War

I hold to the Monroe Doctrine. Here are my conditions for going to war. The United States should not go to war unless at least one of the following conditions hold:

1. Another country attacks us on our soil. In this case, we should only go to war against the country that attacked us and those who join in the fighting against us, once the war has begun. The attack must have been sanctioned by the official government of the nation that attacked us.
2. Another country officially declares war on us.
3. When we are required to, by treaties that were passed by a 2/3 vote in the Senate. We should avoid such treaties, unless they are vital to our national interest and would be temporary during times of war. Any agreement between the U.S. and any other country or foreign governing body should be ignored if it has not been passed by a 2/3 vote in in the Senate or if the other parties do not live up to the agreement. Any treaty can be rescinded by a simple majority vote in both houses and the President’s signing.

Before going to war, both houses of Congress must pass a resolution to officially declare war, not just an approval and budgeting of the use of force. Undeclared wars are illegal (Article I section 8 of the U.S. Constitution). Every war and conflict that the U.S. has gotten involved in after World War II has been illegal. I agree with FDR’s decision to get involved in World War II (but not the aftermath and his alleged inaction to prevent the Pearl Harbor attacks). Our involvement in World War I was a mistake, and our involvement in wars before that were justified and proper for the most part. The war in Afghanistan is the only other modern war that has any moral justification. Even though I don’t believe that God would be on our side in a war when we have homosexuals in the military, it would be wrong not to bring Osama Bin Laden and his henchmen to justice since they are responsible for attacks on our soil. It would have been better if we had issued letters of Marque and Reprisal instead of getting into an all out (undeclared) war.

When a country violates the sovereignty of another nation or of its people, or violates an international agreement, the U.S. should not automatically be obligated restore order and justice. However, if this occurs, we should take appropriate precautions which would include supplying affected or nearby nations with armaments and intelligence when appropriate, only if we are allied with these nations and they share our values of freedom and human rights. Supplying armaments and intelligence in this way should only be part of a treaty which would forbid the use of them for purposes other than defense. We should never supply weapons to revolutionaries, even if they are fighting against terrorists, Communists, or Fascists. We should never even negotiate with terrorists.

I favor a Neutrality Act which would prevent the U.S. from getting involved in wars or supplying armaments except under the conditions stated above. We should impose taxes sufficient to nullify any war profits obtained by manufacturing corporations in the military-industrial complex, oil companies, and other war profiteers in order to take away their incentive to lobby for unjust wars.

When we do get involved in a war, it must be sustained until the enemy surrenders unconditionally, or victory is total. This does not necessarily mean overthrowing the government of the nation with which we are at war. For example, if we were to declare war on Afghanistan (for not cooperating in handing over Osama Bin Laden and other Al Qaeda), we should have given the military orders to capture or kill Al Qaeda only and make every effort not to engage the Taliban government or the general populace to minimize the loss of innocent life.

We should only get involved in establishing a new government if the majority of the nation’s population is (at least nominally) Christian or if instability was our own fault because of our involvement in an unjustified war. I don’t believe that real democracy can work in nations that are dominated by other religions. This is why our own Republic is crumbling. Regarding the U.S. involvement in Iraq specifically, my view on the subject can be found in the first four verses of the 18th chapter of the book of Revelation (the Apocalypse).