It is important to separate hunting down terrorists who attack our country and deserve justice (which Ron Paul is 100% for), and not confuse justice with occupying entire countries for a decade under the guise of the "War on Terror" or "Spreading Democracy". Terrorists are individuals and small groups, so why are we picking fights with entire nations? BILLIONS for Defense, NOT A PENNY for Empire.

This speech is called "Imagine" and it was given by Ron Paul on March 11, 2009. The original text of the talk is below:

Imagine for a moment that somewhere in the middle of Texas there was a large foreign military base, say Chinese or Russian. Imagine that thousands of armed foreign troops were constantly patrolling American streets in military vehicles. Imagine they were here under the auspices of "keeping us safe" or "promoting democracy" or "protecting their strategic interests."

Imagine that they operated outside of US law, and that the Constitution did not apply to them. Imagine that every now and then they made mistakes or acted on bad information and accidentally killed or terrorized innocent Americans, including women and children, most of the time with little to no repercussions or consequences. Imagine that they set up checkpoints on our soil and routinely searched and ransacked entire neighborhoods of homes. Imagine if Americans were fearful of these foreign troops, and overwhelmingly thought America would be better off without their presence.

Imagine if some Americans were so angry about them being in Texas that they actually joined together to fight them off, in defense of our soil and sovereignty, because leadership in government refused or were unable to do so. Imagine that those Americans were labeled terrorists or insurgents for their defensive actions, and routinely killed, or captured and tortured by the foreign troops on our land. Imagine that the occupiers' attitude was that if they just killed enough Americans, the resistance would stop, but instead, for every American killed, ten more would take up arms against them, resulting in perpetual bloodshed. Imagine if most of the citizens of the foreign land also wanted these troops to return home. Imagine if they elected a leader who promised to bring them home and put an end to this horror.

Imagine if that leader changed his mind once he took office.

The reality is that our military presence on foreign soil is as offensive to the people that live there as armed Chinese troops would be if they were stationed in Texas. We would not stand for it here, but we have had a globe-straddling empire and a very intrusive foreign policy for decades that incites a lot of hatred and resentment towards us.

According to our own CIA, our meddling in the Middle East was the prime motivation for the horrific attacks on 9/11. But instead of re-evaluating our foreign policy, we have simply escalated it. We had a right to go after those responsible for 9/11, to be sure, but why do so many Americans feel as if we have a right to a military presence in some 160 countries when we wouldn't stand for even one foreign base on our soil, for any reason? These are not embassies, mind you, these are military installations. The new administration is not materially changing anything about this. Shuffling troops around and playing with semantics does not accomplish the goals of the American people, who simply want our men and women to come home. 50,000 troops left behind in Iraq is not conducive to peace any more than 50,000 Russian soldiers would be in the United States.

Shutting down military bases and ceasing to deal with other nations with threats and violence is not isolationism. It is the opposite. Opening ourselves up to friendship, honest trade and diplomacy is the foreign policy of peace and prosperity. It is the only foreign policy that will not bankrupt us in short order, as our current actions most definitely will. I share the disappointment of the American people in the foreign policy rhetoric coming from the administration. The sad thing is, our foreign policy WILL change eventually, as Rome's did, when all budgetary and monetary tricks to fund it are exhausted.

Furthermore

With Agenda 21 and economic failure staring us in the face, it appears that America is looking the other way. They are holding up candidates that support the unending wars, the stripping of our rights & the final development of the global leadership. Yes, Gingrich said he would like to see a smaller, stronger government - but that was a smaller stronger government as part of a global leadership. He has consistently over decades, supported just that. Is anyone really researching the seriousness of our situation or just reading the newspapers & watching the news?

It is apparent to me that the media is not our friend. Have you heard about the new Defense Bill traveling through our system - only Napolitano will talk about it. Very little truth comes to us via the main channels of media.

People go for the "celebrity" held up by the glorious media and I don't get it. We are in a situation where politians have lied to us for decades & decades. They have continued to destroy America and erode all the principles that have made us a great nation. And now, without any evidence of change other than a candidate "saying so", he is embraced by the voters? Haven't we had enough false promises?

I also see that a man with a solid history of truthfulness is being shunned by the media and held up as a kook? why do we hear someone speak truth and think he is crazy? We need nothing but the truth now. We need the proven track record. We need someone who will fight for the rights of the people to be restored.

I am extremely proud of both Paul & Huntsman boycotting Trumps debate. This is a ridiculous for someone so part of the corporate powers/money in politics to be involved in a presidential debate of any kind - what's he going to do, fire them? I for one, will not be watching, the thought makes me sick.

I would suggest that before you make any decissions you do some research on Agenda 21. I learned of it through our local Tea Party. Ron Paul is not going to be able to change anything radically during a short term in office, but he could start us on a path toward restoration. Why is everyone so afraid of him? War is the very essence of isolation and financial destruction. We are being robbed of our wealth (whats left of it) and stripped of our human rights.