Is America Headed for Orwellian Perpetual War?

Mr. Lantos (D) on the House International Relations Committee calls for an end to China's one child policy to manage its former population explosion and calls for American sanctions against China to force them to cease enforcement of the One Child Policy.

Mr. Tancredo (R) indicated our government will not take such drastic actions and implied that the consequences to the U.S. and its economy and international relations with China would be too greatly harmed by such measures.

The Committee discussed a case where a woman was interrogated and tortured regarding her violation of the One Child policy as well as her incarceration. Also discussed was China's policy of levying a 40 times family income fine against violators.

The issue of course is the famine, disease, and death, of young, old, and all in between if China does not manage its population growth which still far exceeds the nation's economic resources and distribution to support a humane quality of life for all of its citizens. On the other side of the coin is the human rights of its citizens which are horribly violated in some circumstances when violation of China's policy occurs.

For Americans, including our Congress, the issues are very different. On the one hand, the U.S. reserves and acts on the right under the Bush administration to invade and kill a hundred thousand Iraqi's in the name of elevating the human rights of the survivors of that invasion. Yet, Congressional members are discussing taking international provocative actions against China over its internal policy governing its management of its greatest single barrier to quality of life for its citizens, overpopulation, and lack of resources to sustain that population.

One the one hand, it appears the U.S. is heading toward a foreign policy that reserves the right to intrude upon internal domestic policy of other nations if the U.S. deems those policies in violation of U.S. standards of human rights in that nation. On the other hand, the U.S. refuses to subject itself to governing organizations like the International Court, Geneva Conventions (in relation to the war on terrorism), and the World Health Organization when it attempts to dictate U.S. policy for the benefit of global humanity (pollution and other issues).

Such a dichotomous and contradictory foreign policy bears the seeds for international conflict that leaves the U.S. without any high moral ground to stand upon, due to the hypocrisy of such policy initiatives.

Should the U.S. refuse appeals by foreign nations to alter its own policies while reserving the right to force internal policy changes upon foreign nations? It is a debate that needs to take place in the halls of our Congress and in the Oval office, and amongst the American people. For if the U.S. continues upon this path of foreign policy, surely perpetual war like that envisioned by George Orwell as so necessary to authoritarian states, shall become America's future.