In a recent interview with NewsMax, RPI founder and chairman Ron Paul explained his vision of how to deal with the pressures on the Pentagon to make serious cuts, as the US budget situation becomes more critical.
Although he supports the reported plan by Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel to cut military personnel over the next five years, Dr. Paul warns that cuts in spending without a re-think of US foreign policy is a recipe for failure.
Said Dr. Paul:
What I really want is [President Barack Obama] to downsize the foreign policy, because if you stay involved in 140 countries . . . stirring up trouble, and you downsize the military, you run into a problem. So, it’s our intervention that needs downsizing. But I certainly agree that in this day and age, we shouldn’t be building all these weapons.
Paul continued by explaining how he never equates military spending with spending on the defense of the United States:
A proper foreign policy would mean that we would have a strong national defense, but it would be quite a bit different. A lot of people equate military spending and national defense, and I don’t. I believe very strongly in national defense. But I believe in a lot less military spending, and that’s the big difference.
On Ukraine and US intervention, Dr. Paul was clear: “I’ve talked to people from the Ukraine and they are very much supportive for having let the Ukrainians deal with their problems.”
Read and watch the full interview here.
