Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), an RPI Advisory Board member, discusses in-depth in a Friday C-SPAN Washington Journal interview his opposition to continued borrowing and spending for the United States to “police the world.” Jones says in the 33 minutes interview that the US, like empires through history, is harmed by its foreign intervention and that “we in America are in the eleventh hour of a twelve hour clock.”
Regarding the threat posed by foreign adventurism, Jones explains:
Every great nation…from the Spanish to the French to the Romans…that started to go around and take other territory around the world eventually failed, and I think we in America are in the eleventh hour of a twelve hour clock.
A focus of Jones’ concern is adding to the US debt — something Jones votes against — to pay for foreign interventions, including wars. Jones explains:
The issue is that we continue to spend so much money by sending our men and women around the world to take care of the world. I am a person who believes sincerely we need to rebuild the military, but…Pat Buchanan has a great quote, and I’d like to use it very quickly: “Is it not senility to borrow from the world to defend the world?” You know, we are a debtor nation.
Every so often we have to have debates on the floor of the House to raise the debt ceiling. Under George Bush we raised the debt ceiling seven out of the eight years that he was president of the United States. Under President Obama we have raised the debt ceiling seven times in five years. That allows our nation, which is in debt, to borrow more and more money to spend, and there is no cap to it.
While Jones expresses a dire description of the current circumstances, he does have reason for hope. For example, Jones, who regularly works with Republicans and Democrats on foreign policy issues, says more Republicans are coming around to voting in opposition to the US being the policeman of the world:
We are beginning to see more and more Republicans that are voting like I am trying to say — that we cannot continue to police the world.
Watch the complete interview here:
