War Policy vs. Our Troops

WASHINGTON, October 13, 2009--“Under current policy in Afghanistan, our forces are required to endear themselves to the local population by providing so-called humanitarian aid,” writes Elan Journo, a fellow with the Ayn Rand Center.  “This is combined with the long-standing battlefield rules that require soldiers to go out of their way to avoid injuring civilians.”  Such policies are incompatible with American self-defense, argues Mr. Journo in his controversial new book, Winning the Unwinnable War: America’s Self-Crippled Response to Islamic Totalitarianism.

“We have no moral duty to embroil ourselves in selfless nation-building. In a war of retaliation against a present threat, we are morally entitled to crush an enemy regime because we are innocent victims defending our unconditional right to be free.  Our government’s obligation is to protect the lives of Americans, not the welfare of people in the Middle East.

“If Islamic totalitarians and their many followers know without a doubt that the consequence of threatening us is their own demise, the world will be a peaceful place for Americans.  And that, ultimately, is the end for which our government and its policies are the means: to defend our freedom so that we can live and prosper.”

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Elan Journo is available for interviews. To interview Mr. Journo or book him for your show, please e-mail media@aynrandcenter.org

For more articles by Elan Journo, and his bio, click here.