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 enlarge | Author: Ron Paul
Publisher: Foundation for Rational Economics and Educati
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
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Rating:  69 reviews
Sales Rank: 3391
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 372
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 8.7 x 6 x 0.9
ISBN: 0912453001
Dewey Decimal Number: 338
EAN: 9780912453002
ASIN: 0912453001
Publication Date: June 15, 2007
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| Customer Reviews:
Foreign Policy Alternative based on History, Logic, and Reason July 14, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
In A Foreign Policy of Freedom, Ron Paul presents his thoughts on foreign policy in a very logical manner substantiated by both reason and history. Paul provides a collection of his statements to congress over the last thirty years that will be eye opening as many of Paul's cautions that went unheard later came into fruition near exactly how he predicted.
Whether one agrees with his views and is in search of validation, or completely disagrees yet is willing to test one's reasoning against some weighty questions, one will find this book fully delivers. I have always believed that if I truly am committed to any position, entertaining the thoughts of an opposing position will serve to strengthen my views as it holds up under full investigation. What I found is that when fully scrutinized, Paul's position on foreign policy is the only logical position that leads to a stronger and safer America in the long run.
Paul prefers armed neutrality to international intervention, leaving many of his detractors asking whether armed neutrality equals isolationism, which could not be further from the truth. Critics of this policy who consider an international military presence essential to our safety will discover many revealing details throughout history that suggest otherwise.
For those tired of the hypocrisy of the right wing that views government domestically as incompetent and dangerous yet somehow able to bring freedom and democracy to any other land (or conversely the hypocrisy of the left wing that prefers the polar opposite), Paul's message will resonate with you immediately. Paul displays an understanding of history that few politicians can match and aptly displays the negative results of continuously supporting "our enemies' enemies as our friends" over the last half century. Consider that "for decades we have been both allies and enemies of Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, and the Islamists in Iran. And where has it gotten us?" It is interesting to note as Paul points out that we have had the same vision for decades regarding the Middle East and yet things are as dangerous and precarious as they have ever been.
Is it so unexpected that we should at the very least be asking ourselves critical questions about our foreign policies? If we disagree, would asking such questions not merely strengthen our resolve? Ron Paul poses these questions that every voter and taxpayer in the US should be asking themselves; and Paul addresses all of them.
"Most Americans do not want to appear weak; they enjoy expressions of strength and bravado. They fail to understand that self-confidence and true strength of conviction place restraints on the use of force, that peaceful solutions to problems require greater wisdom than unprovoked force." Are you among those that place pretense over result, or are you willing to get passed the foolish notion that any opposing ideas to mere aggression are unpatriotic or weak. If you find yourself in the latter, there is no book I am aware of on the issue of foreign policy that I recommend higher than A Foreign Policy of Freedom.
 Thorough Look into Paul's Congressional History July 9, 2008
This book is not an easy read. It contains a very large portion of Ron Paul's congressional speeches and his own post-speech commentary on the meaning of the speeches and comments on the timeliness of them. This book affirms his stellar voting record and is interesting to see his forecast of current problems we are facing on every front as a nation. If only congress could slightly awaken to these types of founding principles that our nation was built upon, maybe we would have a much healthier nation today. This book is an excellent resource for anyone who wants a historical look at Paul's congressional actions.
Provides all the background June 22, 2008
This book explains in Ron Paul's own words the reasoning for avoiding "entangled alliances." It is absolutely amazing how for 30 years this man has beat the same drum for our liberties here in our homeland. It shows just how tireless Ron Paul is in spreading the message of peace and liberty. His speeches given on the House floor are full of history (showing how we got where we are today) with a bit of almost "prophetic" wisdom of where this country is heading with the continuation of our poor foreign policy. In one speech in particular (NEOCONNED!) he names names. His personal diary entry at the beginning of the Iraq invasion...well it shows the man. Ron Paul will be in the history books. That is unless WE allow those who are in charge of writing them now to remain in power.
Now I understand... June 20, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book has given me a framework with which to evaluate my role as a citizen of the United States and an ideal to grow towards.
The book consists of congressional speeches, journal entries, and a few transcripts of committe meetings by Ron Paul in chronological order. I am in awe of the energy, intelligence, and character Congressman Paul exhibits.
I draw three conclusions from the book:
1. Our founding fathers fought for our freedom, it is ours to defend.
2. Congress has willingly and unconstitutionally ceded its authority to the Presidents over the past 60 years.
3. Non-intervention in the affairs of other nations is the just and moral policy that protects our liberty.
Let the debate begin. June 8, 2008
No one could accuse Ron Paul of flip-flopping. His statements of 1983/1984 are almost a word-for-word echo of his 2008 presidential campaign speeches and publications.
Much of what was foreseen has come to pass, with the collapse of the American economy taking longer than originally suggested because of the fall of communism and the rise in wealth of far eastern states, which has permitted the use of off-shoring as a way to reduce costs for western manufacturing, and the ability for Americans to enjoy a period of cheap credit by way of dollars paid being returned as loans for incidental purchases and to create the unsustainable housing bubble. A housing bubble which has had an international impact of catastrophic proportions in the form of the credit-crunch because of bad mortgages being monetised into unrecoverable debt. A consequence of this is that, anything not manufactured in China, such as oil and food, for example, is showing an inflation rate of at least 30%, and not the under 5% that is more politically acceptable.
As Ron Paul pointed out, the degeneration in the purpose of politics has a negative impact on Americans. Most recently, Hilary Clinton, in spite of gaining the most votes in the presidential primaries, was forced to concede to Barak Obama because the Democratic Party Super-Delegates reckoned that this was strategically the better choice to win an election for the Democratic party. In 2000 the Supreme Court overrode the popular vote for Al Gore and decided the election outcome. No government by the people for the people here, it would seem, but many Republicans were content.
The Truman doctrine was mentioned with regard to its undermining of the Congress's ability to hold a president in check. The errors of the Wilsonian WW1 era predicated on the doctrine of 'making the world safe for democracy' were mentioned.
Herman Goering is quoted, and it is interesting to note that the 'slob on the farm' can now hope to get back in one piece, with the added incentive that he/she may now be eligible for free college funding so that they can become good socialists-cum-stakeholder capitalists, and be better able to subvert the constitution for future generations.
This book by Ron Paul is straightforward to read and follow, and may be the basis for the launching of a debate amongst the American people, including non-Americans who are affected by American policies. For example: Did American foreign policy develop as a counter to European imperialism from 1823 onwards, and simply not as a way to expand the power of the Federal Government. Perhaps the publishers of this book could divert some of their profits towards a good Internet discussion board for this purpose.
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