Sen. Rand Paul warns bombing Iran 'not the answer' to protests against regime
Paul said that intervention in the protests could have unintended consequences.
Republican Sen. Rand Paul warned Sunday of unintended consequences of a U.S. military intervention in Iran after President Donald Trump threatened this week to bomb the country if it killed protesters demonstrating against its regime.
"The only problem I have with saying, 'Oh, we're going to bomb Iran,' is that sometimes it has the opposite effect," Paul told ABC News' "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz.
"So, when you bomb a country, then people tend to rally around their own flag. They tend to see this is the -- you know, a foreign country coming in and bombing us. And so, I don't think it always has that effect," Paul said.
"I wish, you know, the same as the president, I want success. I hope that the freedom movement survives," Paul added.
"Do we owe it to those protesters, do you believe, to help them?" Raddatz asked.
"I don't think it's the job of the American government to be involved with every freedom movement around the world," Paul responded, arguing that bombing Iran risks rallying Iranian citizens to the government's side.
"I think the protests are directed at the Ayatollah, justifiably so, and the best way is to encourage them and say that, of course, we would recognize a government that is a freedom-loving government that allows free elections, but bombing is not the answer," he said.
"Plus," Paul added, "there is the sticking point of the Constitution that we don't let presidents bomb countries just when they feel like it. They're supposed to ask the people through the Congress for permission."
Here are more highlights from Paul's interview:
I think you'd be hard-pressed to find someone in Greenland for it, but you'd also be hard-pressed to find somebody in Washington who's for a military invasion on either side of the aisle. So, I think there'll be enough pressure to stop it. But the problem is, is they keep rattling the saber. They keep saying we're going to do this. We keep this in our armamentarium that we will, you know, reserve the right to invade Greenland.
And that gets back to the War Powers Act. That's why this debate so important because it's not just about Venezuela. It's about Venezuela. It's about Greenland. It's about Colombia. It's about Cuba. It's about whether or not the people get a say in whether we go to war.
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