Barr Calls for Pulling U.S. Troops Out of South Korea

by Liberty and Power

If Bob Barr keeps this up, maybe I'll put a"Barr for President" bumper sticker on my car after all.

He is no Ron Paul (nor do I expect him to be) but his latest news release on South Korea shows considerable progress and deserves praise. Hopefully, Barr's scheduled news conference on Iran for June 10 will continue this trend:

After more than 50 years of American support, “South Korea is well able to defend itself,” notes Barr. The South has an economy that is estimated to be 40 times as large as that of North Korea; South Korea has twice the North’s population and a vast technological edge....

We must completely revamp U.S. foreign policy, returning to the noninterventionist strategy of the nation’s Founders. The interests of the American people, rather than of wealthy allies, should become the new lodestar of U.S. policy.

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Anthony Gregory - 6/15/2008

Saying the US should pull out of Korea is great and important, but post-9/11, the Libertarians should be stressing the immorality and imprudence of attacking countries even for "national security" reasons. Barr should explain that not only has the Iraq war become an expensive, unfair burden for Americans, but that it was a war on aggression. He should apologize for voting for it, and say, regardless of what the administration and CIA might have been saying, the war could not possibly be supported. He should say he's changed his mind on the morality of war itself. That's the only way to appeal to the Ron Paul youth on this issue.

Mitchell Abeln - 6/12/2008

Help give Americans a choice, pledge to donate on July 2nd 2008, www.barrbomb.com

Craig J Bolton - 6/8/2008

It is certainly nice to know that if one looks hard enough, behind the leading headlines about Glenn Beck being a libertarian, one can find some comment on what should be the principal issues in the mind of any contemporary libertarian.

Of course, saying things like "we really should get the troops out of Iraq soon" is no substitute for saying "It it just amazing that after over a century of misusing the federal government of the United States to try to run the internal affairs of foreign nations, the futility and stupidity of such a policy is still unrealized. One has to ask: are people like George Bush just incredibly ignorant and stupid or are they treasonous."

Of course that doesn't sound like a proper academic disquisition on what are, after all, for any LP candidate, purely academic matters. It sounds like a libertarian who is disgusted with "leaders" who aspire to be Napoleon. Can't have that. What would people think about a Party that spoke frankly and clearly rather than ran National Convetions where half the delegates were in capes or funny hats.

Bill Woolsey - 6/8/2008

So, now the problem is one sentence in a post on Barr's blog quotes Glen Beck as claiming he is a libertarian? Yes, that what the Barr campaign is all about, whether or not Beck's self-identification is correct.

Do you at least now admit that Barr does speak to the issues you considered essential?

From Barr's issue's page:

"Unfortunately, in recent years government at all levels has shown growing disrespect for the Constitution, particularly the Fourth Amendment that protects citizens from unlawful searches and seizures. The sustained government attack on the sanctity of the rights of the individual, including their right to be secure in their privacy and property, has created a moral and Constitutional crisis. America’s elected officials at all levels must renew their respect for the law and work to protect the rights of individuals.
The place to start is restoring the writ of Habeas Corpus, which protects against unlawful detention, and thus stands at the core of individual liberty. Article 1 of the Constitution provides that this right shall not be suspended without clear and necessary cause, such as during an invasion. In passing the Military Commissions Act of 2006, Congress, pushed by President George W. Bush, effectively ended this protection within America. The Constitutional protections of Habeas Corpus should not be sacrificed so easily."

From Barr's June 3 press release on "No permanent bases in Iraq"

“The next president should commit to a speedy and complete withdrawal from Iraq,” argues Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president, “and tell the Iraqi people that the U.S. troops will be going home.”

Quotation for Barr,

"Doug Holtz-Eakin, Sen. McCain’s chief policy adviser, recently contended that the Constitution gives the president unilateral authority to spy on Americans without congressional authority. “Along with President George W. Bush, Sen. McCain seems to believe that the president, like the British king of old, possesses unconstrained and unreviewable power,” warns Barr. “This is a truly shocking claim: when the American colonists created a new nation, they were determined to limit both government and executive power.”

Craig J Bolton - 6/8/2008

I took your advice and clicked on the link you supplied. The first thing I saw was "Self-professed libertarian, Glenn Beck...." Say what?

Are you sure you're not interested in some of those bridge participation interests? Anyone who thinks that someone promoting Glenn Beck as a libertarian or a friend of libertarians is a "great campaign" should be interested in this bridge deal.

Bill Woolsey - 6/8/2008

Barr had a press release several days ago calling for a complete withdrawal from Iraq.

Just today, there was a release insisting the President respect the law.

In various venues, he has attacked the Cheney/Woo theory of the imperial Presidency.

Bolton, perhaps you should not judge the Barr campaign without looking into it just a bit.

www.bobbarr2008.com

Craig J Bolton - 6/7/2008

So, let me get this straight. Dozens, if not hundreds, of completely innocent men are still rotting in Guantanamo, the President is still endorsing "extreme measures" to extract information from "detainees," there is still an American occupation of another country which there was NO justification to invade and conquer to start with [and at least one of the two major Presidential candidates opines that "we" may very well be there for another century], it is now an established fact that "the government" can do anything it wants with your property or your income or your business, that silly habeas corpus prejudice is no more, and all Barr can find to talk about is American troops in South Korea.

Well, yah, I'm incredibly impressed. Maybe Barr can next address that pressing issue of the abolition of the Federal Tea Testing Commission. Certainly that is something that should be a priority for all libertarians in this ho-hum world where we are all ticking away at 5 minute before complete liberty.

Or maybe he can return to his adament opposition to single-sex marriage, an obvious threat to WESTERN CIVILIZATION.

Or maybe some of you that are contemplating a "Barr For President" bumpersticker would like to buy participation interests in this great bridge over San Francisco Bay. I can make you a great deal on these, today only, act now.....

David T. Beito - 6/7/2008

Colbert seemed to be pretty sympathetic.

Keith Halderman - 6/6/2008

Barr was on the Stephen Colbert show two nights ago and he had some very unkind things to say about the drug. Maybe he can lead the revolution.