We May Have a New Hero

Many reasons have been given for why we fight and our youth must die in Iraq. The reasons now given for why we must continue this war bear no resemblance to the reasons given to gain the support of the American people and the United States Congress prior to our invasion in March of 2003. Before the war, we were told we faced an imminent threat to our national security from Saddam Hussein. This rationale, now proven grossly mistaken, has been changed. Now we’re told we must honor the fallen by “completing the mission.” To do otherwise would demean the sacrifice of those who have died or been wounded. Any lack of support for “completing the mission” is said, by the promoters of the war, to be unpatriotic, un-American, and detrimental to the troops. They insist the only way one can support the troops is to never waver on the policy of nation building, no matter how ill-founded that policy may be. The obvious flaw in this argument is that the mission, of which they so reverently speak, has changed constantly from the very beginning.Full Text-Long

Before anyone thinks I am straying from our mission to blow up partisan politics let me say that these are the opening remarks from a House special order speech I watched on CSPAN this evening. The reason I watched the whole speech is because these words came from the mouth of Representative Ron Paul Republican, Texas.

You owe it to yourself to read the whole text. Mr. Paul uses history to show why current foreign policy regarding the Middle East is flawed and further endangers us. He questions motives for the war and mentions oil several times as the real motives. He also calls to task the illogical assertion that we must honor the fallen in this "war" by continuing to fight and likely getting more killed. Honestly, by that logic the war will never end. No one is spared. The President, his fellow members of Congress and the media.

His remarks are well conceived, well reasoned in addition to being based on history and well timed. Again he is a Republican from Texas.