SARAH PALIN'S UNDERSTANDING OF U.S. FOREIGN POLICY

The Republicans might well win the election and then we will have Sarah Palin as vice president. Last night on ABC, Palin had no idea what Charlie Gibson meant by the infamous and notorious "Bush Doctrine." My question then is, where has she been for the last five years? The lady obviously does not keep up with current events. The Bush Doctrine allows for unlimited, unending war. It used to be a truism of U.S. foreign policy that the U.S. would never start a war. Now with the Bush Doctrine, anything goes. Preemptive wars, preventive wars, wars based on a president's whims. And Palin has no idea of any of that.

Furthermore, her answer to whether the U.S. would go to war with Russia was downright scary. She said, "Perhaps, so." Here we have a case of that hot head, neocon, Bush protege, Mikheil Saakashvili ordering Georgian army to attack a civilian population in South Ossetia. And attack they surely did, with lethal missiles and a heavy barrage of deadly artillery. Enters Russia to defend the many Russians in South Ossetia. Palin thinks this would be a casus belli?

If the Republicans win, and Palin is the next VP, be prepared for more war, more irrational foreign policy, more dumbing down from the new administration. Incredibly, some Republicans say that Palin represents the new face of the Republican Party. They may be right.

END OCCUPATION OF AFGHANISTAN

The BBC reports that nine U.S. soldiers have been killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan. This follows a week in which U.S. war planes killed 42 Afghan civilians mistaking them for insurgent fighters.

All this loss of life means that the United States should not be in Afghanistan. Americans should stop the killing of Afghanis and stop, at the same time, the loss of life of American soldiers.

The way to solve seemingly intractable problems and conflicts is not through tanks and bombs but through talk and negotiation. The Bush doctrine of pre-emptive war has been shown ineffective and life destructive.

Pull all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan. Let Afghanis determine their own government and their own society.