Occupation
A sad realism struck me recently reading how our Marines in Afghanistan
must now rely on donkey transportation in their efforts at nation building
and military occupation. Evidently the Taliban is alive and well, as Osama
bin Laden remains in this region. But doesn’t this tell us something about
our naïve assumption that our economic advantages and technical knowledge
can subdue and control anybody? We’re traversing Afghan mountains on donkeys
and losing lives daily in Baghdad with homemade primitive bombs. Our power
and dominance clearly is limited by the determination of those who see
us as occupiers, proving that just more money and sophisticated weapons
won’t bring us victory. Sophisticated weapons and the use of unlimited
military power is no substitute for diplomacy designed to promote peace
while reserving force only for defending our national interests.
Ron Paul, “What Does All This Mean?” U.S. House of Representatives,
Sept. 8, 2005.