By Brian Hawkins
Friday, June 03, 2016
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are poised to be the
standard-bearers for their respective parties, and the American electorate is
eager for an alternative. Libertarians now have a chance to present a credible
alternative to the hawkish and increasingly anti-free trade Republican and
Democratic parties.
Google searches for the Libertarian Party soared after
Ted Cruz suspended his presidential campaign, effectively handing the
nomination to Trump. However, taking advantage of this will require
libertarians to reject their isolationist tendencies and embrace America’s role
of maintaining peace and prosperity throughout the world.
Libertarians rightly claim trade and diplomacy are more
effective at ensuring security than war. But they ignore the role America’s
military preeminence has played in facilitating the post-World War II
environment of peaceful trade and commerce around the globe.
Free and open maritime trade, for example, did not occur
by accident. It was deliberately implemented as part of the post-World War II
system of international diplomacy. For almost 70 years, the U.S. Navy has
ensured and protected this system, enabling countries from across the globe to
engage in mutually beneficial trade. Abandoning this role would only allow the
enemies of this world order to reshape the international community towards
their own narrow interests, at the expense of peace and prosperity.
Left to Itself,
the World Becomes More Dangerous
Russia’s recent aggression towards its neighbors in
Georgia and Ukraine and China’s antagonism in the South China Sea demonstrate
that both of America’s main rivals are more interested in indiscriminate force
than in ensuring peaceful coexistence.
China aims to use its growing presence in the South China
Sea to control and limit trade routes. Half of the world’s merchant fleets
travel through chokepoints in the South China Sea, which, if restricted, could
precipitate a dramatic increase in shipping costs, and ultimately a higher cost
of living for price-sensitive consumers. Ceding control of these chokepoints
would give China unfathomable power and influence across the world.
Chinese control of the South China Sea would also lead to
a monopoly on valuable fisheries, cutting off supplies to fishermen from
Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and other regional actors that rely on the
waters for sustenance.
By all objective measures, keeping the South China Sea
free and open for trade and commerce is in America’s national interest.
Libertarians are right to be wary of military confrontation with China, but
they should appreciate America’s unique ability to provide diplomatic support
to Vietnam and the Philippines when their regional sovereignty is threatened by
China’s aggression.
U.S. Strength
Promotes World Peace
Calls to withdraw U.S. troops from South Korea and Japan,
often supported by libertarians, are similarly shortsighted, as they fail to
recognize how America’s presence has preserved peace and prosperity in the
region.
Since 1953, U.S. forces on the Korean Peninsula have
deterred North Korea from launching an attack on its southern neighbor. Such
deterrence has allowed South Korea to mature into a free and prosperous
democracy and one of our most critical allies in the region. The U.S. military
presence in South Korea has created a unique partnership between the two
countries that includes economic and cultural trade. Without the U.S. military
presence, South Korea would likely have been consumed by communist North Korea
long ago, and the world would be without its twelfth-largest economy and one of
its most innovative technology manufacturers.
Strategically positioning overseas bases also enables the
United States to respond quickly and decisively when military force is
required. One of the most critical components of war is sustaining logistics
line to support operations. Quickly reacting to legitimate crises would be
virtually impossible if our military were forced to deploy personnel and
equipment thousands of miles from U.S. shores to conduct operations overseas.
Staging forces in Kuwait prior to both Iraq Wars allowed
the United States to quickly destroy the Iraqi Republican Guard in both
instances. Without this infrastructure, the war may have been longer lasting
and more costly. After Typhoon Haiyan decimated the Philippines in 2013, the
United States was able to quickly deploy an Air Force squadron from Japan to
partake in disaster relief efforts.
Of course, war should always be preserved as the last
resort; but when American forces do engage in military or humanitarian
interventions, then it is America’s duty to place our troops in the best
position to accomplish their mission.
Don’t Throw Out
the Baby
The ideologically zealous isolationist might argue that
the United States should never involve itself in the affairs of other nations,
even if the rest of the world is war-torn or stricken by natural disasters.
This thinking is myopic. American interests are best served when the world is
peaceful and prosperous. World War II and the terrorist attacks of September 11
taught us that the United States cannot retreat to within its borders and
expect the world to leave us alone.
This doesn’t mean the United States should be engaged in
all conflicts at all times. The United States should only engage in war to
protect our direct national interests. Regime change, democracy promotion, and
preemptive attacks undermine our security and foster instability throughout the
world—on this, libertarian instincts are unassailable. Indeed, American
military interventions in Iraq, Libya, and many other locations have ended in
abject failure. Intervening in Syria would be disastrous, and provocations in
Ukraine are unnecessarily risky.
However, libertarians must not misinterpret these
failures. The United States can still be a force for good in the world, and if
libertarians are serious about providing a credible alternative this election
and shifting U.S. foreign policy towards a position of restraint, then they must
accept this fact.
An isolationist America would embolden the enemies of the
current world order, allowing them to reshape the international community
towards interests antithetical to global peace and prosperity.
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