US Troops' First Duty Is to Foreigners?

US elite special forces’ “most crucial mission” is training foreign militaries?

Special Forces are needed to train small foreign units to quell terrorist threats within their national borders, Vice Adm. Eric Olson, deputy commander of Special Operations Command, told senators during an April hearing.

It's perhaps the commandos' most crucial mission, he said: "We know that we cannot kill or talk our way to victory." ("SEALs Face Recruiting Woes," Military.com Virginian-Pilot, 5/8/07, hat tip)

Our military exists as a US-tax-paid traveling bootcamp for foreign militaries?

Did someone re-write our military oaths when we weren't looking?

I thought our military's most crucial mission was to support and defend the Constitution:

"I, _____ (SSAN), having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God." (DA Form 71, 1 August 1959, for officers.)

Apparently, our leaders have no time to honor the actual military oath and are too busy misusing our troops as door-to-door personal trainers for the world, even if building up foreigners wrecks our own military preparedness:

Pressures on the SEALs -- and throughout much of the military -- worry retired Army Brig. Gen. John H. Johns, a counter insurgency expert and Vietnam War veteran. "We just cannot continue this without breaking the military, including the SEALs," he said in a recent interview with The Virginian-Pilot.

"As service men and women we all take an oath to defend and uphold the constitution. That oath doesn't expire the day we leave military service. It is an oath that we will take to the grave. Ron Paul is the only candidate that I can see really knows the meaning of the constitution and what the founding fathers wanted. I have never felt so passionate about a presidential candidate as I do about Ron Paul."-- US Marine Chad Clement (veteran) (more military endorsements of Ron Paul)

Captain Ron Paul took his officer's oath to uphold the US Constitution and knows that is the true and only purpose of the US military.

George Washington Endorses Ron Paul?

“Just come home.”--Ron Paul, Iowa Republican Debate, 8/5/07

“If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.”--British King George III, 1783, speaking of George Washington when the king heard that General Washington would return to his homelife rather than stay in political power after his military victory

Relinquishing power to return home is what makes America great and different in the world.

• George Washington was our Cincinnatus, a reference to the Roman republican leader who rose to fight when necessary and then returned home rather than seize power and make himself a dictator.
• The Cincinnatus tradition is a central theme of American history. Americans named a major city after the idea that we as American minutemen are a nation of Cincinnati (the plural of Cincinnatus).
• Leaving is also the key component to our Western cowboy heroes. The film is not over until the hero rides off into the sunset.
• General Dwight D. Eisenhower initially favored the Cold War Marshall Plan and NATO alliance as the means to allow US troop withdrawals from Europe. Similarly, President Eisenhower tried both strategic nuclear weapons and CIA actions because these new methods promised to enable troop reductions. Eisenhower tried to be like George Washington and Ron Paul and just come home but Eisenhower’s attempt to replace one kind of intervention with other interventions ultimately bogged us down with more of everything for half a century.

Keep your word.

Honor your promises to the American people.

Iraq Timeline of Withdrawal Promises:

• George W. Bush in 2000 promised America no nation-building crusades.
• President Bush’s initial, 2002-2003 official Iraq policy is to just come home as soon as possible.
• Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld predicted in February 2003, "It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months" (BBC News World Edition, "Rumsfeld foresees swift Iraq war," 2/7/03).
• The 2003 pro-Bush, pro-war punditry ridiculed a long-term stay in Iraq as a Democratic-Clinton-left idea, "the very premise of an extended "occupation" is antithetical to President Bush's policy of liberation" (Jed Babbin, National Review Online (NRO), March 6, 2003).
• Bush declared "Mission accomplished!" for Iraq on May 2, 2003.
• We could have toppled Saddam Hussein, checked for WMDs, setup a provisional government, and just come home in 90 days in mid-2003, which would have avoided the extra, endless nation-building debacle, avoided the Abu Ghraib prison torture disgrace (US opened the prison in August 2003), and avoided about 4,000 American dead.
• Vice President Dick Cheney on May 30, 2005 declared the Iraqi insurgency to be in its "last throes."
• Lieutenant General David Petraeus' spokesman stated on July 29, 2005 that Petraeus "has been saying for a long time now that there's been tremendous progress in the Iraqi security forces" ("tremendous" Iraqi progress is supposed to allow "tremendous" US withdrawal).
• A British memo leaked in July 2005 stated that US officials wanted "a relatively bold reduction in force numbers."
• Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and General George W. Casey said in mid-2005 that the US could begin withdrawal in mid-2006 and finish complete withdrawal from Iraq by mid-2007.
• Rumsfeld urged troop withdrawals in a November 6, 2006 memo, 2 days before his resignation.
• The British withdrew from Basra city last year in 2007 and left it in a condition that is about the same as it would have been if they had withdrawn 5 years ago in 2003.

"You put your troops in, you pull your troops out."-- US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, 2005, the year he suggested withdrawing from Iraq in 2006

We have done our job.

It is time to honor American traditions and just come home.

John Wayne ("the Duke") walks off into the sunset in the John Ford Americana masterpiece The Searchers (spoiler ending):

How To Withdraw from Iraq Safely: Mahan Endorses Ron Paul?

"Retreat Hell! We're just attacking in another direction."-- Major General Oliver P. Smith, USMC, Korea, December 1950

A smart hawk wants to bring troops home safely and wisely as part of a carefully planned grand strategy to strengthen US national security.

Ron Paul’s “immediate” withdrawal is safe and steady with a glidepath to a soft landing which then allows us to strike an even stronger force posture.

Ron Paul will be inaugurated in early 2009, almost a year in the future. The common estimate for withdrawal is 1-2 brigades per month. Withdrawal might be complete by 2010, 3 years after the “surge” was supposed to fix everything in 3 months, 7 years after the re-invasion of 2003, and 20 years after the Iraq war began in 1990.

If we haven’t fixed Iraq after 20 years of military intervention, it probably wasn’t fixable in the first place.

How will President Ron Paul withdraw?

President Ron Paul gives the order and the military carries out the order. Do not insult our professional military by suggesting that the president has to micromanage how they do their job:

• The military already should have withdrawal plans on the shelf and ready to go. After all, what would happen if a hot war started in Korea tomorrow? It is the military’s job to have contingency plans. That is why units have planning staffs. If they do not have plans ready, courts martial are in order.
• The military has standard operating procedures for logistical movements such as a withdrawal. The formula is the Time-Phased Forces-Deployment List (TPFDL), nicknamed "tip-fiddle" or "tip-fid." Punch in the specifications and tip-fid produces spreadsheets of everything involved for smooth execution.
• If you believe that American troops are dedicated and professional, you should not worry about “how” the withdrawal would occur (as if the army had never left anywhere before).

What would happen if tens of thousands of US troops suddenly withdrew from the rest of the world?

They already have, and you probably never noticed:

• After the fall of the Soviet Union, something in the neighborhood of a quarter-million US troops left Europe. The sky did not fall.
• We closed major bases in Asia-Pacific (the Philippines). The sky did not fall.
• The Department of Defense had a half-million fewer people 10 years after the Soviet Union collapsed. The sky did not fall.
• During the 2003+ Iraq war, Bush ordered thousands more troops to leave Europe. The sky did not fall. (Unfortunately, this smart move is being reversed.)

19 hijackers perpetrated 9/11 DESPITE the 1.4 million member Department of Defense (DoD). Taxing Americans for 2 million DoD personnel would not have prevented 9/11.

There are only about 140 first-generation, hardcore al Qaeda people left in the Pakistan area, plus a somewhat larger number of second-generation, pre-9/11 people. Now if only we could stop MAKING third-generation terrorists by trying to nation-build the world at gunpoint. Increasing the US military from 1.4 to 1.5 million is irrelevant because anti-terrorism is asymmetric and unconventional, not meant for standard military units.

The glaring waste of continued Iraq deployment is evident in today's 3/3/08 military report from northern Iraq covering 12 million people in an area the size of Georgia:

"[The 1st Armored Division] Task Force Iron has been focused on three lines of operation: security, governance and economics."--Deputy Commander Brigadier General Tony Thomas, Multinational Division-North and the 1st Armored Division, Operating Base (COB) Speicher just outside of Tikrit, covering provinces of Nineveh, Kirkuk, Salahuddin, Diyala and the three provinces of the Kurdish Regional Government of Dohuk, Erbil and Sulimaniyah

• Why is an armored division responsible for the economy? There is a reason that WWII General Eisenhower did not hurl thousands of economists onto Normandy Beach on D-Day, and likewise leaders should not hurl combat soldiers at economic problems. Even Pakistani dictator Musharraf is removing military officers from their poor management of civilian functions that hobbles the Pakistani economy.
• A US general in charge of Iraqi governance a half-decade after the takeover is an odd lesson in “democracy.”
• A US armored division is not for anti-terrorism, not for governance, and not for economics.
• The misuse of our troops is causing morale, retention, and recruitment problems. We are losing high-quality people who leave the service. Others suffer PTSD or commit suicide. These policies weaken our national security for when we truly need an armored division.

America needs to get its priorities straight with a sound military strategy:

• Use intelligence and special units to fight terrorists.
• Keep conventional forces trained and ready to meet conventional threats.
• Keep an unbeatable military.
• America does not need a massive army. The Soviets had a large army and lost the Cold War. Occupying Asia is not America’s destiny.
• Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan was an American officer who first led America to be a world-class naval power by theorizing that he who controls the seas controls the world. America can be the world’s most powerful nation simply by controlling the seas.
• The US spends as much on its military as the rest of the world combined. The US could cut its spending in half and still be the world’s most powerful nation.

Work smarter, not harder.

The Iraq withdrawal will be part of a global realignment that will make America stronger and more secure.

Captain Ron Paul’s “withdrawal” is simply advancing America to a stronger position.

Texas Soldiers Praise Ron Paul's Iraq Withdrawal Plan

Texas Soldiers at Fort Hood Praise Ron Paul's Iraq Withdrawal Plan.

Teddy Roosevelt Endorses Ron Paul?

“Peace is not the absence of conflict. It is the ability to handle conflict through peaceful means.”--Ronald Reagan, who defeated our greatest enemy without war

"Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far."--Theodore Roosevelt, "Rough Rider" war hero and commander-in-chief of the "Great White Fleet" who won a Nobel Peace Prize by ending a war in Asia (Treaty of Portsmouth)

Ron Paul's unbeatable military power speaks softly and carries a big stick.

Ron Paul knows that the key to US national security is a strong strategic capability. Paul reminds us that our fleet of nuclear ballistic missile submarines provides an iron deterrence. Any country that attacked us would invite massive retaliation and Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD).

Remember that suicide terrorism is a weapon of the weak, the very weak such as lone individuals, and they are best defeated by intelligence and special units while keeping our major conventional forces free and ready to meet major conventional threats.

In fact, we look weak and foolish when we let a few cave-dwelling jihadists tie up our aircraft carriers and infantry divisions.

Countries are a different matter. Neither Hitler nor Saddam Hussein ever dared to use chemical weapons against the United States.

The purpose of the military is to enable the diplomacy.

Ron Paul knows what Roosevelt and Reagan knew, that the strong military enables successful diplomacy precisely so that you achieve your goals without war, as Reagan did with the Soviet Union.

The United States has the patience to talk because its negotiations are backed by the world’s most powerful military deterrence.

Captain Ron Paul’s strategic deterrence policy is in good company with that of Ronald Reagan and Teddy Roosevelt.

Economics Experts Endorse Ron Paul: Military Security Requires Financial Security

"What if we discover, too late, that we can’t afford this war-- and that our policies have led to a dollar collapse, rampant inflation, high interest rates, and a severe economic downturn?"--Ron Paul, 1/26/2005, warning us 3 years ago of today's recession, inflation, dollar collapse, and global credit crisis

"Ron Paul...is the only one that I’ve seen in American politics that seems to have a clue."--Jim Rogers, Quantum Fund, on the US dollar, international finance, and the global economy

“Ron Paul is the real deal, a true statesmen and citizen politician in the traditions envisioned by the framers of our Republic.”--Peter Schiff, Euro Pacific Capital, Inc.

"Great countries do not fall because they have a weak military. Great countries fall because they have weak economies and currencies."--Ron Paul, 2/5/08, Charleston West Virginia caucus

The mighty American Abrams tanks and aircraft carriers will turn to rusting hulks if we continue to ignore our finances.

Osama bin Laden's real strategy is not military or terrorist but economic and financial.

• The British Empire thrived through its financial management which enabled it to outspend and outlast enemies. It collapsed when the economic burdens of its imperial overtretch collapsed its finances.
• Ronald Reagan succeeded in bankrupting the Soviet system while avoiding too many imperial, nation-building drains on the United States.
• Osama bin Laden's strategy to defeat the United States is the same policy that felled the British and Soviet empires, bankruptcy.

"We are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. Allah willing, and nothing is too great for Allah," bin Laden said in the transcript. He said the mujahedeen fighters did the same thing to the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s, "using guerrilla warfare and the war of attrition to fight tyrannical superpowers.""We, alongside the mujahedeen, bled Russia for 10 years until it went bankrupt and was forced to withdraw in defeat," bin Laden said.

Bin Laden loves it when America deploys thousands of troops around the globe on wild goose chases:

"All that we have to do is to send two mujahedeen to the furthest point east to raise a piece of cloth on which is written al Qaeda, in order to make generals race there to cause America to suffer human, economic and political losses without their achieving anything of note other than some benefits for their private corporations," bin Laden said.

• You can defeat the world's most powerful military by eroding the economy that funds it.
• Soviet figher pilots were still some of the best in the world when their country simply dissolved beneath them.
• The mighty American Abrams tanks and aircraft carriers will turn to rusting hulks if we continue to ignore our finances.

Deficit spending in the name of security RUINS our security:

We borrow $2 billion per day, increasingly mortgaging our children to communist China.

• The directionless Iraq occupation makes us LESS safe because it makes us debt slaves to communist China and surrenders us to al Qaeda's strategy.
• The runaway "Global War on Terror" (TM) makes us LESS safe because it makes us debt slaves to communist China and surrenders us to al Qaeda's strategy.
• The ill-conceived federal economic stimulus package makes us LESS safe because it makes us debt slaves to communist China and surrenders us to al Qaeda's strategy.

Have you helped Osama bin Laden today by demanding a domestic welfare state, global welfare state, or policeman-of-the-world "Global War on Terror" (TM)?

“The obligations of our representatives in Washington are to protect our liberty, not coddle the world, precipitating no-win wars, while bringing bankruptcy and turmoil to our people.”--Ron Paul

Ron Paul's dual policies of foreign policy non-interventionism (the smart way to be globally active) and economic/monetary reform will defeat Osama bin Laden and save our economy.

Ron Paul is the only presidential candidate who understands the global economic and financial forces necessary to achieve both military and economic security.

Rudy Giuliani tried to posture himself as "Mr. 9/11" but during debate seemed to not have even read the 9/11 Commission Report and did not know the CIA analysis that US presence in the Mid-East was an al Qaeda grievance. Ron Paul cited this official US government explanation but Giuliani embarrassed himself by saying that he had never heard of it. Giuliani has dropped out of the race, although he supports McCain, which should tell you something.

Willard "Mitt" Romney tries to posture himself as "Mr. Economy" but (despite his personal business accomplishment) Romney does not understand macro-economics. In this interview, Romney seems not to understand the host Mark Larsens' point about tax policy and seems not to know what M1 is (a money supply measure) or what VAT is (Value Added Tax, a serial sales tax), because the 1% does make sense in this context (Update: Romney has dropped out of the race, although he supports McCain, which should tell you something.):



Ron Paul, the real Mr. Economy and Mr. Main Street

Congressman Dr. Ron Paul started as a small businessman (ran his own medial practice) and is now a monetary expert who served on President Ronald Reagan's gold commission and now serves on economic/finance committees overseeing the Federal Reserve and the world's largest economy.

A Financial Bomb Worse than any Terrorist Bomb Yet Seen

Ron Paul understands that financial dangers arise from both warfare and welfare, with wars and entitlements accumulating over $9 TRILLION in gross debt and unfunded liabilities up to $50-70 TRILLION (depending upon the time frame), which is several times the total size of our economy.

Comptroller General of the United States David M. Walker explains the huge problem that no presidential candidate except Ron Paul will discuss:



Mega-investor Jim Rogers, who co-founded Quantum Fund with George Soros, explains the international financial crisis, the danger of the Federal Reserve, the threats to the US dollar, and how Ron Paul is the only one with "a clue":



Finance experts hail Dr. Paul:



“We need a plan that stimulates savings and production not more of the reckless borrowing and consumption that got us into this mess in the first place. Ron Paul’s plan is the only one that amounts to a step in the right direction. If you want meaningful change - for the better that is - Ron Paul is the only candidate capable of delivering it. The others merely promise to continue the failed policies that are at the root of our current economic problems.”--Peter Schiff is president of Euro Pacific Capital Inc, and a frequent guest on CNBC, Fox News, and Bloomberg Television. He is often quoted in major financial publications and is the author of the book Crash Proof.

“Ron Paul’s economic plan is the real thing – a plan. It’s not just a band-aid designed to ‘stimulate’ the economy in an election year. It’s a fundamental agenda for real and lasting change, making the US economy more vibrant and competitive, and removing barriers to advancement for all Americans.”--Donald L. Luskin is Chief Investment Officer for Trend Macrolytics LLC and contributing editor to the National Review Online and SmartMoney.com. He is also a frequent guest on CNBC, and the author of two books: Index Options and Futures: The Complete Guide and Portfolio Insurance: A Guide to Dynamic Hedging.

Captain Ron Paul will achieve both military and financial/economic security.

Ron Paul--Real Solutions for the Real Economy

Reagan Staffer Endorses Ron Paul

Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan Mr. Douglas Bandow Endorses Dr. Ron Paul for President of the United States in 2008:

"Doug Bandow is a political writer and the Robert A. Taft Fellow with the American Conservative Defense Alliance. He has been widely published in leading newspapers and periodicals, and is the author of several books – including, most recently, Foreign Follies. Mr. Bandow served as a special assistant to President Ronald Reagan and as a senior policy analyst in the 1980 Reagan for President campaign."

Captain Ron Paul was there at the beginning of the Reagan Revolution and is Reagan's closest heir:



It can be morning in America again if you vote Captain Ron Paul.

CIA Officers Endorse Ron Paul

“Dr. Paul has done a tremendous service to the American people.”-- Michael Scheuer, Chief of the (Usama) Bin Laden (UBL) Issue Station (codenamed “Alec Station”), CIA Counterterrorist Center (CTC)

Former CIA officer Philip Giraldi endorses Ron Paul:

"Philip Giraldi is a former officer of the Central Intelligence Agency who writes regularly on intelligence and foreign policy issues. Mr. Giraldi is a partner in an international security consultancy Cannistraro Associates, a contributing editor at The American Conservative magazine and a fellow at the American Conservative Defense Alliance."

Foreign Affairs Congressman Dr. Ron Paul introduces the chief CIA Osama bin Laden hunter Michael Scheuer to explain how Clinton-Bush policies played into bin Laden's hands and how Dr. Paul's non-interventionism defeats al Qaeda:



Captain Ron Paul wisely sees that we must know our enemy to defeat our enemy.

Religious Endorse Ron Paul

Defeating Dictators and Communists the Ron Paul Way

"America is the most moral nation on earth, founded on moral principles, and we must apply moral principles when deciding to use military force."--Ron Paul, 9/4/2002

People of all faiths have cause to support the strong, non-interventionist foreign policy of Dr. Ron Paul, a man of faith.

Ron Paul judiciously recognizes just causes such as World War II after Pearl Harbor yet wisely discerns the false prophets of misguided war.

A Day of Mourning for American Christians

Why did Pope John Paul II and the Catholic Church oppose the 2003 Iraq war and judge that it did not meet the moral standards of Saint Augustine's Christian Just War Theory?

Christians will fight but have a moral duty to support ONLY just wars.

"Military force is justified only in self-defense; naked aggression is the province of dictators and rogue states. This is the danger of a new "preemptive first strike" doctrine."--Ron Paul, 9/4/2002

Christian Just War Theory requirements include:

• Competent authority: Ron Paul warned that, under the US Constitution, only Congress can declare war and undeclared wars are more likely to be careless and costly--and history proved Ron Paul right.
• Just cause=real and certain danger: Ron Paul warned in 2002 that, while Saddam Hussein was no saint, the administration’s specific pre-invasion "slam dunk" claim’s about Iraq were in fact not sufficiently verified as real or certain--and history proved Ron Paul right.
• Proportionality: Ron Paul warned that the known danger (or potential threat) of third-world Iraq did not merit a full invasion and occupation by the superpower USA and that there were better, cheaper, and more ethical ways to achieve our rightful security--and history proved Ron Paul right.

"Some of the strongest supporters of the war declare that we are a Christian nation, yet use their religious beliefs to justify the war. . . . Evidently I have been reading from a different Bible. I remember something about “Blessed are the peacemakers.”"--Dr. Ron Paul, on Christian Just War Theory, "Why Are Americans So Angry?" speech, 6/29/2006

Non-Intervention: Religion rejects coercion except in self-defense:

• Christian principles of free will and moral agency reject coercion and support Dr. Ron Paul's non-interventionist foreign policy.
• The Mormon Church (of Jesus Christ) of Latter-day Saints (LDS)’s principle of the law of the land supports Dr. Ron Paul’s non-interventionist foreign policy.

Dr. Ron Paul believes in being active in the world, traveling, trading, and communicating with people. He also teaches that we will have disputes but the most effective way to negotiate with people is to respect their laws and their right to their own laws in their own lands.

Mormon missionaries used their non-interventionist respect for the laws of the land to bring religion to those trapped in the East German communist dictatorship of the 1980s Cold War.

How did the LDS talk the atheist communists into building a religious temple behind the Iron Curtain and allow lines of pilgrims for days on end?

"Respecting the laws of the land. Yeah, it's an article of faith. . . . Well, you know, what we had to do — it really was important — is we had to build a reputation that we were trustworthy and that we would stay within the boundaries of the law. And I think, too, we had to convince them that we could help make their people better citizens of their nation. And that's one of the things we often speak. The church is very careful — in terms of missionary work in particular, but especially with temples — that we never sneak in the backdoor. Once we've established the right relationships with the leaders of the nation and can convince them that what we have to bring to their people will make them even better citizens of their community, there's usually an opening, yeah."--Robert Millet, LDS member and scholar, on “Inside Mormon Faith,” Speaking of Faith radio show

That, my fellow smart hawks, is successful foreign policy, smart foreign policy, frugal foreign policy—Dr. Ron Paul’s kind of foreign policy.

Ron Paul unites people of faith the world over: Protestants, Catholics, Mormons, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and other faithful support Captain Ron Paul’s wise and moral foreign policy--and that goodwill helps keep America safe.

POW-MIA Endorse Ron Paul

POW/MIA leader endorses Ron Paul at the "Veterans for Ron Paul" rally yesterday in Des Moines, Iowa.

"John Holland, a co-founder of the Rolling Thunder organization which lobbies in support of POW and MIA American soldiers, told the audience about Congressman Paul’s long record as a champion for veterans’ causes." (Ron Paul 2008 - Hope for America)

Police Endorse Ron Paul

Police Praise Ron Paul's Domestic Security Policies

"American Cops Applaud" Ron Paul--Jim Kouri, CPP, fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police

"I urge all police officers and concerned citizens to contact their congressmen and ask them to support Rep. Paul's bill."--Deputy Sheriff Dennis Wise, president of the American Federation of Police.

Jim Kouri writes:

While most of the politicians vying for their party's nomination for President of the United States pay lip service to the nation's law enforcement officers, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) is actually doing something to earn the respect and gratitude of America's cops, according to many police officers and organizations.

For example, the American Federation of Police -- with well over 100,000 members -- recently praised Ron Paul for introducing a bill [HR 3304] that would help cops obtain topnotch body armor that would withstand rounds fired from most firearms. . . .

Rep. Ron Paul appears to be popular with many US cops. "He's never found it necessary to force police officers to stand with him for photo opportunities the way other presidential candidates such as Hillary Clinton do," said New York Police Officer Edna Aguayo. . . .

"It's a joke how these cops are used as props during election campaigns. But Ron Paul doesn't pay cops lip service -- he actually works to help them enforce the law," said another cop forced to pose with Sen. Clinton during one of her staged "rallies."

Captain Ron Paul humbly gets the real domestic security job done.

Veterans Want Iraq Pullout

Iowa veterans and servicepersons held mixed opinions but many favored an Iraq pullout to achieve US national security.

Vietnam veteran Harold Price, VFW Post 5256, Keokuk, Iowa:

"We don't believe in being in Iraq," said Price. "It's another Vietnam." Although respectful of the fragility of the situation he said "There's just no end to it. I would like to see, and I think the other officers would, a gradual pullout. "Don't keep sending them back to Iraq when it's a lost cause."

Vietnam veteran Pat Brimeyer:

"We've had a high proportion of misuse of our [National Guard and Reserve] units here in Iowa. This bogus war is not what these units were set up to do, nor what the members volunteered for."

18-year-old Iowa National Guardsman Cory McKevitt, Okaboji, Iowa:

"I want to get this war over - that's my main thing," he said. "We went over there, and did what we had to do, and now we just need to get out."

Commander Bill Gartner, VFW Post 2099, Carlisle Iowa:

"I think most veterans understand - especially war veterans - that war should be the last resort," said Commander Gartner. "Diplomacy is probably first. Communicate. Make it work and be truthful about what you do."

Anti-Iraq=Pro-Defense

These military people know that diplomacy or withdrawals can improve US national security, especially when the main objectives of going in (remove Saddam Hussein, check for WMDs) were completed years ago.

They did not mention Ron Paul by name by they often affirmed his policies.

More than 300 veterans formally have endorsed Ron Paul for president in the 2008 election.

A smart hawk knows to get everything possible from inexpensive diplomacy, make clear exit strategies before you go in and stick to them, and leave as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary backlashes.

Captain Ron Paul has the answer for these military folks and will achieve US national security at low cost.

Lincoln Endorses Ron Paul?

Abraham Lincoln proposed Ron Paul's peaceful method of ending slavery, compensated emancipation (paying to free the slaves).

"In the mere financial or pecuniary view, any member of Congress with the census tables and Treasury reports before him can readily see for himself how very soon the current expenditures of this war would purchase, at fair valuation, all the slaves in any named state." --Abraham Lincoln, "A Message to Congress Requesting a Joint Resolution on Compensated Emancipation," March 6, 1862

It is nice to see Lincoln validate Ron Paul's position but unfortunately Lincoln did not follow through effectively.

Lincoln made Lincoln controversial. States began seceding between Lincoln’s election and inauguration because those states knew his policies from the presidential campaign and considered his plans unacceptable (even though Lincoln had no plans to completely end slavery any time soon).

Too Little Too Late

Lincoln’s 1849 compensated emancipation plan was only for the District of Columbia (not for any state), his 1862 plan was nominally universal but intended only for the border states (not for any Confederate state, but a payoff to keep slave states on the Union side), and other 1862 compensated emancipation plans only for the District of Columbia (not for any state) were only $300 or $500 per slave, with only half of the latter going to the owner and the other half to the slave if the freed person emigrated.

The problem was a failure to offer the right price to the right people.

Even “overpaying” an 1861 New Orleans prime male slave price of $1,381 each for all 4 million slaves would have cost only half the price of the Civil War.

Then add the priceless savings in human life, both black and white.

Critics charge that today Bush is pursuing military solutions for political problems and Lincoln similarly pursued military solutions for political and economic problems.

• Iraq War = almost 4,000 American dead
• Civil War = over 600,000 American dead
• Civil War relative to today’s population = over 6 million American dead

There is nothing pro-American about killing 6 million Americans.

Today's pundits and politicians who ridicule peaceful options for avoiding the Civil War are truly frightening and dangerous to US national security in their crackpot, cavalier disregard for killing today’s equivalent of 6 million Americans to implement their policies.

Such people are unfit to "dog-sit," much less have anything to do with public policy.

Thank goodness that Captain Ron Paul’s sane, steady statesmanship is based on his strategic, thoughtful study of history and economics.

Veterans Endorse Ron Paul

Letters from veterans support Ron Paul

Nolan Ryan Endorsed Ron Paul

Ron Paul: Political All-Star

Baseball legend Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros was honorary campaign chair for Ron Paul's Congressional race.

More fun facts about Captain Ron Paul's early life (the Astros uniform might be from a Congressional team):

Vietnam Veteran Endorses Ron Paul

Dr. Ron Paul as a 1960s Air Force and ANG flight surgeon literally cared for our Vietnam War era servicemen. Ever since, Congressman Captain Ron Paul has worked hard to see that our veterans get the care they earned in service to our country.

Goldwater Endorses Ron Paul

WWII veteran Major General Barry Goldwater fathered the Reagan Revolution. Before there were Reaganites, Reagan was a Goldwaterite. Reagan's famous 1964 speech in support of Goldwater's presidential race became an early step to Reagan's presidency.

Major General Goldwater's son, Barry Goldwater Jr., served with Captain Ron Paul in Congress and endorses Ron Paul for president of the United States in 2008:

Carol Paul Endorses Ron Paul

Sorry ladies, he's taken.

Captain Ron Paul has been married to the same woman since 1957, Carol.

Captain Ron Paul's Rugrat Army

While Dr. Ron Paul was delivering more than 4,000 babies during his medical career, he and Carol blessedly had their own 5 children, 18 grandchildren, and 1 great-grandchild.

Ron likes to eat Carol's homemade, chocolate-chip cookies while on the road.

The Happy Couple, Ron and Carol Paul

Carol Paul defends her man against the usual dirty tricks:

How would you like Carol Paul as your next first lady?

?

Our NATO Allies Endorse Ron Paul

Ron Paul wins hearts and minds around the world--an important part of American national security.

Pro-American Europeans are staging a Strasbourg Tea Party on the December 16 anniversary of the Boston Tea Party in honor of Ron Paul.

Caspar Weinberger Endorses Ron Paul?

“Declare war...fight it...win it."—Ron Paul

United States Secretary of Defense Captain Caspar Weinberger (a WWII intelligence officer) distilled the lessons of the Vietnam War into the Weinberger Doctrine. US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State General Colin Powell (a Vietnam War infantry officer) later discussed similar points now known as the Powell Doctrine. Both doctrines relearned the classic lessons of Sun Tzu and Carl von Clausewitz.

The lessons were supposed to make sure that Vietnam happened “never again” (list copied from Wikipedia):

• Is a vital national security interest threatened?
• Do we have a clear attainable objective?
• Have the risks and costs been fully and frankly analyzed?
• Have all other non-violent policy means been fully exhausted?
• Is there a plausible exit strategy to avoid endless entanglement?
• Have the consequences of our action been fully considered?
• Is the action supported by the American people?
• Do we have genuine broad international support?

Ron Paul’s declare-it-fight-it-win-it policy is not only Constitutional but is based on centuries of strategic wisdom and embodies the lessons of Vietnam.

Captain Ron Paul’s national security policy is in good company with the strategic lessons of Captain Weinberger, General Powell, Sun Tzu, and Major General von Clausewitz.