This is the seventh installment of the Libertarian Manifesto of Collin County Libertarian Party member Albert Meyer. Albert has been kind enough to share this with us. We hope you find it useful.
Point Seven
Diplomacy, which includes treating others with respect and dignity, will be the focus of my foreign policy. Japan was a hated enemy of the US, but after WWII we treated them with respect and dignity, a policy that turned an enemy into a friend and ally. The same can be said of Germany.Currently, Washington is forever looking for enemies. Our foreign policy should be one driven by respect, tolerance, diplomacy, trade and non-interference in the affairs of foreign governments. The notion that Washington’s main calling in life is to effect regime change all over the world benefits the war profiteers but serves no other good purpose.The Iraq war has been extremely costly, measured in blood and treasure (not to mention the human misery inflicted on the locals), and what has it achieved other than the profits generated for the military-industrial complex?With nuclear weapons proliferating, wars and belligerent attitudes are no longer an option. Now more than ever, the US should work towards normalizing relationships with all nations. Encourage trade, cultural and educational exchanges, tourism, sporting events, etc. Sanctions, lines in the sand, bombastic speeches, etc. are counter-productive.Borrowing billions from the Chinese and sending them to Ukraine is insane. The crisis in the Ukraine was encouraged by Europe and the US meddling in the internal affairs of Ukraine that led to the overthrow of a legitimate government. This is exactly the opposite of what our foreign policy should be. The Russians in the eastern part of Ukraine want to remain Russian and be ruled by Moscow, no different from the majority of Scots who want to remain part of the United Kingdom. Instead of pouring fuel on the fire, the US should withdraw from the conflict and let Europe, led by Germany, sort out the problems.The invasion of Iraq has set in motion a horrendous cycle of violence. This is as stark an example of the failure of our foreign policy as one might wish to find. We must learn from these failures and not continually repeat them just to soothe egos and manipulate public opinion.Our defense budget is totally out of control, a function of our role as “policeman of the world.” We’ll take two examples: Canada and Australia. Both countries offer universal healthcare to its citizens. How can they afford that? Easy, their defense budgets are equal to about 1% of their GDP. Their minimalist spending on defense is driven by the fact that they rely on the US to come to their defense. We should cut our defense budget and tell these countries to increase their defense budgets, because the US taxpayer is maxed out. The revenues losses suffered by the US defense industry from our budget cuts will be made up by weapon sales to these free-loading countries.Our Founding Fathers offered us a foreign policy devoid of entangling alliances. Encourage trade relations with all countries. Maintain diplomatic relations with all countries, Cuba, Iran and North Korea. Win them over with kindness, respect and dignity. The best way to keep these dictators in power is to publicly humiliate them. The whole nation quickly unites behind them. We love the Iranians, Israelis, Cubans, North and South Koreans, the Palestinians, the Nigerians and Liberians, Chinese, Europeans and Mexicans. The general populations in these countries love Americans and American products. Our politicians who like to parade on the world stage as being strong and resolute (John Kerry’s favorite cliché), are the biggest stumbling block to world peace.Our foreign policy is an abject failure and most of our $18 trillion in national debt can be attributed to these failed policies.