Libertarian Party Demands U.S. Exit Afghanistan

While convening in Washington D.C. during the weekend of Sept 6 - 7, 2008, the Libertarian National Committee passed the following antiwar resolution:

WHEREAS the government of the United States should return to its historical libertarian tradition of avoiding entangling alliances, foreign quarrels, and military adventures; and

WHEREAS the stability and security of Afghanistan lie outside the jurisdiction of the government of the United States; and

WHEREAS the Libertarian Party recognizes that the only legitimate role of the military is to defend America against direct attack or the imminent threat of attack;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Libertarian National Committee calls on the government of the United States to withdraw the armed forces of the United States from Afghanistan, without undue delay.

Ironically, only a few weeks before the LNC passed this resolution calling for a troop pullout from Afghanistan, LP VP candidate Wayne Allyn Root called for a troop surge in Afghanistan.

Aaron Passman, interviewing Root for the Jewish Exponent (August 14, 2008), reported: "'I felt Iraq was always the wrong war, and if there is such a thing as a right war, Afghanistan was [it],' said Root. He said that he had supported the surge in Iraq, and that the government should 'do the same thing in Afghanistan, and make plans to get out quickly.'"

Although Root now says that he'd "always" felt that Iraq was the wrong war, less than two years ago, he'd reportedly supported the Iraq War. (One year ago, he'd opposed the Iraq War, but supported an Iran War.)

Whatever Root's new position, the LNC's resolution makes it official: the LP opposes a "troop surge" in Afghanistan.