail.  Your latest attempt is as pathetic as last few.  Here is the left-of-center Haaretz on Mossad’s chief on Iran’s over-hyped threat:

Brandon: I had not noticed that libertarians did not want to argue with me anymore.  Now to the important thing in your note:

I never “put words” in Ron Paul’s mouth.  Any questionable statement I attributed to him I heard distinctly with my own ears.  I challenged libertarians to explain them.  I had no takers until today when you gave me a quote on the alleged statement about nuclear weapons not being an existential threat to Israel according to the head of Mossad.  I said I would publish here any response.  You sent me a link I could not activate.  When and if I can, I will be glad to publish it here prominently. 

Then , I will wait for the reference to the Paul statement that the US armed forces spend 20 billion dollars annually on air-conditioning in Iraq and Afghanistan.  One year, any year will do. 

I am not wed to the idea that the candidate who represents the noble ideas of libertarianism is just a cult leader.  I would like to be wrong.