Rule number 1, military for defense only. Rule number 2, first learn rule number 1. The libertarian stance on the military is a bit more reserved than the average conservative stance. This does not mean that libertarians are anti-military or that we are even anti-war, but we do believe that war is a last resort, used only for defense. We tend not to believe in the draft, and we do not buy into police actions, nation building, or “spreading democracy” through military intervention. Freedom is something that people have to get for themselves, it is not a gift to be handed out to those who are not ready.

That said, there are a few arenas of agreement that most libertarians have with the conservative military position. 1) We believe that if you are going to fight a war, fight it to win, don’t play games with people’s lives, don’t worry about saving face, and don’t bow to the pressures of other countries or international regulations like the U.N. 2) We believe that a military should be maintained for the defense of this nation. 3) We believe in the defense of our allies and to some extent  in the assistance of those who seek freedom. These last two, however, we believe should be funded and staffed by volunteer forces only. The fate of other countries is not necessarily our concern. On the other hand, there are lessons to be learned from the WWII era and the comparative failure of the Monroe doctrine, but forward thinking and recognition of potential threats to ourselves if our allies fall should be enough to cover those issues.

Currently our foreign affairs are grossly meddlesome, and we have not seen any real benefits or successes because of our actions and policies. Freedom is best spread through trade and communication, not military action. We are involved in many conflicts with no clear direction or directive, and without even taking decisive action, leaving our troops in harms way for far too long. If indeed decisive action cannot be taken because of strategic or political reasons, then no action at all should be taken. The military is not a police or peacekeeping force, it is a fighting force. If there is no clear fight, then there is no place for our military. It seems obvious that not taking that tack has lead to a lot of death, and not to any real peace. We have the most powerful military in the world, we have no business struggling to win a war.

More importantly, our government has no business messing with other countries at all, even the affairs of our allies should not affect us unless they are directly attacked. Not our fight, not our business, and it definitely should not be at our expense. I am proud of our military, and support its existence, but it is for the defense of this nation and the freedom of its citizens. When it is used for anything else, it is a violation of our constitution and of the real reason for having a military. The military is not a toy to use to play with other countries’ affairs. We need to be less arrogant and more concerned with our own issues. Furthermore, we are overextended on costs as it is, and ceasing to be the military for the whole planet just might help with that a bit.

Bring them home, all of them.

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