Joining the Ranks of Aggressor Nations by Future of Freedom Foundation March 29, 2010 It really doesn’t matter whether U.S. military forces now find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq or not. From a moral standpoint, it’s too late for that. As everyone knows, in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, President Bush provided several justifications for the invasion, and people were free to select the one that most appealed to them. Let’s examine the most important justifications that the president provided us. Justification One and Justification Two were closely related and were the ones that were incessantly pounded into everyone’s head for about a year — the so-called need to disarm Saddam Hussein of his weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). Justification One related to Iraq’s supposed breach of UN resolutions that prohibited him from possessing WMDs.
Obedience to Orders, Part 2 by Future of Freedom Foundation March 29, 2010 Part 1 Part 3 Reader Responses Jacob Hornberger vs. the Brass Jacob Hornberger’s VMI Valedictory Addresss Last week we posted my article Obedience to Orders, which has generated a load of email responses, including many from cadets and officers from both West Point and VMI. Given the nature of the massive attacks on my position by the West Pointers, most of which have been eloquent and passionate, I believe it’s important to publicly address the major points raised in their emails. There was much criticism regarding the VMI cadet corps’s treatment of the tactical officer who placed the VMI first-classman (senior) on report for possession of liquor, knowing that it would result in his immediate expulsion from the Institute. Maybe you just had to be there ...
War Logic by Future of Freedom Foundation March 29, 2010 The rhetorical case favoring an invasion of Iraq has gone on for so long that no one is really thinking about the reasons any more. We’ve moved on to more important things, like when the tanks will start rolling. Though it might be far too late, it couldn’t hurt to do a little thinking before the bullets begin to fly and young Americans start coming home mangled and dead. A good starting point would be to stop seeing Iraq through the narrow view provided by the president, and instead place the actions of Saddam Hussein in the broader context of our bungled foreign policy of the last 50 years. For instance, why do so few people seem bothered by the fact that the “Madman of Baghdad” was once — and not that long ago ...
Leave Iraq Alone by Future of Freedom Foundation March 29, 2010 Despite the fact that he is amassing an impressive display of military armament in the areas near Iraq, President Bush says that he still hasn’t made up his mind on whether to order an invasion of Iraq. That would imply that despite the array of intelligence and information that ...
Augusto Pinochet and the Conservative Threat to America by Future of Freedom Foundation March 29, 2010 While some people might believe that those on the Left wing of the political spectrum pose the bigger threat to the freedom and well-being of the American people, nothing could be further from the truth. Today, the much bigger threat (Readhere andhere) comes instead from the Right wing or conservative side of the political spectrum, ...
U.S. Regime Change, Torture, and Murder in Chile by Future of Freedom Foundation March 29, 2010 President Bush’s recent trip to South America provides a valuable foreign-policy lesson for Americans. The president was greeted in Santiago, Chile, by some 30,000 angry demonstrators. But it was not only Bush’s invasion and war of aggression against Iraq that Chileans were angry about. Unlike so many Americans, the Chilean people have not fallen for the “We invaded Iraq ...
Our Lives and Liberty Turn on Moussaoui by Future of Freedom Foundation March 29, 2010 There is little difficulty, and there is often very little gain, in declaring the existence of a right to personal freedom. The true difficulty is to secure its enforcement. The Habeas Corpus Acts have achieved this end, and have done for the liberty of Englishmen more than could have been achieved by any declaration of rights. A.V. Dicey Accused ...
Our Lives and Liberty Turn on Moussaoui by Future of Freedom Foundation March 29, 2010 There is little difficulty, and there is often very little gain, in declaring the existence of a right to personal freedom. The true difficulty is to secure its enforcement. The Habeas Corpus Acts have achieved this end, and have done for the liberty of Englishmen more than could have been achieved by any declaration of rights. — A.V. Dicey Accused ...
The Bill of Rights: Bail, Fines, and Cruel and Unusual Punishments by Future of Freedom Foundation March 28, 2010 Like the Sixth Amendment, the Eighth Amendment deals with the administration of criminal justice. The Eighth Amendment reads as follows: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. This is how bail works: When federal officials arrest someone suspected of having committed a crime, they are required ...
Bush to Chavez: Just Ignore Your Constitution by Future of Freedom Foundation March 28, 2010 President Bush’s recent advice to embattled Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez reflects Bush’s cavalier attitude toward constitutional restraints. In the midst of all the political turmoil in Venezuela, Bush, who apparently despises Chavez, aligned himself with his political opponents and called for early presidential elections, with the aim of ...
A Devotion to Democracy? by Jacob G. Hornberger March 26, 2010 A Devotion to Democracy? by Jacob G. Hornberger, April 2002 What’s with the love fest between U.S. officials and army generals? We have, of course, (retired) Army General Colin Powell serving as U.S. secretary of state. And we have (or will have) military tribunals manned by army officials, rather than jury trials by civilians, for foreigners accused of terrorism. There is Pervez Musharraf, ...
