Neutrality in foreign relations

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Adam Ricketson at Freedom Democrats has what I consider a great post discussing neutrality in foreign relations.

Below I have outlined a number of principles describing this foreign policy of “engaged neutrality”:

  1. No allegiance to foreign nations: Our support or opposition of the policies of another nation are based solely on whether those policies promote peaceful relations among people. We will not act to generally strengthen or weaken a foreign nation outside of a state of war.
  2. Respect for the sovereignty of foreign nations: We hold no opinion regarding the system of government of foreign nations, nor the governors of those nations. We will not attack or otherwise attempt to undermine the governing structure of any nation outside of a state of war.
  3. Defensive military deployments: Military units will only be deployed to countries in which they are fully welcomed, and only to act in defense of that territory from external aggression.
  4. Defensive war: Full war will only be declared in response to an attack on American soil, or systematic international aggression. We will not take sides in historical conflicts, border disputes, or internal conflict.
  5. Free trade: During peacetime, we will only restrict trade with a country in response to ongoing theft of labor (slavery), and these restrictions will be lifted on the condition that the benefits of trade go to the workers as either wages or services. The export of weapons and dual-use items to an aggressor country may be prohibited.
  6. Aid to victims of aggression: Economic aid will be provided to the victims of aggression to help them recover from violence and resist aggression. Aid may include “dual use” items that aid in military operations but can be easily converted to civilian use upon the cessation of hostilities.
  7. Discouragement of aggression: We may engage in direct attacks upon military units of an aggressor country that are operating in a foreign country.

I’ll be one of the few military people to say that I think our foreign entanglements and treaties are unsustainable and that we cannot survive indefinitely as the world’s only global police force. Our military is being used in ways that are counterproductive have nothing to do with national defense. It’s hard enough fighting in two countries at once. If a third conflict blows up in our faces now, we’re in trouble.