Informed Comment

Thoughts on the Middle East, History, and Religion

Juan Cole is President of the Global Americana Institute

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Big Military Establishment Harms Liberty: Washington

I understand Bush tried to invoke George Washington as a supporter of the Iraq War.

Here is what George actually thought about maintaining large scale military institutions on a permanent basis for the purpose of fighting foreign wars:


' While, then, every part of our country thus feels an immediate and particular interest in union, all the parts combined cannot fail to find in the united mass of means and efforts greater strength, greater resource, proportionably greater security from external danger, a less frequent interruption of their peace by foreign nations; and, what is of inestimable value, they must derive from union an exemption from those broils and wars between themselves, which so frequently afflict neighboring countries not tied together by the same governments, which their own rival ships alone would be sufficient to produce, but which opposite foreign alliances, attachments, and intrigues would stimulate and embitter. Hence, likewise, they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments which, under any form of government, are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty. In this sense it is that your union ought to be considered as a main prop of your liberty, and that the love of the one ought to endear to you the preservation of the other. '

3 Comments:

At 4:35 AM, Blogger larkrise said...

Mr. Bush flatters himself. I do not see the resemblance between George W. Bush and George Washington. That is a stretch, to say the least. It would be appropriate for Mr. Bush to learn from Washington. Certainly, Washington did not want dictatorial powers, that were anathaema to civil liberties.

 
At 11:29 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

One of any number of comments from various Founders (statements of equal import again foreign entanglements and militarism from Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, JQ Adams, for example) exposing the decidedly radical and unconservative nature of the President's policies.

An apt quotation for Presidents' Day.

 
At 8:40 AM, Blogger junkgrl said...

That Bush would compare himself to G Washington was an affront to America. How dare he compare himself to the Founders, who were in danger of being shot or hung on the spot for treason for what they, themselves, not just the soldiers, were doing to rid themselves of tyranny. Washington was right there with his starving and freezing troops, who were fighting in the land they lived in, not some desert country that hates us there. Washington made decisions looking personally at those men around him and grieved over them and no doubt slept fitfully. Bush apparently sleeps the sleep of babies and is in no danger of anything personally, except the curse he will receive from history or when the Democratic party finally listens to us and impeaches. How dare he compare the Revolutionary War with his montrous war/occupation. What a naked Emperor Bush is.

About Iran. Bush says that he plans no attack but the only other 2 options would be 1. Ignore it (already said he is going to do something about it) and 2. Diplomacy, but they have already said they WON'T TALK TO IRAN!!!. So if he plans to "do something about it", that must mean attack. World War 3 is imminent and they act like it doesn't matter, that the innocents in the way of their bombs and air strikes mean nothing. Air strikes are not surgical operations. It didn't work in Vietnam and Israel found it didn't work in Lebanon. That death, destroying homes, businesses, infrastructure is the price THEY the Iranians have to pay for being in Bush's way and defying the Decider. That the administration ignored an offer to talk in 2003, despite their lies they knew nothing about it, reveals their true motives. (Read that the original letter was given to Karl Rove first after being received.)Also, I understand that Iran is using so much of their oil and gas that in a few years, they will need to import the stuff in large doses. They want nuclear power to try get energy. Do you think this is true?

 

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