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http://thelibertarianrepublic.com/exclusive-austin-petersen-talks-isis-criticisms-abortion/
[h=1]EXCLUSIVE: Austin Petersen Talks ISIS, Abortion, Criticisms[/h] Elias J. Atienza
March 23, 2016
2016 Presidential Race, Headline News
[h=2]Petersen Lays Out His Beliefs on the Issues[/h] Austin Petersen is one of the front-runners for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination, along with Gary Johnson and John McAfee. He is the founder of The Libertarian Republic and will be one of the participants in the Stossel Libertarian Presidential Forum, which airs on Friday, April 1.
Petersen was asked about his proposal to issue letters of marque and reprisal, something that hasn’t been done since the War of 1812. It is constitutional under Article I, Section 8 and was proposed by Ron Paul as a way to conduct the War on Terror back in 2007.
Petersen said that there were “grizzled veterans” who would be happy to bring the war to ISIS. He called ISIS a threat as demonstrated by the attacks on Garland, San Bernardino, Paris, and now Brussels:
The reason I propose letters of marque and reprisal is because it is a much cheaper option than full-blown invasions and nation-building. This would be an approach that would be even more surgical than drones. Where drones can have collateral damage, mercenaries would be responsible for any collateral damage that would incur. So they would occur under constitutional guidelines, it would be perfectly legal, and in my mind, now that ISIS has inspired attacks here in America like Garland, Texas, and now that they’ve attacked Brussels, and murdered cartoonists in Paris, they are clearly a threat, not just to the world, but to the United States as well, this would be the best way to take them out.When asked about Donald Trump‘s proposal for torturing people and Ted Cruz‘s proposal to patrol Muslim neighborhoods, Petersen said that it was a problem of “tyrants never letting a crisis go to waste.” He accused both of wanting to take more civil liberties away, and asserted that torture was a crime.
“Donald Trump is playing on people’s fears, like most politicians do,” Petersen said. “No matter how dangerous ISIS might be, we should not sacrifice our liberties for a false sense of security.”
Petersen also mentioned that in Belgium, there isn’t a 2nd Amendment like in the United States, and referenced a security guard who took out the terrorists who attacked Garland, Texas.
Petersen reaffirmed his support for Apple when asked about the recent DOJ remarks that they might not need Apple’s help to break into the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino terrorists.
One of the main criticisms of Petersen is his rejection of the Non-Aggression Principle (NAP), which is followed by many libertarians. In his case for rejecting it, he noted that Governor Johnson said that the NAP was “over his head,” and that American voters wouldn’t care about it. He referred to it as “pacifistic anarchism.”
Another criticism of Petersen is his youthfulness. He is thirty-five: the youngest major candidate in the race. He said the main reason for the criticism was that the “establishment hate the common people.”
“What is so wrong with me coming from a very humble beginning?” he asked.
Petersen is rare in that he is a Libertarian candidate who is pro-life. The official stance of the LP is that the government shouldn’t be involved in the process. Johnson and McAfee are both pro-choice.
“I believe in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all humans. All humans have the same rights, and that means to me that we should always adopt a pro-life stance as libertarians because human life is the zenith.”
He then quoted Carl Sagan, noting that, “We are a way for the universe to know itself.”
Petersen called for human life to be protected and insisted that fetuses are humans. He also said, when asked about the government’s role in protecting life, that he would look for limited government ways to do so, such as legalizing over-the-counter birth control.
To end the interview, Petersen addressed how he would build the party and addressed his attacks on Gary Johnson and John McAfee.
“Look at Gary’s comments on iSideWith, his very, very anti-libertarian responses on iSideWith…I’m forcing him to be more libertarian. So, I’m winning. Every single day, I’m winning….Donald Trump’s never held elected office…Americans don’t seem to care this year about experience, they want someone with integrity; and that’s what I have.”
Petersen will be appearing in an one-on-one debate with Johnson in Oregon this weekend.
