Endless wars should be avoided
An unintended consequence of the Confederacy’s fight for states rights is that it ended up building a large central government:
Although southerners rebelled against growing centralization of the federal government, they had no qualms about establishing a strong national state of their own. Scholars have classified the Confederate central government as a form of "war socialism." The Confederacy owned key industries, regulated prices and wages, and instituted the most far-reaching draft in North American history.
War causes large government growth. Permanent war, like the War on Poverty, War on Drugs, War on Terror…. leads to permanently larger governmental roles.
I favor strategies that fight wars away from America and that lead to short wars. As Afghanistan drags on for 8 years now, I can’t help but wonder what just the length of the effort costs us, over and above the casualties and military spending.
Be careful… thinking this way leads to very un-PC steps… like not letting Muslims into the U.S., legalizing drugs, and having states and cities – not our federal government – address poverty.
For freedom, think small, be practical, and make your wars short.
December 10th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
I question whether its really a war at all. What’s the body count? How much have we destroyed? Armies are supposed to kill people and break things. We aren’t doing any of that. The Peace Corp could do what the Army is doing, probably better.
I say let’s call the whole thing off. Position a couple small scale nukes within striking range of all Taliban strongholds, and let them know that any trouble could be a real problem for them.
December 10th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
I do think we could to it cheaper and smarter. Nukes, perhaps, but simply letting them know they are on a short leash.