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Harry Browne on Homeland Security
2000 Libertarian Nominee for President
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Women in military; but separated in combat
Q: Should women be banned from the military?BROWNE: I don’t think women should be banned from the military, but I think it is a mistake to mix them in combat situations because romance inevitable plays a part in it and
it’s going to affect people emotionally. But that’s not really an important point. What we need to do is to get our troops out of Yemen and 100 countries around the world. We need to quit meddling in all other countries’
affairs. If we just worry about defending the United States, we’re not going to worry too much about the composition of our personnel.
Q: Would you have women in combat?
HAGELIN: Women should be able to serve their country with honor, of course, as they always have.
Source: Third Party Debate on Meet the Press
, Oct 22, 2000
Government role should be to keep us out of war
War is justified by blurring the distinction between foreign rulers and their subjects. Our politicians cite the sins of foreign rulers, and then ask us to join in killing their downtrodden subjects. The politicians want us to forget that wars kill
innocent people. They talk about teaching a foreign dictator a lesson, but the dictator never gets hurt. Like the Founding Fathers, Libertarians know that war is the first resort of political scoundrels, but the last resort of a free people.
Libertarians know that the government’s role isn’t to police the world-or even to win wars. Government’s role is to keep us out of wars-and to protect us from foreign enemies, not create them.
How would a Libertarian government assure our
safety? Our foreign policy would be very simple: We are always ready to defend ourselves, but we threaten no one.
Source: The Great Libertarian Offer, p.114-116
, Sep 9, 2000
Gays in the army OK; irrelevant to military service
Q: What is your position on gays in the military? A: Well, I have to tell you, the only time in the 1996 campaign or in this campaign that I have been stumped for an answer was when I was speaking before a gay and lesbian group. The question of
allowing gays in the military came up. And the reason I was stumped was that it had never occurred to me that anybody in the world would ever want to serve in the military. I spent three years in the Army, and I can’t imagine why anyone would want to
be in the Army. But I believe that anybody that’s in the military should be treated on the basis of what he does and not on the basis of what he is. As long as he does not cause harm to other people, as long as he does not intrude on the proper function
of the military, then it doesn’t matter whether he is gay or she is lesbian or he or she is heterosexual. So obviously there should not be any limitations based on sexual orientation.
Source: PlanetOut interview (planetout.com)
, Jul 7, 2000
We have strong offense & weak defense-switch it
Today we have a strong national offense (the ability to blow any country to smithereens) & a weak national defense (the inability to defend against any two-bit dictator who gets
his hands on a nuclear missile). We should have just the opposite. When we do, we will have a much more efficient defense-with a much smaller cost & a much less complex system.
Source: Email correspondence from the candidate with OnTheIssues.org
, Jan 27, 2000
Fund SDI, pay, & readiness; cut CIA & everything else
Browne would adjust funding as follows:Greatly Increase- National Missile Defense Program
Maintain Status- Pay for active duty personnel
- Troop & equipment readiness
Slightly Decrease- Modernization of weaponry & equipment
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Programs to improve military retention rates
- Research & development of new weapons
Greatly Decrease - Military hardware
Eliminate- Covert intelligence operations
- Defense plant conversion
- Military space shuttle missions
Source: 2000 National Political Awareness Test
, Jan 13, 2000
Deploy SDI; no need to fight spread of nukes
Browne supports the following principles concerning defense issues:- End the cooperative threat reduction programs with Russia to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons to unfriendly nations
- Modify the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in
order to deploy the National Missile Defense System
Source: 2000 National Political Awareness Test
, Jan 13, 2000
Keep out of wars, rather than police the world
Like the Founding Fathers, Libertarians know that war is the first resort of political scoundrels, but the last resort of a free people. Libertarians know that government’s role isn’t to police the world -- or even to win wars. Government’s role is to
keep us out of wars -- and protect us from foreign enemies, not run around the world creating them.
Source: http://www.harrybrowne2000.org/ “World Safe” 5/16/99
, May 16, 1999
Build missile defense by private reward system
A Libertarian President would make sure we have a defense against incoming missiles -- a defense designed not by foot-dragging politicians (who will never complete the task), but by private firms competing to win a large reward.
Source: http://www.harrybrowne2000.org/ “World Safe” 5/16/99
, May 16, 1999
If US is attacked, target the dictator, not people
If America truly were threatened by an aggressor (unlike today), a Libertarian President would target the dictator -- not his innocent subjects. He would warn the dictator that any aggressive act would prompt the posting of a mega-reward for the death of
the dictator -- a reward payable to anyone anywhere, including the dictator’s guards and wives.
Source: http://www.harrybrowne2000.org/ “World Safe” 5/16/99
, May 16, 1999
Focus on defense against missiles and invasions
In a Libertarian America, you will no longer fear that your children will fight in a foreign war, or that terrorists will target your city. A Libertarian government will mind its own business, quit making enemies abroad, and rely for peace on a strong
defense against both missiles and invasion, rather than by threatening potential attackers with massive retaliation.
Source: http://www.harrybrowne2000.org/ “What Do You Want” 5/16/9
, May 31, 1998
De-fund CIA; decrease R&D for new weapons.
Browne would eliminate funding for many components of the Department of Defense and for the CIA, as well as for “defending foreign countries.” Browne would “greatly decrease funding for military hardware and for research & development of new weapons.”
Browne would maintain the funding status for pay for active duty personnel.
Source: 1996 National Political Awareness Test
, May 1, 1996
Avoid arms trade; promote peace by free trade
We can do more for world peace by providing free trade, by refusing to meddle in other countries’ affairs, and by not arming the participants in disputes. And if we reduce our federal government dramatically, the resulting prosperity will inspire other
countries to do the same -- and the smaller their governments, the less likely that they will threaten world peace.
Source: (X-ref Foreign Policy) Project Vote Smart, 1996
, May 1, 1996
Politician’s wars are heroic; real war is death & killing
The politicians’ stirring phrases are meant to keep our eyes averted from the reality of war - to make us imagine heroic young men marching in parades, winning glorious battles, and bringing peace and democracy to the world. But war is something quite
different from that. It is your children dying before they’re even fully adults. It is your brothers and sisters being taught to kill other people - and to hate people who are just like themselves and who don’t want to kill anyone either.
Source: Excerpts from Why Govt Doesn’t Work: “What is War?”
, Jul 2, 1995
Wars have historically established nothing
The pattern of wars establishing nothing has continued throughout American history:- The Mexican War (which took 13,283 American lives) did add to the territory of the US. Wouldn’t it have been cheaper to buy it?
- The Civil War (498,332 lives)
didn’t bring reconciliation as promised. Instead, it produced nearly a century of regional animosity.
- World War I (116,708 US lives) wasn’t “the war to end all wars” as promised.
- WWII (407,316 US lives) didn’t make the world safe for democracy; it
made the world safe for the USSR to launch the Cold War.
- The Korean War (33,651 lives) left Korea as divided as before.
- After Vietnam (58,168 lives), the dominoes continued to fall.
- The Gulf War (296 US lives) produced no resolution-other than
to return the Emir of Kuwait to the palace.
Politicians always justify war as being necessary for the greater good. They speak movingly of giving one’s life for one’s country. But it’s always someone else’s life they’re talking about.
Source: Why Government Doesn’t Work, by Harry Browne, p.140
, Jul 2, 1995
6-point plan to get government out of war programs
There is so much we can do to avoid war-to assure that America’s youth never go to war again, and that our lives and homes are secure against foreign attack:- End all loans & giveaways to foreign governments & international agencies. Stopping
giveaways keeps our government from taking sides in foreign disputes.
- Get out of all alliances, treaties, & international organizations. America doesn’t need to be a joiner to have good relations with the rest of the world.
- End all arms sales by
the government.
- Open our markets to goods & services from all over the world. Nothing could do more to give foreign people a vested interest in keeping the peace with us.
- When a foreign leader threatens the US, announce that carrying out any
warlike act against us will lead to a multi-million-dollar reward for his assassination.
- Establish a defense that protects against missiles launched from anywhere in the world-a system built by private companies competing for a reward.
Source: Why Government Doesn’t Work, by Harry Browne, p.158
, Jul 2, 1995
Page last updated: Oct 01, 2016