Author: Eric Garris

Three weeks ago seven US soldiers in Iraq wrote an op-ed in the New York Times expressing grave doubts about the war.

On Monday, Sgt. Omar Mora and Sgt. Yance T. Gray died in a vehicle accident in western Baghdad, two of seven U.S. troops killed in the incident which was reported just as Gen. David Petraeus was about to report to Congress on progress in the “surge.”

One of the other five authors of the Times piece, Staff Sergeant Jeremy Murphy, an Army Ranger and reconnaissance team leader, was shot in the head while the article was being written. He was expected to survive after being flown to a military hospital in the US.

Thanks to Greg Mitchell at Editor and Publisher for alerting us to this.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced early Wednesday he had vetoed legislation that would have allowed Californians to vote on an advisory measure calling for President Bush to immediately withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.

The measure had been passed by the State Senate and State Assembly, and would have allowed Calfornians the chance to vote the February on a non-binding resolution calling for immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. This would have more clearly tied the Presidential primary to the issue of Iraq.

Schwarzenegger, a typical politician who clearly believes that Californians should not be allowed to express their decisions at the ballot box, said that the measure “would only further divide voters and shift attention from other critical issues that must be addressed.”

Unlike some people at Antiwar.com, I am a fan of Reason magazine. Perhaps I am just nostalgic for my tenure at Reason, 32 years ago. I have forgiven their attempt to balance the pro-war and antiwar “libertarian” positions. At least the pro-war “libertarians” tried to justify their hawkishness with the intent of bringing liberty to people in other nations.

But even that justification seems to be a thing of the past.

Today’s article by Jonathan Rauch reads like something that could have appeared in any unprincipled newspaper. Rauch explains the difference between pacification and peacekeeping. He implies (incorrectly) that our pulling out of Vietnam is what led to the bloodbath in Cambodia.

Rauch offers no justification for staying in Iraq, other than to continue the “surge” because “it is working.” Rauch apparently does not believe that the surge will result in any sort of long-term success. In fact, he seems to think it’s hopeless: “My reading of the evidence is that Iraqi fundamentals are more conducive to war than peace, and that there is not much the United States can do to change that.”

Yet Rauch says the Democrats will pay a heavy political price if they stop supporting the surge: “If they managed to ram through a withdrawal or timetable on party lines this fall, when most Republicans think the surge is working, they would be flayed for a generation as the party that seized certain defeat from the jaws of possible victory. For years to come, Republicans would insist that Democratic pusillanimity emboldened jihadism, an ugly narrative that some are already rehearsing.” Luckily, says Rauch, it’s not possible for the Dems to stop the war, so they shouldn’t bother trying: “Fortunately, without Republican support, Democrats can’t pull the plug or impose a strict timetable this fall.”

Rauch concludes that our anger over the disastrous war “does not justify impatience. If Petraeus says he needs more time, he should get it. If he fails, a course correction won’t be long in coming. The 22nd Amendment has seen to that.”

One question for the editors of Reason: What has any of this to do with libertarianism?

According to The Drudge Report, General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker will appear exclusively on FOX News Channel on Monday at 9pm EDT for a one hour live interview with Brit Hume, following their testimony to Congress.

Prepare for the propaganda blitz…

Sometimes it seems like it. As the Webmaster for Antiwar.com, I get many critical letters every day. I get at least one letter from someone claiming to be a US soldier or veteran who seems to have the same philosophy as bin Laden: “If you don’t agree with us, we will kill you.”

The majority of them contain numerous misspellings and grammatical errors.

This morning I received this note from Maj. J. McCaffery, USMC. I am including the name and email address he gave since he listed it for publication.

Anti-war? Do yall seriously against all military action? I was in Haiti, Afghanistan, and Iraq and I can tell you right now its damn hippies like you who give us a bad name. If I had it my way id take my company straight into your heaquarters and put a end to your damn lies. You have no idea about the good that we do in those countries. All you do is sit your fat ass in a cubicle and read far left bullshit and pass it on a fact. We help more people in those nations than is getting reported. THE US IS NOT THE BAD GUYS. If you hate America so much, please do us all a favor and get the hell out.

~ Maj. J McCaffery USMC

It is such a shame. Many Americans seem willing to adopt the principles of the terrorist enemies: the violent destruction of those who don’t agree with them.

But I will close on a positive note. I received another email yesterday (I am withholding the name in this case, so as not to jeopardize him with the military):

I am an Army officer and a veteran. I am also a Libertarian who supports an isolationist approach to foreign policy. I am leaving the military soon because I am not willing to put my life on the line anymore for this current war. I love your website and agree with your cause. Good luck getting your message out to the world.
~ First Lt. xxxxx

The prestigious Johns Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C., has invited Ron Paul to make a keynote policy address on September 11.

This is a very significant event, showing that Paul’s views are being taken seriously by elements of the political and educational establishment.

The event is open to the public, but you must RSVP (see below).

“A Traditional Non-Intervention Foreign Policy”
11 a.m. to Noon – Kenney Auditorium, Nitze Building
Ron Paul, Republican congressman and 2008 presidential candidate, will discuss this topic.
For more information and to RSVP, contact cpfr@jhu.edu or 202.587.3237.
Media who want to cover this event should register with Felisa Neuringer Klubes in the SAIS Communications Office at 202.663.5626 or fklubes@jhu.edu.