American libertarians, regardless of their preferred faction, understand the state is a monster. We view the state the way Karl Marx viewed capitalism (demonic) or William Lloyd Garrison viewed slavery (cannibalistic). Sadly, American libertarians live under the most powerful state in recorded history. The social order is not aligned with our values, so we advocate where we can. Lower taxes over here, less war over there, a little more liberty around the way.
Earlier this month we almost got some good news. Lt. Col. Daniel Davis (U.S. Army-retired) was almost appointed as deputy director of national intelligence for mission integration. Davis is the host of Daniel Davis Deep Dive, where he provides expert analysis of war, politics, national security, and foreign policy. He is an American war hero who served during Desert Storm, the Iraq War, and two deployments to Afghanistan. He is a regular contributor on news programs (including our very own The Scott Horton Show) and an accomplished writer. Pretty good, right? Well, not good enough for Israel.
On March, 12, Marc Rod at Jewish Insider reported:
“Daniel Davis, a senior fellow at the isolationist Defense Priorities think tank with a record of strident criticism of Israel, has been tapped as a deputy director of national intelligence, three sources with knowledge of the selection told Jewish Insider. Davis has also lambasted U.S. support for the war in Gaza as a moral and strategic mistake. He has opposed military action to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, and suggested that it is only U.S. and Israeli policy and actions that are pushing Iran toward pursuing a nuclear weapon.”
Yeah, that’s right, Davis knows what he’s talking about. But to Jewish Insider, the mere possibility of his appointment was a catastrophe. The Anti-Defamation League defamed Davis and The Jerusalem Post accused him of inciting a “storm of controversy” due to “a series of statements” regarding Israel’s genocide in Gaza and Iran. JFeed declared “Victory!” when Davis’ job offer was rescinded.
The mendaciousness of Israel’s minions is not surprising. These forces have been defending genocide, working to drag America into a war with Iran, and conniving to crush our free speech. So, launching a libel against an American war hero to deprive us of his knowledge and wisdom at the highest levels of power in our own country is on brand. But it’s still shocking.
Writing for Responsible Statecraft, Kelley Vlahos defended Davis:
“Danny is a friend whose astute, informed military analysis has graced these pages over the last four years. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing him countless times since 2009 when on active duty he sent a report to Congress and published an article excoriating the Afghanistan War generals—including the much vaunted Stanley McChrystal—for essentially lying to the American people.
In 2009 he had just returned from an inspection tour of the country and was pretty much shocked when what he saw there didn’t line up with what the military was telling Congress and the media here.”
That’s right, Davis has a documented track record of telling the truth about U.S. foreign policy. Americans should remember that our government sent the military to invade Afghanistan and topple its Taliban-run government in 2001. Almost twenty years later, after thousands of soldiers had been killed, tens of thousands of soldiers severely wounded, and more than $2 trillion spent, we left. And as we were leaving the Taliban took control of the government and rules to this day.
Davis warned his nation that the Afghan War was an unwinnable disaster more than a decade before our rulers finally gave up on it. He did so at great personal risk to his life, liberty, and career. He is the best of us. To have his name slandered by slithering scum of any stripe is an outrage. But agents of and/or on behalf of a foreign state? Are you kidding me?
Now, look. At the very least, libertarians would be happy for the U.S. government to abandon empire and transition to a peaceful, mercantile republic. Which would mean no need for an “intelligence community,” a Director of National Intelligence, or the position that Davis was denied. But we don’t live in that world.
We live in a world in which our government wields what neoconservative journalist Eli Lake has called “a vast kind of foreign policy apparatus” around the globe. Much like taxpayer-funded roads, which many libertarians are philosophically opposed to, that apparatus exists. Putting aside its destruction of our wealth, the apparatus plays Risk in in real life. The consequences are often dead, maimed, and damaged soldiers and could easily escalate to general nuclear war. The apparatus could put us on a metaphorical road to Hell.
All else being equal, it is better to have intelligent patriots like Davis influencing what information gets put on the president’s desk than someone who has the stamp of approval of a foreign state. Once again, our imperial overlords have put America last.
