| Dear John,
In The American Conservative, my colleague John Byrnes writes about a U.S. foreign policy rooted in the philosophy of realism and restraint – one that he and I believe best aligns with conservatism.
John is a veteran of three conflicts—Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He spent two weeks after September 11, 2001, at Ground Zero with the National Guard, and saw bloodshed, death, and destruction firsthand.
As it did to me, war changed John and his views around America’s foreign policy.
He explains how the preservation of liberty at home precludes imperial adventures abroad:
“To restrainers, military intervention should be a last resort, not a handy tool. Restrainers pursue trade and diplomacy, and we believe in maintaining a powerful U.S. military capable of defeating rivals and securing the global commons. These are beliefs most often espoused by libertarians and national conservatives.”
With these beliefs in mind, I signed the 2023 Freedom Conservative letter. Its “strong central government, dedicated to securing liberty,” truly describes my conservatism, the sweet space between libertarianism and hard conservatism I sought.”
Read the full article in The American Conservative here. |
