the Cold War ended.” It was only a few short days after Dr. Eland made this statement that President Obama unilaterally took action against Libya, without so much as consulting Congress. In a writing published a few days later, Dr. Eland called this the “buy two wars, get another half price” deal. You know who saves from that deal? No one. It’s costly, in terms of both blood and fortune. Luckily, highly respected academics like Eland are there to warn politicians of their follies—though it seems to do little to stop them from rushing headlong into the hornet’s nest. Dr. Ivan Eland is not just an academic who slaves away in an office and publishes obscure studies. Several of his books have been well-received and his writings have appeared in media outlets ranging from the Los Angeles Times and Washington Times to the Fox News Channel and Bloomberg TV. Eland does not mince words when it comes to terrorism either. He does not believe terrorism can be defeated by means of war, for “terrorism is a technique. Al Queda is an overrated threat. They got lucky on 9/11 and have been on the run ever since.” He also does not believe a worldwide war on all terrorists groups is within the purview of our defense forces, either, because “there are other groups that use terrorism, but most on the U.S. terrorism list don’t focus their attacks on us—for example, Hamas, Hezbollah, the IRA, etc. Why make enemies of these groups?” Dr. Eland is not, of course, suggesting that the United States should cozy up to the IRA, purchase arms for Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or say nice things about Columbia’s FARC. Rather, he is saying that we do not need to make enemies of these groups
who do not now focus their energies on us. It is quite true that the U.S. goes out of its way to attract the attention of unsavory groups who otherwise might be concerned with more local issues. It’s common to come to foreign policy conclusions after adhering to an ideology, but Dr. Eland went about things somewhat upside down. He only became a libertarian after working as a Congressional investigator. Like any sane individual with prolonged exposure to government inefficiency, Eland began to question the perverse incentive systems and the involvement of government in many issues and areas. He was, then, converted by exposure to practical politics rather than the coherence of the political philosophy—though it was the writings of David Boaz and Ed Crane of the Cato Institute that convinced him that he had a political home. Since coming to a pro-liberty position by way of his experiences with Congress, Eland has proved a valuable ally to the liberty movement in his work on issues like Sino-American relations, WMD proliferation, terrorism, U.S. relations with Iran, special operations force, and the National Security Agency. Eland represents the best in a line of libertarian critics of American “defense” policy, his work is in-depth, unbiased, and accurate. If Dr. Eland’s criticisms had been more seriously considered, perhaps the follies of Afghanistan, Iraq, and now Libya could have been avoided. He could have helped us see through the looking glass of American foreign policy to the tough reality underneath.
Trent Hill is a freelance writer and blogger working in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He recently graduated from Louisiana State University.
34 June 2011