Ron Paul, speaking Monday with Erin Ade on RT, explained that it is “foolish” for the United States to wage war on ISIS in Iraq and Syria, noting that the new war is a continuation of 24 years of foolish US war in the Middle East. Instead of extending the war another six or more years, Paul says “it’s time to quit” and bring the US military back home.
Paul, who is RPI’s chairman and founder, minces no words in explaining his opposition to the US war on ISIS:
Ade: Should the president take on ISIS in Iraq? I mean, does ISIS represent a clear and present danger to America?
Paul: No, absolutely not. It’s a foolish thing. It was foolish when we got involved in 1990-91; it was foolish in 2003 when we expanded it and invaded [Iraq], and the bombing in-between killing hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. It’s time to quit, and time to say that it’s not working….
I would say it’s a bad deal. It’s bad for our national sovereignty. It doesn’t make us safer. It makes things more dangerous. It’s very costly. It sets the stage for an undermining of our civil liberties at home.
Paul also addresses in his answer particular reasons why giving weapons to so-called moderate insurgents in Syria including the Free Syrian Army is a bad idea. Paul notes that it is from “moderate” Syria insurgents that ISIS obtained US-supplied weapons and may have bought the location of American/Israeli journalist Steven Sotloff, enabling ISIS to capture him.
For people who truly desire to defeat ISIS, Paul suggests the best practical way to accomplish this goal is for the US to “just walk away.” Paul explains:
I would think that, if you don’t like ISIS, just walk away and Syria and Iran will take care of them and they’ll get rid of all the radicals just as Saddam Hussein did. There was no al Qaeda in Iraq [when Hussein was president] and there is no al Qaeda in Iran.
Watch the complete interview here:
