Ron Paul: Troops should come home now that bin Laden is dead By Jordan Fabian - 05/03/11 05:37 PM ET
Rep. Ron Paul (Texas), a possible Republican candidate for president, said Tuesday that the U.S. should bring its troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan now that Osama bin Laden has been killed.
Paul, a long-time skeptic of American interventionism, said that "like all other Americans, I'm glad he's gone," but raised multiple questions about the costs associated with the 10-year manhunt for the al Qaeda leader behind the 9/11 attacks.
"If we got him, I guess it's time to come home as far as I'm concerned," he said during an interview with Fox Business network.
Unlike other GOP presidential hopefuls, Paul waited until Tuesday to offer his official response to bin Laden's slaying, which took place on Sunday.
The content of Paul's response also differed from the potential candidates. He did not credit President Obama or former President George W. Bush for the military's ability to carry out the attack.
"There's a little bit of luck in all of this," Paul said.
The congressman also expressed doubts that the killing would make the U.S. safer, saying that it "might stir up more hatred — not that we should have changed our mind about it."
He suggested that some might raise conspiracy theories about bin Laden's death due to the lack of photo or video evidence released.
Paul also expressed concerns about the casualties incurred by America in Iraq and Afghanistan, which number above 6,000, and the $1 trillion-plus spent on the wars, all while bin Laden remained in hiding.
"Why did it take 10 years to get one guy?" he said.
But like other lawmakers and politicians, Paul questioned the U.S.'s foreign aid to Pakistan, where bin Laden was hiding in a town close to the country's capital of Islamabad. The congressman, long an opponent of most foreign aid, said that he would vote to cut off assistance to Pakistan.
Amid a debate over how bin Laden's slaying will affect Obama's chances of reelection, Paul said that it likely won't have an effect on the 2012 campaign
"The American people shift their views rather quickly," he said, citing the fact that former President George H.W. Bush's failure to win reelection in 1992 followed the Persian Gulf War.
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
Sounds like a very one sided affair. If the Republicans ever managed a "progressive" candidate, a "moderate" candidate, or a "centrist" candidate... how do you think he'd do in a debate moderated by Far Right Fixed News.
None of the candidates in the debate have polled over 6% or 8%... so the 'debate' looks more like a discussion among the "also rans", not a debate among the likely nominees. Where are the 'real' candidates???
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
Sounds like a very one sided affair. If the Republicans ever managed a "progressive" candidate, a "moderate" candidate, or a "centrist" candidate... how do you think he'd do in a debate moderated by Far Right Fixed News.
None of the candidates in the debate have polled over 6% or 8%... so the 'debate' looks more like a discussion among the "also rans", not a debate among the likely nominees. Where are the 'real' candidates???
Well, we had that in the last Presidential election. Look at John McCain.
Ready for the Big Debate Tonight??? It's going to be a Fanatic Fringe only debate sponsored by the local Tea Party and of course... their side kicks the Oath Keepers militia group and of course... The John Birch Society!!! (Don't leave home with out em!)
(For those who told me that the Tea Party started out as a grass roots group of concerned citizens... I sorta believe it... but it's now run by the Extremist of the Extreme Fringe Fanatics.)
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
You do know the Oath Keepers are veterans and active duty soldiers right, why would you have a problem with those who took an oath to defend our constitution for just making it clear they will do just that. They're a non-violent group and are far from extremists, well extremist to the left is any constitutionalist so maybe that doesn't say much.
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
The Oath Keepers' motto is "Not On Our Watch!", and their stated objective is to encourage the non-violent disobeying of any order given by a member of the U.S. Government that oversteps Constitutional boundaries. THEY DECIDE WHAT ORDERS ARE CONSTITUTIONAL AND WHAT ORDERS ARE NOT.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
"The whole point of Oath Keepers is to stop a dictatorship from ever happening here," Rhodes, a former Army paratrooper and Yale-trained lawyer, said in an interview with the Review-Journal. "My focus is on the guys with the guns, because they can't do it without them.
~~~ "We say if the American people decide it's time for a revolution, we'll fight with you." ~~~
That type of rhetoric has caught the attention of groups that track extremist activity in the United States.
In a July report titled "Return of the Militias," the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center singled out Oath Keepers as "a particularly worrisome example of the Patriot revival."
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
The Oath Keepers' motto is "Not On Our Watch!", and their stated objective is to encourage the non-violent disobeying of any order given by a member of the U.S. Government that oversteps Constitutional boundaries. THEY DECIDE WHAT ORDERS ARE CONSTITUTIONAL AND WHAT ORDERS ARE NOT.
I know you being a big government liberal you might not agree with all of these but most Americans see no problem with it.
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
This group of armed trained militia is publicly saying... ~~~ "We say if the American people decide it's time for a revolution, we'll fight with you." ~~~ and you see no problem with a group that pledges to add a military compliment to any revolution AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA???
Sort of a ready made Confederate Army waiting for a political group who promise to FORCEFULLY OVERTHROW THE ELECTED GOVERNMENT OF OUR COUNTRY.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
That could only happen if the government tries to take away the people rights and ignore the Constitution, at that point it is no longer a government but a dictatorship.
The Oath Keepers' motto is "Not On Our Watch!", and their stated objective is to encourage the non-violent disobeying of any order given by a member of the U.S. Government that oversteps Constitutional boundaries. THEY DECIDE WHAT ORDERS ARE CONSTITUTIONAL AND WHAT ORDERS ARE NOT.
Boxy this is nothing new. This was going on during the carter administration too. There were hundreds of thousands of people who 'refused' to pay income taxes. The only fall out was.......they could not own a home or ever be eligable for any government programs.....welfare, unemployment...etc!
They worked, got to keep all of their paycheck and rented. But there were not entitle to any government help/support.
So nothing new here. People have did it and done it successfully!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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