Rand Paul blames Republicans for the rise of ISIS
The presidential candidate made that argument Wednesday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" when he was asked how he responds to foreign policy hawks that blame non-interventionists like himself for the Islamic State's (also known as ISIS) growth.
"I would say it's exactly the opposite," Paul said. "ISIS exists and grew stronger because of the hawks in our party who gave arms indiscriminately, and most of those arms were snatched up by ISIS. They created these people."
The Islamic State took advantage of instability in Iraq and Syria to seize vast swaths of territory last year. Both countries, along with a US-led multi-national military campaign, are struggling to contain the jihadist militants. The group has been able to seize large quantities of American-made weapons from fleeing members of the Iraqi army, which received significant US assistance following the 2003 invasion of Iraq under former President George W. Bush.
Some likely 2016 contenders argue it was not the invasion of Iraq that set the stage for the rise of the Islamic State, but rather the US' total withdrawal of troops from the country under Obama. Bush's brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), is among those who blame Obama for the chaos in Iraq.
"We can rewrite history all you want, but the simple fact is that we're in a much more unstable place because America pulled back," Jeb Bush argued earlier this month.
But Paul said on "Morning Joe" that if the suggestions of foreign policy hawks had been followed, the Islamic State would be even stronger. He cited the desire of some to conduct airstrikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad following the Ghouta chemical weapons attack in 2013, along with their support for US airstrikes in Libya in 2011, which contributed to the overthrow of long-serving dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Libya is now split between two rival governments and is home to both Islamic State- and Al Qaeda-affiliated militant groups.
"These hawks also wanted to bomb Assad, which would have made ISIS' job even easier," Paul said. "ISIS is all over Libya because these same hawks in my party loved - they loved - Hillary Clinton's war in Libya. They just wanted more of it. But Libya's a failed state and it's a disaster. Iraq really is a failed state or a vassal state now of Iran."
He added, "So everything that they have talked about in foreign policy they've been wrong about for 20 years. And yet they have somehow the gall to [be] ... pointing fingers."
Watch Paul's MSNBC interview below: