Gums' Editorial Section

OUR GOVERNMENT HAS FAILED US!

By Gums

[Latest terror alert proves government has failed at its most basic mission, Libertarians say...]

NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY
2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100
Washington DC 20037
World Wide Web: www.lp.org

For release: February 13, 2003

WASHINGTON, DC – The heightened terror alert is actually a "Government Incompetence Alert," Libertarians say, because the government is admitting that it cannot perform its most basic function: national defense.

"What's truly alarming is that a government that will confiscate $2.2 trillion from its citizens this year is powerless to protect them," said Libertarian Party Chair Geoffrey Neale. "And that should make Americans more angry than afraid."

As the directors of the CIA and FBI testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, they described new threats from al-Qaeda and elaborated on their decision to raise the terrorist threat level from yellow to orange.

Federal officials are urging that Americans to stockpile food and water, make arrangements for contacting family members during an emergency, and buy duct tape and plastic sheeting to seal homes in the event of a chemical or biological attack.

But Libertarians say all of these warnings would be unnecessary if the government were doing its job.

"Why are Americans who have been forced to fork over hundreds of billions of dollars for tanks, missiles and other high-tech weaponry now being told to defend themselves with duct tape and plastic sheets?" asked Neale. "Because the government has failed to perform one of its most basic – and least controversial – functions: defending the nation from armed aggression."

Like most government failures, this one is expensive, Neale noted. "This year the Defense Department budget will be at least $365 billion," he said. "Shouldn't politicians explain why we aren't very well defended?

"The Department of Homeland Security will cost $36.2 billion. Shouldn't politicians explain why we aren't very secure?

"Taxpayers will also shell out an estimated $30 billion for the CIA; $4.3 billion for the FBI; and $3.5 billion for the National Security Agency.

"Yet after spending nearly a half-trillion a year on these defense agencies, the nation seems less secure than ever. Instead of cavalierly issuing more terror alerts, politicians should hang their heads in shame and apologize to the American people for this monumental failure to do their jobs."

Unfortunately, if another terror attack does occur, politicians will be tempted to respond by spending even more money and writing yet another 'anti-terrorism' bill, Neale predicted.

But that approach won't work.

"It is absolutely impossible for the government to protect 280 million individual Americans from terrorism or other random crimes," he said. "People who are willing to commit horrific acts of violence and even commit suicide in the process will always be able to kill scores of innocent people."

That's why the solution to terrorism must include adopting a 'Protect America First' foreign policy, Neale said, which calls for bringing all U.S. troops home, ending military intervention and foreign aid, and never launching a 'pre-emptive' military strike.

"A Swiss-style foreign policy of neutrality and non-intervention would make terrorist attacks less likely while still protecting our borders," he said.

"Until that decision is made, every terror alert will be a frightening reminder of our government's inability to protect us."