April 06, 2004

Imagine that Chinese troops have invaded the United States with the stated goal of liberating the American people from the grips of the IRS, DEA, BATF, and the many other departments and agencies that violate the principles of freedom set forth by our Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence. Imagine that after overthrowing the federal government, Chinese authorities announce that Chinese diplomats and Chinese troops will remain in America for an indefinite time in order to ensure that a new federal government limited by constitutional restrictions will be brought into existence — one designed to protect, not destroy, the freedoms of the American people. Imagine that the Chinese establish a temporary regime, with a Chinese diplomat in charge, to rule over the United States until elections can be held sometime in the distant future and a new government formed, this time with a real Constitution — one that ensures freedom by prohibiting income taxation, drug laws, gun control, and other infringements of individual liberty.

Imagine also that the Chinese occupation (“liberation”) troops embark on a campaign to pacify America, including curfews, surprise searches of homes and businesses, gun confiscation, pat-down searches of men, along with their wives and daughters, and roundups and indefinite detentions without trial of suspected Americans insurgents who, for whatever reason, don’t like Chinese troops in America telling Americans what to do and what not to do. Imagine also that the Chinese occupation (“liberation”) authorities shut down American newspapers that question or criticize the occupation (“liberation”) of America, shoot protestors and demonstrators, and react angrily and indignantly to Americans who fail to appreciate the sacrifices that the Chinese are making in order to liberate the American people.

Some Americans would undoubtedly cooperate with their Chinese liberators, arguing, “What’s done is done, and it’s now time to move on. The Chinese are here to help us and we need to cooperate with them so that we can get our new government established and running as soon as possible. Those troublemakers who are resisting what the Chinese are doing for us should be hunted down and punished for their terrorist acts.”

Yet, who can doubt that a certain percentage of the American people would resist the Chinese occupation (“liberation”) of our country, regardless of the fact that the invaders had liberated them from the IRS, DEA, BATF, and other admittedly tyrannical departments and agencies of the federal government? And who can doubt that much of that resistance would be violent? Some Americans would be shooting, bombing, and killing Chinese occupation (“liberation”) troops and officials, with a demand that they depart the United States immediately, leaving America to Americans. Their position would be, quite simply:

Even though we were not free under the principles on which our country was founded, that was our business — the business of the American people — not yours. You had no right to “liberate” us with a military invasion that took the lives of tens of thousands of our countrymen. Moreover, just so you’ll know, we do not consider Chinese military rule to be freedom. And your wrongful invasion of our country cannot provide any justification for your continued occupation of our country, even under the purported intention of saving us from chaos, strife, and civil war, which your wrongful invasion will have caused. You have done enough damage to our country. Now, get out and leave us alone or we will force you out by killing the soldiers that you have sent to our country to “liberate” us.

Would some Americans commit atrocities in the process of resistance to Chinese rule? How could anyone believe it would be otherwise, especially if Chinese troops were abusing, humiliating, and even killing the wives and daughters of American men? After all, don’t forget that some American troops in Vietnam committed atrocities and that some U.S. troops in Iraq have been accused of war crimes. If Chinese occupation (“liberation”) troops were killing, wounding, arresting and detaining, or even just humiliating the wives or daughters of American men, who can honestly doubt that at least a few of those men would be unable to control their rage, anger, and hatred against their Chinese occupiers (“liberators”) and would commit atrocities in revenge?

Thus, why does it surprise anyone that there are a certain number of Iraqi people who are reacting with uncontrolled anger, hatred, and outrage over the U.S. government’s occupation (“liberation”) of their country, and are resisting that occupation (“liberation”) with the following type of mindset:

You Americans had no right to invade our country, not even to “liberate” us by placing us under U.S. military command and ultimately giving us a new government that is acceptable to you. Indeed, you have had no right to meddle in the affairs of our country for the past half-a-century.

You had no right to interfere with our political system by helping to install Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party into power.

You had no right to furnish Saddam with weapons of mass destruction, weapons that he ended up using not only against the Iranian people but also against us, his own people.

You had no right to intervene in the Persian Gulf War, when you killed tens of thousands of Iraqis with your bombs and missiles and intentionally destroyed our water and sewage facilities with the intent to spread infection and disease among our children.

You had no right to falsely encourage the Iraqi people to overthrow Saddam’s regime after the Persian Gulf War, knowing that you would end up double-crossing the insurgents by standing aside and watching Saddam’s forces slaughter them.

You had no right to impose one of the most brutal and devastating military embargoes in history against our country and no right to continue it for ten long, suffering years, especially after realizing that it was contributing to the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqi children, year after year.

You had no right to impose “no-fly” zones over our country and kill even more Iraqis in the process of enforcing such zones.

You had no right to recently invade our country because our country had never attacked your country or even threatened to do so.

And therefore, you have no right to occupy our country and no right to establish permanent military bases among us, surrounded by their customary bars and prostitutes.

You have no right to rule us, abuse us, search us, seize us, kill us, or even just “liberate” us.

You have done enough damage to our country for some 50 years. Now get out and leave us alone, or we will force you out by killing the soldiers and mercenaries that you have sent to our country to “liberate” us.

Mr. Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation. Send him email.

The Future of Freedom Foundation.

Sheldon Richman is senior fellow at The Future of Freedom Foundation in Fairfax, Va., author of Tethered Citizens: Time to Repeal the Welfare State, and editor of The Freeman magazine.

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