The Fundamental Arrogance of Ron Paul’s Isolationism

Normally, I don’t like to pay much attention to Ron Paul.  He isn’t going to be the nominee, and his positions on foreign policy are so wildly wrong, it almost doesn’t seem necessary to even take them down.  I mean he is the only Republican running who might convince me to vote for Obama.  That is how little I like him.

But this morning I get a pair of headlines that really illuminate a point about his thinking.  First, via Brietbart by way of Weasel Zippers, we have this clip of Ron Paul explaining that the reason why Iran is pursuing nukes is because we are threatening them.

Yes, really.

Meanwhile, via Hot Air, we get this from Fars, the official Iranian mouthpiece:

The wife of Martyr Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan Behdast, who was assassinated by Mossad agents in Tehran in January, reiterated on Tuesday that her husband sought the annihilation of the Zionist regime wholeheartedly.

"Mostafa's ultimate goal was the annihilation of Israel," Fatemeh Bolouri Kashani told FNA on Tuesday.

Bolouri Kashani also underlined that her spouse loved any resistance figure in his life who was willing to fight the Zionist regime and supported the rights of the oppressed Palestinian nation.

Iran's 32-year-old Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan Behdast, a chemistry professor and a deputy director of commerce at Natanz uranium enrichment facility, was assassinated during the morning rush-hour in the capital early January. His driver was also killed in the terrorist attack.

Now this is official state news in a nation that doesn’t believe in free speech, so you obviously have to be an extremely discerning reader.  For instance, it isn’t established that Mossad had anything to do with this, although it seems very likely that they were.  There are also rumors that Iranian resistance fighters might have been involved, as well.  And you have to wonder if they are playing down just how important Behdast was to the operation.

But the important thing to get out of this is that according to this state news agency, working at this facility was equivalent to working to destroy Israel.  Whether or not the late Mr. Behdast believed that, this state organ wants you to believe that he believed it.  That is their official message, to consider him a “martyr” in the “holy crusade” to kill every man, woman and child in Israel.

Along with this and statements by Iranian officials talking about the elimination of Israel, it raises the real specter that their nuclear policy is all about wiping Israel off of the map.

Which brings me back to Ron Paul’s comments and the fundamental arrogance behind them.  The fundamental arrogance underlying his argument is that he apparently believes that everything that happens in the world is somehow related to us.  Now I believe America is and rightfully should be the most powerful nation on Earth.  And I believe that our influence is often exaggerated by evil regimes to make us into a boogeyman to distract the people from their own failures.  But one would have to be exceedingly silly to think that everything that happens in the world is related to U.S. policy.  People and nations can be and are motivated by more than just their feelings for the U.S. and the Iranian nuclear program seems to be one example of it.  It’s not about us, it’s about Israel.  I believe sincerely that they want to kill every man, woman and child living in that country and that will happen unless the good people of the world stop them.

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