Kevin Tuma writes about comments he found on Libertarian VP nominee Wayne Allyn Root’s website on Ron Paul’s pro-peace foreign policy, and the neocons’ “War on Terror.” Writes Kevin:

“Says Root: ‘I love Ron Paul! Ron Paul is my hero’…and then there’s the inevitable ‘BUT…’

“Root goes on to criticize Paul’s position on defense and the War on Terror, which he ENTHUSIASTICALLY ENDORSES, with paragraphs of sound bites that sound like they were written by Bush and Dick Cheney himself.

“I’ll quote them below, in case they are removed, but please link directly to the site.

“Here is Wayne Allyn Root:

But what about mystery #2: Ron Paul’s own passionate Libertarian supporters who wonder how it’s possible that their hero is polling only 1% to 3% nationally?

That answer is also simple. Look at it from outside the insulated world of Ron Paul Inc. You see Ron Paul has one big flaw. He’s just too nice for his own good. Some would even call him na‹ve. He sees the world with rose-colored glasses. That prevents him from seeing the evil and disaster aimed squarely at our country.

In the political world, a candidate is only as strong as his weakest link. Ron Paul’s weak link is national security and the war on terrorists.

Unfortunately for him, that’s the issue at the top of almost every American voter’s list. In the end, almost every parent in this country will put aside every other issue. They want a President who will keep their children safe at night. A President willing to fight and win the war on terror at all costs. They want a President who’s strong enough to stand up to the most evil enemies of freedom since Adolph Hitler.

Ron Paul looks, and is, weak on this issue. I know he means well. But he’s naive about our enemy’s intentions. And worse yet, weak in how he’d respond to them.

Doctor Paul sounds almost apologetic to our enemies. He sounds much like the blame America first crowd. It may not be his position that America is to blame for 9/11. Maybe his comments about 9/11 were misunderstood by the media and Rudy Guliani.

But Presidential politics is not a game of badminton. It’s full contact tackle football- with no helmet or pads. Ron Paul seems weak on this issue and has handed his opposition some ammunition to attack him with. Even though Ron Paul is a “Perfect 10” on virtually every other issue, as long as he appears weak on the national security and the war on terror, he’ll never rise above single digits.

Ron Paul does have some great points about foreign affairs. It is not our duty to nation build. It is not our duty to install democracy around the world. It is not our duty to risk our troops’ lives and waste billions of taxpayer dollars to prop up foreign governments.

It is not our duty to give trillions of dollars in foreign aid to governments that vote against our interests at the United Nations. It is not our duty to support a United Nations that is a pathetic, corrupt joke and installs leaders of terrorist nations to head commissions on human rights. And yes the Iraq war is a disaster- and we must make plans to remove our troops as soon as possible. I agree with Ron Paul on all of those points.

But the war on terror is real. The enemy we face is the most brutal and barbaric since Adolph Hitler. Nothing we do…or Ron Paul does…or any President does…will end this struggle. No interference in their affairs is necessary to attract the hatred and murderous venom of Islamic extremists. If it’s true that Islamic extremists are attacking our country because we “interfered” in Middle East affairs, then:

Why do Islamic terrorists and suicide bombers attack and murder thousands of their own people in Iraq?
Why have they killed 300+ people in Pakistan in just the past 2 weeks?
Why do they kill Arab women for not wearing veils?
Why did they murder a champion Iraqi tennis player for the sin of wearing shorts?
Why did they murder any entire Iraqi soccer team for being in the wrong place?
Why do they terrorize Arab parents for sending young girls to school?
Why do they murder their daughters and sisters for refusing arranged marriages?

The truth is that Islamic extremists don’t need much of an excuse to kill. They believe the Koran demands they murder anyone who doesn’t believe in their extreme religious views.

If America had never interfered in the affairs of any Arab country the Islamic extremists would still be trying to destroy us.
They hate us because we’re not Islamic.
They hate us because we’re a Democracy.
They hate us because we allow dissent.
They hate us because we treat our women like human beings and equals.
They hate us because we let young girls go to school.
They hate us because we believe in progress.
They hate us because we celebrate music, art, dance, literature, and sexuality.
They hate us because we believe in equality of races.
They hate us desperately because we actually allow Jews to survive and thrive in our society.
They hate us because we don’t murder gays in the street for the ‘crime’ of being gay.

There is no room for questions or dissent in Islamic extremism. There is only belief in one religion and one set of rules. Any minor departure from this is enough to incite death, torture and destruction.

Islamic extremists hate us and will continue to try to kill Americans and our children until we defeat them. To Islamic extremists we aren’t humans or Jews or Christians or Americans. To them, we’re all infidels. The penalty for disagreement is death. The penalty for not converting to Islam is death. The penalty for writing books (ask moderate Muslim Salman Rushdie) or even cartoons that question Islam or Mohammed is death. Not a lot of choice there. Whether we “interfere” or not in their affairs is meaningless.

Did Hitler leave alone any country that played nice with him? Bullies always see those who don’t fight back as weak. Islamic extremists hate anyone that doesn’t believe as they do. They want to cut our heads off, mutilate our bodies, and then set our corpses on fire in the streets. They hate us whether we interfere or not. They hate us for interfering, and they hate and laugh at us for appearing weak because we didn’t interfere. On this topic Ron Paul is just plain wrong. They hate us and will continue to try to kill Americans and our children until we defeat them. They leave us no choice.

These are not easy times. These are not easy questions. But one thing is easy to see- Americans side with me on the issue of the war on terror. Americans understand if Islamic extremists destroy Israel and murder millions of innocents:

They’ll come for America next.

Americans want to see strength and confidence in their President – Not apologies.

We’re a nation of courageous, tough-talking winners that have always stood up to bullies. Now is not the time to back off from defeating the most dangerous group of fanatics in history. These fanatics want desperately to destroy America, cripple the American economy, and bomb us back to the stone ages.

The war on terror is real and will hit close to home again. There will be another 9/11.

There will almost certainly be attempts at a nuclear attack on American soil. I’m certain we’ll see car bombs in shopping centers and other public places. There will be more attempts to bomb planes and trains. It’s coming. Our enemies are plotting and planning high-profile attacks at this very moment. If you don’t believe me, ask the Brits.

This war on terror has only just begun. Have we made mistakes in the past, as Ron Paul says? Yes. Should we analyze them and learn from them? Absolutely.

But it is the future that matters most; how we prepare to fight back, how we prevent future attacks, how we retaliate in self-defense and how we win this war.

Ron Paul is polling at 1% to 3% for only one reason: he is not seen as the leader best
able to defend America by 97% to 99% of the American public. That’s a fact. That’s why Ron Paul is polling in the single digits.

Ron Paul is my hero on most every fiscal and freedom issue that matters. But he looks naive and weak on the one issue that matters to most Americans- national security and the war on terror. Americans have no interest in apologizing to suicide bombers and mass murderers. Americans crave a leader that is fiscally conservative, socially tolerant and a strong proponent of the war on terror.

This is the unvarnished truth. Whether they like it or not, Libertarians need to hear it.
The key to winning national elections is simple – expand beyond your core supporters.

Libertarians must understand this concept if we are to ever to win major national elections. Our fiscal message is a popular one. A majority of Americans want smaller government, reduced spending, drastic cuts in entitlements, lower taxes and more individual freedom. But they’ll never convert to the Libertarian brand as long as it involves being na‹ve and weak on the war on terror. We need to remain tough, strong, vigilant and unapologetic about defending our ideals, freedoms, country and friends.

Just so I’m not misquoted or misunderstood, let me repeat what I said earlier.

It is not our duty to nation build.
It is not our duty to install democracy around the world.
It is not our duty to risk our troops’ lives and waste billions of taxpayer dollars to prop up foreign governments.

It is, however, our duty to fight and defeat terrorism and brutal bullies who want to take away our FREEDOM, wherever they may be. Sometimes we must be willing to fight and die for our freedom.

Ron Paul is the closest thing we have to our Founding Fathers. He’s dead-on with over 90% of the issues. But he’s weak on the war on terror.

The Best of Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.