Ron Paul - Syria

Summary

Congressman Paul opposes military intervention into Syria to remove the president. He opposes overt statements and actions intended to pressure President Assad into stepping down and he opposes covert actions to remove him or aid in that goal. Congressman Paul states that the goal of the US military is to defend the US, not the middle east.

Reaction to Presidential Statement

In May of 2011, Congressman Paul denounced remarks made by President Obama urging the Syrian President to step down. In a press statement, he asserted that the US must not intervene into the affairs of other nations. and that the US did not have the funding to fight another war in Syria.

The President gave a speech today about our foreign policy in the Middle East, and once again this administration has proven that it does not understand a proper foreign policy for America. When will our leaders finally do what’s right for America and rethink this irrational approach we’ve followed for far too long?

Israel is our close friend. While President Obama’s demand that Israel make hard concessions in her border conflicts may very well be in her long-term interest, only Israel can make that determination on her own, without pressure from the United States or coercion by the United Nations.

Unlike this President, I do not believe it is our place to dictate how Israel runs her affairs. There can only be peace in the region if those sides work out their differences among one another. We should respect Israel’s sovereignty and not try to dictate her policy from Washington.

The President also defended his unconstitutional intervention in Libya, authorized not by the United States Congress but by the United Nations, and announced new plans to pressure Syria and force the leader of that country to step down.

Our military is already dangerously extended, and this administration wants to expand our involvement. When will our bombing in Libya end? Is President Obama seriously considering military action against Syria? We are facing $2 trillion dollar deficits, and the American taxpayer cannot afford any of it.

Our military’s purpose is to defend our country, not to police the Middle East.

As the President prepares to send even more support to Egypt, we should be reminded that it was our foreign aid that helped Mubarak retain power to repress his people in the first place. Now we have to deal with the consequences of those decisions, yet we keep repeating the same mistakes.

I am not the only one who can see the absurdities of our foreign policy. We give $3 billion to Israel and $12 billion to her enemies. Most Americans know that makes no sense.

We need to come to our senses, trade with our friends in the Middle East (both Arab and Israeli), clean up our own economic mess so we set a good example, and allow them to work out their own conflicts.

CBS Foreign Policy Debate

In November of 2011, Congressman Paul participated in the CBS foreign policy debate. He was asked about Syria and what actions he would take there. He discusses his opposition to US involvement in Syria.

Major Garrett: Congressman Paul, covert operations in Syria?
Ron Paul: I think--

Major Garrett: A green light for you?

Ron Paul: I think it would-- be a mistake. I think the Syrians oughta deal with their country. I think we should have dealt--

Major Garrett: But what about the-- what about the 3,500 dead?

Ron Paul: Well, there-- there's been a lot of people killed throughout the world in the last century. You know, the Soviets and the Chinese killed hundreds of millions. But we didn't feel compelled morally to try to stop it. No. It's a tragedy. And it would be nice if they would accept different views.

But for us to get in the middle of that and prop up the different dictatorships, this is why we get into this trouble. It's overthrowin' dictatorships that we have supported that causes so much of this problem. So to get further involved, you-- want to have self determination. We don't need to lose anymore troops. You get in there with covert operations. And you have troops involved. And--

Major Garrett: Thank you, Congressman.

Ron Paul: It's-- very costly.

Scott Pelley: Thank you, Congressman.

Ron Paul: It's not a good idea.

Sponsored and Cosponsored Legislation

This representative has not been identified as sponsoring or cosponsoring significant legislation related to this title.

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