Phil Brennan
Wednesday, March 5, 2003

I don't know anything about Kim Weissman, except that he is one of the most knowledgeable and sane Americans writing today. In a current column ("Future National Security"), he has written a suggested speech for President Bush in which he makes a solid case for America's withdrawal from all those entangling alliances about which George Washington warned his then-fledging nation.

In essence what Kim would have President Bush do is to bring our troops home from their far-flung bases around the globe, send the hopelessly useless U.N. packing, and tell the rest of the world to take care of their own problems, we're going to take care of our own.

One of my favorite passages in this proposed address informs the world: "Because our entire military will now be devoted to protecting and defending our homeland, the next time some tyrant arises and starts slaughtering people, the next time some dictator launches a war of aggression, I recommend that the victims petition France, Germany, or Belgium for assistance."

Lines like that make me want to stand up and cheer.

Somehow or other, we have allowed ourselves to be cast in the role of the world's police force, scurrying hither and yon in fruitless attempt after fruitless attempt to impose order on a disorderly world. It's proven to be an expensive proposition.

We've also allowed ourselves to become the world's rich uncle, parceling out outrageous amounts of money to everybody and his kid brother on the international scene.

This foreign aid thing is like an addiction – we started it after WWII in an effort, largely successful, to get a war-torn and war-weary world back on its feet. All well and good, but the trouble is, once we started we couldn't stop.

For many years, Uncle Sam has gone into hock to come up with the money we were ladling out to a host of nations, many of whom are now spitting in our face as we attempt to get international support for our coming war on Iraq.

Some friends of Abraham Lincoln once told him that one of his acquaintances was going around slandering him. Lincoln expressed surprise, noting that he couldn't recall having done anything for the man recently.

We should have learned a lesson from that piece of homespun wisdom. We've been doing a lot for a lot of nations and we are being paid back not with gratitude, but with enmity. In this case, charity is most definitely not its own reward.

Kim's proposed presidential address has Mr. Bush saying:

"In keeping with our new policies, when the Congress next enacts a federal budget, I am putting them on notice that I will veto every dollar of foreign aid. Other nations around the world will have to learn to live without handouts from American taxpayers. And if some societies collapse following the withdrawal of our financial support, they will simply have to abandon their failed socialist or totalitarian economic systems and adopt a free market system that works. Or they can wallow in the consequences of their own folly. That is their own business, but we will no longer bail them out."

Hooray!

The excuse we keep hearing for our sticking our nose in everybody's business is ... well ... business. We are told we must have a world where the climate is favorable to the conduct of American business. After all, it's hard to sell refrigerators to people living under constant threats to their lives and property, as is the case in large areas of the globe.

Look, we are so far ahead of the rest of the word in technology and innovation we don't have to worry about finding customers for our wares. The world has to come to Uncle Sam's market – we sell the top-of-the-line stuff they can't find anywhere else.

Kim's president tells the word that we will kick the foreign oil habit and start drilling here at home, in Alaska, for example. He unlocks the sources of high-grade coal Clinton closed down by creating national monuments where the coal lies in great abundance.


Now, people will say all this is fanciful, wishful thinking of the most grandiose sort – that no American president will ever pull back from our international adventures, or kick the U.N. out.


The U.S., we are told, is committed to the so-called New World Order – to surrendering our national sovereignty.

Don't be so sure. Just take a look at the near contempt President Bush has been showing for the spineless, gutless U.N. And if you need further proof, look at some of the most vigorous supporters of the New World Order as envisioned by those who would surrender U.S. sovereignty to the U.N. or some other super international cabal.

They have seen the handwriting on the wall and are castigating Mr. Bush for following a U.S. first, last and always policy.

In recent weeks Mr. Bush has more than made the case that Saddam Hussein constitutes a threat to this nation and must be dealt with. He's made it clear that we will deal with it whether or not the U.N. bootlickers like it. Then, hopefully, we will come home.

Maybe Kim is on to something. I sure hope so.