Foreign Policy/Military:A Balanced Perspective

     No true patriot denies that love and appreciation for our veterans, military and America is important. However, love for country and government (meaning what the powers that be decide to do) are often polar opposites, and the problem libertarians like myself have with the otherwise decent Republican view of military is two-fold. First, an evil they embrace equally with Democrats: what Ron Paul identifies as the "Military Industrial Complex". Second, the desire to nation build rather than stick to the military as a defense mechanism. In this brief opinion article I will share my unique perspective on how we can maintain Reagan's peace through strength yet not at the expense of our budget, nor the precious lives of our young men.

      Personally, I am a bit more hawkish than your run of the mill purist libertarian; that being said, I am a libertarian with a little "l", a Republican with a big R. Meaning, I am philosophically a libertarian, yet a party Republican. To make a long story short, although I am certainly non-interventionist, I am not for a weak military nor ignoring the dangers at hand from threats such as ISIS.       Regarding ISIS, I believe the US needs to deal with individual cases of terrorism, social media recruiting, support of the Kurdish and Israeli efforts, and the spread of any and all radical Muslims. What America does not need to do is invade Syria and "wipe out" ISIS. Why, you may ask, if ISIS is such a threat and growing? Well, because when America dismantles a regime and props up our own, it doesn't end well; the US removing Saddam Hussein, fumbling with Iranian government, and arming the Mujaheddin is part of why ISIS exists today. Secondly, ISIS is a fundamentalist Sunni  group that spreads via recruitment; kill them one place, they move elsewhere or get more people. It's like killing one anthill, thinking you stopped the ant problem in your yard. 
   In cases of genocide, attack against the US, or harm toward our existing allies, we can and should act. But the US should not be maintaining bases in every nation, meddling in sovereign nations' government affairs, and arming the enemies of our enemies. The purpose of the American military is defense of America, and our principles, not fixing every problem that arises; the US should be a global image of freedom, but not the policeman of such.
   In conclusion, US foreign policy should be reformed by de-funding non-Allies, ending nation building, respecting other nations' sovereignty, aiding the Kurds and Israelis, and becoming abreast of national security breaches in cyberspace.