Foreign Policy & War

Nuke Germany Instead

by Jacob G. Hornberger March 2, 2003

Last February, Robert Higgs published an essay on LewRockwell.com entitled “Nuke France”. Higgs has it all wrong. We need to nuke Germany instead. After all, let’s not forget: The Germans started both world wars! And everybody knows that there’s something inherently aggressive about all Germans. Do I need to remind anyone that prior to U.S. entry into ...

Ending the Anachronistic Korean Commitment, Part 2

by Doug Bandow March 1, 2003

Part 1 | Part 2 In the aftermath of the 2000 inter-Korean summit, Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon explained, “We intend to remain a force for stability in that area as long as we are needed.” But U.S. forces weren’t needed even before the summit. South Korea (the Republic of Korea, or ROK) has upwards of 40 times the GDP and ...

Book Review: War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning

by Richard M. Ebeling March 1, 2003

War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges (New York: Public Affairs, 2002); 211 pages; $23. During the Second World War, my mother worked for the Department of the Navy in Washington, D.C. When I was growing up, she would sometimes look back at those war years with a great degree of nostalgia. She would say that in ...

The Costs and Madness of Empire

by Richard M. Ebeling February 28, 2003

The costs of the American Empire become clearer with each passing day, as the U.S. government releases information about its various global actions and plans. The latest ones relate to the ongoing Muslim insurgency movement in the Philippines and the outlines for the making of a ...

The French Got It Right This Time

by Sheldon Richman February 21, 2003

(BONUS! Hatemail from op-ed editors in response to this article.) The American put-downs of the French over their unwillingness to sign up for the Coalition of the Willing are a little too glib for my tastes. There’s the story of the American who asked the French citizen if he speaks ...

Speaking Out for Freedom in War and Peace

by Richard M. Ebeling February 21, 2003

If war comes between the United States and Iraq, one of the first results right here in America will be the attempt to close off all further criticisms of U.S. foreign policy. Spokesmen for the Bush administration, various members of Congress, and many of the talking heads on the ...

Economic Sanctions in Iraq as a Tool of Foreign Policy

by Robert W. McGee February 17, 2003

The United States has been imposing economic sanctions against Iraq since the early 1990s. Technically, they are UN sanctions, but the United Nations is involved in name only. The embargo would collapse within about 15 minutes if the United States withdrew its support for the sanctions. FACTS Since their inception, the ...

War with Iraq Is Dangerous Folly

by Howard Baetjer Jr. February 14, 2003

Suppose we do get proof that Saddam Hussein is producing banned weapons and hiding them from UN inspectors. Starting a war with Iraq on that account would be utter folly. It would very likely do far, far more harm than good. Those yearning to let slip the dogs of war, in ...

Next, Pakistan … and Maybe Germany

by Scott McPherson February 10, 2003

According to President Bush, we must attack Iraq for five main reasons: (1) Saddam Hussein is a dictator; (2) he probably has weapons of mass destruction; (3) he is a supporter of international terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda; (4) his continued position as head of his country threatens ...

Bring ’Em Home

by Scott McPherson February 2, 2003

In response to rising complaints about the presence of U.S. troops, the Bush administration is making plans to reduce the number of American forces in both South Korea and Germany. At present, there are 37,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea and 71,000 in Germany. The timing of this move is not coincidental. Since the election of ...

The Soviet Union Won World War II

by Jacob G. Hornberger February 2, 2003

While Nazi Germany lost World War II, does that necessarily mean that we won it? Only if we ignore the specific objective of Great Britain and France when they initially declared war on Germany in 1939 and only if the pronoun “we” encompasses the Soviet Union, who was the true victor in the European arena ...

Ending the Anachronistic Korean Commitment, Part 1

by Doug Bandow February 1, 2003

Part 1 | Part 2 The United States has defended South Korea (the Republic of Korea, or ROK) for 50 years. But newly elected ROK President Roh Moo-hyun suggests that his nation might “mediate” in any war between America and North Korea (the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK). Talk about one-way alliances! The presence of 37,000 troops in ...