At the RLC we endorse a non-interventionist foreign policy platform represented by peaceful diplomatic relations, free trade and open secure borders. Non-interventionism is not isolationism. Non-intervention simply means America does not interfere militarily, financially, or covertly in the internal affairs of other nations. It simply means that we should mind our own business and not be influenced by special interests that have an ax to grind or benefits to gain by controlling our foreign policy. It does not mean that we isolate ourselves; on the contrary, our Founders advocated open trade, travel, communication, and diplomacy with other nations.
We should strive to lead by example rather than force, and provide a model for the world that other people will wish to follow. Thomas Jefferson summed up the non-interventionist foreign policy position perfectly in his 1801 inaugural address: “Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations- entangling alliances with none.” Washington similarly urged that we must, “Act for ourselves and not for others,” by forming an “American character wholly free of foreign attachments.”
The temptation to settle disputes and install better governments abroad is fraught with great danger and many uncertainties. Too often we give arms or foreign aid and intervene on behalf of governments that are despised. Then, we become despised. We should avoid additional entangling alliances that include the UN, the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO. Invariably, these organizations manipulate our country into conflicts that are none of our business and unrelated to national security. Today, we have troops in 130 countries. We are spread so thin that we have too few troops defending America.
The downside to such an interventionist foreign policy is that the costs have historically far outweighed the benefits to The United States. We are exposed to great risks financially and militarily, we get all the bills, risk the lives of our people without cause, and make ourselves the target for every event that goes badly. We get blamed for the unintended, unforeseen consequences and become the target of terrorists that evolve from the radicalized fringes; none of which makes America safer.
It is time for Americans to rethink the interventionist foreign policy that is accepted without question in Washington. Under no circumstances should the U.S. again go to war as the result of a resolution that comes from an unelected, foreign body, such as the United Nations. No war should ever be fought without a declaration of war voted upon by the Congress, as required by the Constitution.
To this end, we at the RLC support policies conducive to economic liberty, such as the reduction and elimination of all import and export restrictions on private trade, both as a unilateral policy and through multi-lateral agreements.
We favor the phasing out of all foreign aid, or payments to other nations or international bodies, as a form of global welfare and commercial intervention.
We support equitable treaties that enhance the security and exchange with other nations, but oppose any agreement that infringes on the sovereignty of the United States. Let us have a strong America, conducting open trade, travel, communication, and diplomacy with other nations.
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