This post was originally published on Matters of Principle by Sen. Gary Hart on September 21, 2009. Sen. Hart served as the Chairman of Council for a Livable World from 2006 to 2009.

The Founders of the United States not only designed a system of government, they also established principles which bind and guide their successors at home and abroad.  To the degree we, their heirs, abide by these national principles we remain true to the vision of the republic they intended us to be and we earn the respect of those around the world who believe us to be a principled nation.

It is worthwhile periodically to remind ourselves what our guiding principles are.  We are committed to the principle that all people (they said “men”) are created equal.  We believe that every person has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Our principles guarantee rights of speech and assembly and freedom of press and religion.  We are dedicated to the proposition that all are entitled to equal justice under the law, that justice requires due process, not arbitrary, application of the law, and that no magistrate can place us in custody without charges.  Our principles extend to the right of the individual, regardless of wealth or class, to be secure in his or her person and property from unwarranted search and seizure.  Our political systems are based on checks and balances to prevent concentration of power and the principle of taxation only carried out by those we freely elect to represent us.

All this would seem elementary civics except for this: we do not always live up to these principles, especially in our dealings with other nations and peoples.  

There is a direct correlation between fear and our willingness to suspend our principles.  In wartime, both domestic and foreign, presidents have suspended the most crucial right of all, habeas corpus, that protects us from arbitrary arrest and that dates to the Magna Carta.  This was true during the Civil War, World War II, and the war on terrorism.

And especially during the Cold War and the more recent war on terrorism our foreign policy has been based on the proposition that the enemy of our enemy, however dictatorial, undemocratic, and contrary to our principles it may be, is our friend.  Most often this friendship has amounted to large financial payments or weapons deliveries in exchange for military basing rights.

We pay for this in more ways than one.  Most often we pay for abandonment of our principles by the sacrifice of international respect.  It was a basic belief of those who founded the United States that we could remain strong and secure by resisting expediency and by standing like a rock on our principles.

After eight years of an Administration that seemed impervious to public opinion, what a new era we are in. Over the past three months, Council supporters and advocates sent more than 10,000 letters to elected officials, urging them to oppose wasteful and ineffective missile defense programs, including the proposed “third missile defense site” in Europe.

Last week, the White House announced its intention to reconfigure U.S. missile defense policy in Europe – a move which smartly includes scrapping the missile interceptors in Poland and the accompanying radar in the Czech Republic.  

This shift in policy was prompted by a request by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense that the President revise the previous missile defense plan – a request aimed to align missile defense policy with immediate security threats, rather than long-range missile threats from Iran that do not currently exist.

According to Council ED John Isaacs, ““The decision to revamp the missile defense plan in Europe is based on technological reality rather than rigid ideology…The Obama administration’s proposal is a better choice for U.S. and European security.”

For more on the political context of this announcement, click here for an analysis by Military Policy Analyst Travis Sharp.

 

Senator Al Franken recently thanked Council for a Livable World supporters for their generous support for this campaign. With more than $120,000 in contributions, Council members provided a significant boost to his hard-fought race, which was decided by just over 300 votes.

Read a portion of his thank you here. Full text after the jump.

“I want to thank my supporters from Council for a Livable World for believing in me. You were early supporters for my candidacy for the United States Senate, giving me crucial support when few others would.

In July, Vice President Joe Biden swore me into office as the new Senator from Minnesota. Standing there, I was so grateful for the many dedicated supporters who made that moment possible.

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Council for a Livable World and its members for your generous support both during the election and throughout the long legal battles that followed…

…This was a hard-fought campaign, and the continuous financial and political support from the Council has been tremendous. You raised more than $120,000 for my campaign, and it certainly made a difference in a race that was decided by just 312 votes.

Now that the election battle is over, the real work begins. This moment marks a turning point in our nation’s approach to foreign policy, national security, and nuclear weapons policy. I look forward to a productive, close relationship with you in the years to come.

Thank you again for your dedicated support.”

For the 2009-2010 school year, the college debate topic is on nuclear weapons. The resolution states: Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially reduce the size of its nuclear weapons arsenal, and/or substantially reduce and re…

By Jerome Grossman

Amnesty International USA reports on the case of Mohammed Jawad, detained by U. S. intelligence five years ago at age 12 to 17 somewhere in the Middle East, sent to Guantánamo Bay prison, beaten, subjected to sleep deprivation and intense interrogation techniques, told his family would be killed if he did not confess, denied access to a lawyer.  Recently the U.S. Supreme Court gave Jawad his day in court, he was ordered released, all charges were dropped and this week he arrived home. continued at http://relentlessliberal.blogspot.com/