Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul is known for his unique foreign policy views, and Tuesday he advised against the U.S. becoming involved with the “civil war in Syria.”
Anti-government protesters in Syria have long been calling for political reforms under Syrian President Bashir al-Assad. In January of 2011, protesters increased their presence throughout Syria, since then the violence has continued to escalate.
This past weekend saw one of the most violent weekends in the past year in the Syrian city of Homs, where an estimated 200 people were killed by Mr. al-Assad’s troops.
On Saturday, President Barack Obama called for an end to the “Assad regime,” and the U.S. suspended its embassy operations in the Syrian city of Damascus this weekend as well.
Mr. Paul has run on a platform throughout the Republican primary race that has called for a drastic reduction to the U.S. military presence overseas.
He has been called a “dangerous candidate” by his rival Republican presidential candidates for such views.
On Wednesday, the Texas congressman appeared on CNN and stated what he would do if he were Mr. Obama, faced with the decision of possibly getting involved with helping the citizens of Syria.
“That problem has been going on for many many years if not centuries,” said Mr. Paul referring to the violence in Syria. “Its a tragedy, that happens in Africa all the time, but I’m not representing those countries, as a congressman and as a president I represent the United States, and I don’t think its a wise thing to get involved in the civil war that’s going on in Syria.”
Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for more action against Mr. al-Assad’s regime.
Over the weekend China and Russia vetoed a U.N. Security Council Resolution to endorse the Arab League plan to have Mr. al-Assad give power to a deputy in his regime, with an eventual transition towards a democratic government.
On Wednesday White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters that over the next several days, the Obama administration will meet with its international partners to consider a plan to provide aid to civilians in Syria who are under attack by Mr. al-Assad’s troops.
Mr. Paul though, disagrees with both Mr. Carney and Ms. Clinton on any U.S. involvement in Syria.
“We’re already very much involved, trying to get the U.N. to do this and that, and the Russians now don’t like it. The Chinese don’t like it,” said Mr. Paul. “What should be a domestic civil war, is now turning into an international crisis and the Russians and the Chinese are reacting to us by pushing this. I think its none of our business.”
The Texas Republican added that if he were president he would simply “go to Congress” and ask if they believe it deserves a war, with involvement from the U.S.
Mr. Paul’s comments were consistent with the foreign policy views he has presented throughout the 2012 Republican primary race. He believes that involvement from the U.S. in Syria would not only be dangerous but also costly.
Although critics call his view “dangerous,” he defends his foreign policy views by pointing out that he receives more campaign donations from active military members than any of his rivals combined, including Mr. Obama.
