Following President Donald Trump’s decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) praised the commander in chief, suggesting it was time communities on the ground fought their own battles.
“It should not be the job of America to be replacing regimes around the world,” Paul told CNN’s Jake Tapper on a “State of the Union” appearance Sunday. “This is what President Trump recognized in Iraq―that that was the biggest foreign policy disaster of the last several decades, and he’s right.”
The senator, known as a staunch advocate of non-interventionism, noted that while he was in favor of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, he also knows when it’s time to pack up and leave.
″What we’re doing in like seven different war theaters right now is unconstitutional and we shouldn’t be doing it, but I did support going in after 9/11, but I have not supported the nation building. I would have declared victory long ago and come home, and so when the president declares victory over ISIS, he’s exactly right.”
Last Wednesday, Trump announced on Twitter that he would yank American forces out of Syria, claiming to have achieved success in defeating terrorism in the region.
The point, Rand contended, was that citizens needed to defend their land on their own.
“Aren’t these people going to stand up and now fight for themselves?” he asked. “Can they not do anything?”
Rand then defended his comments by arguing that “the longer Americans stay, the more terrorism you’ll have.”
Noticing the senator’s interview, Trump tweeted out his thanks, quoting Paul’s remarks.