Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said today that, far from a “hypothetical question,” whether a would-be U.S. president will invade is “a recurring question in the Middle East” and “an important” one.
Asked repeatedly on multiple occasions over the past week whether he would have invaded Iraq, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush replied to Sean Hannity that the question was a “hypothetical” and he “didn’t know,” after having replied “yes” the day before. A few days later Bush said he would not have invaded given what we know now.
Paul said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” today that he doesn’t think the Iraq question is “a historical anecdote” and that to be fair, “the same question ought to be asked of Hillary Clinton, if she ever answers a question.”
“Was it a good idea to invade Libya, did that make us less safe, did it make it more chaotic, did it allow radical Islam and [the Islamic State] to grow stronger?” asked Paul.
“I think when [Saddam] Hussein was toppled we got chaos — we still have chaos in Iraq,” said Paul.
The invasion of Iraq “emboldened Iran,” said Paul. “We now have the rise of radical Islam in Iraq as well.”
