Texas Rep. Ron Paul, anti-war voice of the Republicans, continues to blast his party for its militaristic stances.
The New York Times reported a testy exchange on Iraq between Paul and ex-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in Wednesday's GOP debate.
"The American people didn't go in," Paul said. "A few people advising this administration, a small number of people called the neoconservatives hijacked our foreign policy."
"Congressman, we are one nation," Huckabee replied. "We can't be divided. We have to be one nation, under God. That means, if we make a mistake, we make it as a single country: the United States of America, not the divided states of America."
This isn't the first time Paul has drawn ire from his conservative colleagues. Pat Buchanan listed as "the decisive moment of the (Republicans' May) South Carolina debate" a confrontation between Paul and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani.
"Hearing (Paul) recite the reasons for Arab and Islamic resentment of the United States, including 10 years of bombing and sanctions that brought death to thousands of Iraqis after the Gulf War," Buchanan wrote, "(Giuliani) broke format and exploded:
"'That's really an extraordinary statement, as someone who lived through the attack of 9-11, that we invited the attack because we were attacking Iraq. I don't think I have ever heard that before, and I have heard some pretty absurd explanations for Sept. 11.
"'I would ask the congressman to withdraw that comment and tell us what he really meant by it.'"
CNN reported in October 2002 that Paul was one of six House Republicans to vote against President Bush's resolution on Iraq. Consistency hasn't distinguished most of the other GOP presidential candidates. Can Paul's persistence make an impact?
Reader Comments ( Page 2 of 2)
16. Ron Paul has my vote.
Sports Bettor at 11:57PM on Sep 7th 2007
17. Will our Constitution live through 9-11 like Guliani says he did?
I hope so.
If we had followed the Constitution to begin with, Arabs would be our allies, The Dollar would still be the worlds strongest currency, and America would be the America you want.
Cole Webb at 2:15PM on Sep 8th 2007
18. Well said Heidi Slade.
herschel, by calling U.S. citizens to Islam, Osama is fulfilling a requirement within the Koran to offer the enemy a chance to convert and be forgiven before being attacked or killed. According to Michael Scheuer, former head of the CIA Bin Laden unit (and someone who has done extensive studies on Islamic terrorism), this statement was meant more for the ears of the Islamic world than it was for us. Osama is a thoughtful, albeit evil, man who knows that to retain the support of the Islamic world he needs it to hear him issue this statement.
You are either deluded or brainwashed if you believe our Constitution is the reason they want to kill us. Osama may have wet dreams about a world ruled under Sharia law, but there would be absolutely no way for him to galvanize the support he has within the fragmented Islamic world if it wasn't for our dumb-headed foreign policy within the Middle East.
Hans at 3:07PM on Sep 8th 2007
19. SORRY, but Ron Paul is a loser, big time! He's really a Democrat dressed in a Republican's clothing.
Kayte at 7:22PM on Sep 8th 2007
20. I would like Ron Paul’s critics to imagine for a second that several decades ago on this very day the Chinese intelligence agency, using their operatives located in Austin, assassinated the governor of Texas. I would further like you to imagine that as of today the Chinese have invaded both Louisiana and New Mexico and that Santa Fe and Baton Rouge are being routinely bombed as the Chinese occupation attempts to overcome the indigenous resistance. In response, the current governor of Texas is threatening that Texas will build a nuclear weapon to defend itself. Furthermore, the opinion widely circulated in the Chinese media is that there exists a Christian plot to takeover the world by conquering China and that Texans hate China for its economic successes. Also, the Chinese are funding to the tune of billions of dollars per year Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, who is a sworn enemy of Texas. Lastly, the Chinese are demanding that they be allowed to station troops in and around the Alamo, in San Antonio. If you can even begin to imagine such a horrific, if contrived, situation, you have a glimpse at what it is like to live as a Muslim in a region dominated by U.S. foreign adventurism and interventionism.
If the other Republican candidates cannot comprehend how the fact that we support dictators (e.g., Hussein, Musharraf), overthrow democratically elected officials (e.g., Mosaddeq), fund Israel, have invaded two countries, are threatening to invade more, and station troops near Islam’s equivalent to the Vatican, Mecca, contributes to terrorism, they do not have the intellectual depth to be the next president of the United States.
What Ron Paul did say is true: Non-interventionism will not prevent terrorism; it will just stop provoking it. The other half of not intervening is building up the defenses of America itself. If we focused solely on defending just the U.S., and not Germany, South Korea, Taiwan, England, and all the other one hundred thirty plus countries in which we have troops, we would be as defended as a single country could possibly be. Switzerland has proven this; and America’s position as a superpower would leave a non-interventionist neutral America as the best defended country in the history of the world.
Allan Juranek at 1:48AM on Sep 9th 2007
21. Here is the problem my fellow Americans,Ron Pauls arguement is hanging in midair.We were attacked on 9/11 so to sit and watch as civilians have been murdered by those Islamic Terrorists is hard to swallow by many patriotic Americans.Our only option then is to attack those Regime that encourage these kind of violent acts.What a humiliation if we didn't do a single thing to these people.
KaM at 9:41PM on Sep 10th 2007
22. Here is the problem my fellow Americans,Ron Pauls arguement is hanging in midair.We were attacked on 9/11 so to sit and watch as civilians have been murdered by those Islamic Terrorists is hard to swallow by many patriotic Americans.Our only option then is to attack those Regime that encourage these kind of violent acts.What a humiliation if we didn't do a single thing to these people.
KaM at 9:42PM on Sep 10th 2007
23. Putting it simply, Ron Paul is our last chance for true liberty and freedom. You have my vote sir.
Kyle Chapman at 8:34PM on Sep 11th 2007
24. Stormfront is a "resource for those courageous men and women fighting to preserve their White Western heritage, ideals and freedom of speech and association".
They've endorsed ron paul.
Care to comment??
Patricia at 6:35AM on Nov 19th 2007