Daniel Harding
Ron Paul said shortly after the Paris shootings that foreign policy was to blame for the resulting backlash from the various violent extremist groups found in the middle-east (mostly formed during western ‘interventions’ in those countries over the last two decades). Naturally, this view from Dr Paul has caused some controversy amongst our statist ‘friends’ around the world.
Although you might note that the shootings were the result of cartoons drawn by the French magazine, ‘Charlie Hebdo’, this was not the point that Dr Paul was making. Yes, there is a direct relationship between the cartoons of ‘Charlie Hebdo’, and the shooting which happened at their offices, but you reach a different conclusion when you look at the overall picture; the reason that such attacks happen, and why such violent organisations exist in the first place.
Western foreign policy and neo-imperialism can directly be blamed for such attacks as those in Paris, because such organisations only seem to spring up when western governments decide to invade these countries, or if they are created deliberately by aiding one group against another; such as is the case with Al Qaeda, who were originally funded and trained by the US to help them fight against the Soviets when they invaded Afghanistan.
However you look at it, organisations that want to wage ‘jihad’ on western countries only seem to appear when the west decides to interfere again. Not only do we get lumped with the cost of warfare on foreign soil, but we also become to the target for retaliatory action. This is why media groups such as ‘Charlie Hebdo’ have had their staff murdered, not to mention the others who lost their lives simply through western foreign policy. Although this overall cause is merely indirect, it can even be said to be deliberate that such organisations as Al Qaeda even exist in the first place.
A lot of the policies that remove freedoms from our countries come from the ignorant masses clamouring for more security so as to protect them from those who would do them harm; so in that case, Islamic extremism and other terrorist organisations are actually very desirable for western states. This is the point that Dr Paul was trying to make when he made his statement on the Paris shootings, and this is why freedoms will continue to be eroded while more innocent people are put to the fire.
