Rand Paul, Barbara Lee, Tim Kaine: 'Unconstitutional'; Schumer ... CNSNews.com "While we all condemn the atrocities in Syria, the United States was not attacked," Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Thursday night in a statement on his website and ... |
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Rand Paul, Barbara Lee, Tim Kaine: 'Unconstitutional'; Schumer ... - CNSNews.com
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said on Friday that the Senate Intelligence Committee needs to review the evidence linking Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to a chemical-weapons attack that prompted Thursday nights missile strike by the U.S.
On the surface, Paul said, it makes no sense for Assad to use chemical weapons. He was winning the six-year-old civil war, had the support of Russian troops on the ground, and, just days earlier, received a public statement from U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that regime change was not Americas goal.
Hes either the dumbest dictator in the world, or it may be more confusing that this.
Hes either the dumbest dictator in the world, or it may be more confusing, Paul said on The Laura Ingraham Show.
Paul, a longtime critic of U.S. military intervention in Middle East conflicts, made clear he is not peddling a conspiracy theory.
I would like to see the evidence In all this rush, why dont we at least look at the intelligence instead of getting somebodys conclusion on TV second-hand from the president, he said. I dont dispute the evidence, he said. I just havent seen it.
Paul said President Donald Trump was right during the presidential campaign to condemn the war in Iraq and urge caution in Syria. He said the president must keep those principles in mind even in the face of horrifying images of children being killed.
The instincts of President Trump are good ones But hes been greatly influenced by the emotions, Paulsaid.
Paul urged Trump not to get swept up in war fever. He noted the tone of coverage on all the cable news stations, from liberal to conservative.
"There is a huge drumbeat," he said. "Everybody's excited."
Ingraham lamented a "domino of disaster" resulting from U.S. engagement in military conflicts from North Africa to Afghanistan. Paul agreed.
"All the people who wanted to take out Hussein are now clamoring to take out Iran as well," he said. "So where does it end? When will we finally be done taking out regimes in the Middle East?"
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Rand Paul Wants to See Evidence of Syrian Chemical Strike | LifeZette - LifeZette
If Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the United States Constitution means anything, it means that the president must obtain congressional approval before takingus to war against a sovereign nation that has not attacked the U.S. or its allies and is not threatening to attack the U.S. or its allies. Senator Rand Paul said as muchin an interview today, and I agree with him. As Senator Paul said, The first thing we ought to do is probably obey the Constitution.
Yes, the commander-in-chief has broad, inherent authority to orderthe military to defend the national security and vital national interests of the United States, but every provision of the Constitution has meaning, and the Constitution gives to Congress the power to declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water. While I acknowledge there are difficult questions on the margins about the extent of presidential authority and when congressional authorization is necessary, I dont believe this is a marginal case.
Assad has been engaged in one long war crime since the onset of the Syrian Civil War, and his gas attacks are hardly his deadliest. There has been a casus bellifor war against Syria on a continuous basis since the onset of Assadsgenocide, but the existence of a legal and moral justification for war does not always render war wise or just. Nor does it remove the need for congressional approval. There is no reason to forego congressional debate now, just as there was no reason to forego congressional debate when Obama considered taking the nation to war against Syria in 2013.
Congressional approval is not only constitutional, it serves the public purpose of requiring a president to clearly outline the justifications for war and his goals for the conflict. It also helps secure public support for war, and in this instance it strikes me as reckless that we would not only go to war against a sovereign nation, wed also court a possible military encounter with a great power like Russiawithout congressional approval. The nation needs to be ready for (and consider) all the grim possibilities and consequences. If Trump wants to go to war, he should take his case to Congress.
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Rand Paul Is Right; Don't Launch War in Syria Without Congressional Approval - National Review
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"The first thing we ought to do is probably obey the Constitution," Paul said on "Kilmeade and Friends." "When Nikki Haley came before my committee and I voted for her, I asked her that question. 'Will you try to take us to war? Will you advocate for war without constitutional or congressional authority?' And she said no. So I assumed what she means by this is that, the President, if he decides to do something in Syria, he would come to Congress and ask for a declaration of war. Short of Congress voting on it, I'm opposed to illegal and unconstitutional wars."
Paul said he had sympathy for the images coming out of Syria, but any action would need to be carefully weighed.
"I have the greatest amount of sympathy, I can't see those pictures, it's heartrending to see those pictures," he said. "But going to war we have to decide, will it be better or worse? Will we improve our national security? Are we threatened currently by Syria, and if we go to war is (Syrian President Bashar al-)Assad likely to use less chemical weapons or more? There's some argument for the more cornered and the more defeated in some ways more likely they are to use chemical weapons and actually for the less defeated they are that they're less likely to use them. The bottom line is it's horrific."
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Rand Paul: Military action in Syria needs Congressional approval - CNN
Rare.us | Rand Paul reminds President Trump that he opposed Syria intervention back in 2013 Rare.us On Wednesday, Rand Paul sent a message to Donald Trump via Twitter that the president once strongly opposed Barack Obama militarily intervening in Syria's ongoing civil war. In August of 2013, the international community believed Syria's President ... Rand Paul tells Trump to stick to his 2013 guns on Syria Democrats: Trump 'really needs to come to Congress' to approve strikes on Assad Paul, Lee: Congress needs to vote on Trump's military action in Syria |
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Rand Paul reminds President Trump that he opposed Syria intervention back in 2013 - Rare.us