Ingraham’s Inappropriate Introduction
Laura Ingraham, the MC at the Iowa Republican Straw Poll on Saturday, lost the respect of many people when she introduced Congressman Ron Paul by making snide and ignorant remarks, attacking his policy and his supporters. All the other candidates were given a respectable welcome by Ingraham. In addition to nasty comments directed at Paul’s supporters, she criticized his proposition to grant Bush the authority to issue letters of marque and reprisal to capture, dead or alive, those responsible for the events of September 11th. Aside from her introduction being rude and unprofessional, it revealed her ignorance on the matter.
Bruno Somerset explains letters of marque and reprisal like this:
“Article I, Section 8, Clauses 10 and 11 grant Congress the power to offer a bounty and appoint stealth warriors, private companies and individuals, to capture or kill an enemy such as Osama bin Laden and his fellow terrorists, as well as seize their property. Two hundred years ago the founding fathers saw the need for ways to capture or kill those who threatened us, and provided a way to do so without having to go to war.”
Despite what many politicians would like you to believe, Terrorism is not a new enemy that can be demolished with a deluge of brute force. Terrorism is a tactic or an idea; it has existed, probably, since man existed on earth; and will likely always exist. A tactic, unlike the military of a particular country or alliance of countries, cannot be defeated with the use of force. That is precisely why the aggression used by the United States, in an attempt to eliminate terrorism, is having an effect opposite its intention. Instead of decreasing terrorism, they are fueling the flames of hatred and increasing the incentive to use terrorism as means to an end.
Since its conception The United States faced acts of terrorism. However, the term terrorism was not used: Terrorist were instead referred to as pirates. Private organizations or individuals seeking the reward issued through marque and reprisal, known as privateers, were largely successful in bringing pirates to justice without deepening conflict. Privateers were also successful in seizing nearly 300 British ships during the the Revolutionary War.
Congress and the President ignored Ron Paul’s suggestion, and we will all be paying for it for a long time. Instead of focusing on capturing Osama, the effort was diverted, and now creating more of what was to be eliminated.
So along with an apology to Dr. Paul, Ingraham should also consider doing a bit more research before making such arrant criticisms.