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Rand Paul: My colleagues just voted to arm the allies of al Qaeda
Foreign Policy ^ | Tuesday, May 21, 2013 | John Hudson

Posted on 05/21/2013 5:01:53 PM PDT by ConservativeInPA

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) blasted members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday, which voted overwhelmingly to arm elements of the Syrian opposition in a bill co-sponsored by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN). "This is an important moment," Paul said, addressing his Senate colleagues. "You will be funding, today, the allies of al Qaeda. It's an irony you cannot overcome."

The legislation, which would authorize the shipment of arms and military training to rebels "that have gone through a thorough vetting process," passed in a bipartisan 15-3 vote. Paul offered an amendment that would strike the bill's weapons provision, but it was rejected along with another Paul amendment ruling out the authorization of the use of military force in Syria. (Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy was the only senator to join Paul in support of the weapons amendment.)

(Excerpt) Read more at thecable.foreignpolicy.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; Israel; News/Current Events; Russia; US: Connecticut; US: Kentucky; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: alqaeda; alqaedaopposition; alqaedarebels; apaulling; assad; chrismurphy; connecticut; demagogue; israel; kentucky; paulistinian; randsconcerntrolls; russia; syria; waronterror
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To: SunkenCiv; BillyBoy

So you’re cool with sending arms to al Qaeda. Me not so much.


41 posted on 05/21/2013 8:27:39 PM PDT by jpsb (Believe nothing until it has been offically denied)
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To: SunkenCiv

Who is the alternative?


42 posted on 05/21/2013 8:30:22 PM PDT by dfwgator
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To: dfwgator

I posted this a while back on another thread; fits here too:

Syria is a no-win, and therefore possibly a win-win civil war for all parties concerned, except of course, for the innocent people being killed as collateral damage. No matter which side comes out on top in this war, it will be bad news. Either Assad the Dictator maintains his dynasty and iron grip control over his populations, or, in the alternative, the opposition will take over, and the Muslim Brotherhood (plus Al-Qaeda elements) will rule the new Dictatorship, establish Sharia law, as in all of the other Arab Spring turnover countries, and will become an eventual terrorist state and enemy of western countries. Some choice, eh?

However, if we do nothing, which is the preferable choice, nothing happens but more continuous fighting. Therefore keeping the Middle East in turmoil, with continuous fighting right in a neighboring state of Russia (which is fine by me) while two sets of bad actors, Assad and his regime on one side, and the Muslim Brotherhood/Al Qaeda, on the other, busy killing each other off. I feel extremely sorry for the more secularist parts of the Syrian population being adversely affected to the max, but as we already know from other Arab Spring country uprisings, these people never gain control, the Muslim Brotherhood extremists will (example Egypt).

Bottom line, let the Syrians keep on fighting till they wear themselves out, keep the U.S. out of this internecine warfare, and let Russia or others figure this out. John McCain and his constant war mongering notwithstanding, we have no dog in this fight to speak of, except to not get involved in yet another messy Mid East fiasco as we have done so many times before. The only country in the Middle East we have a moral obligation to defend and come to the aid of is Israel, the only true democracy in the whole area of the Mid East, our ally, our ears and eyes to what is going on over there in that forever turbulent region, and our only true friend in the neighborhood. OTHERWISE STAY OUT!


43 posted on 05/21/2013 9:28:55 PM PDT by flaglady47 (When the gov't fears the people, liberty; When the people fear the gov't, tyranny.)
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To: gaijin

Ah, but did these fine, upstanding Islamonazis pass their background checks ?

Oh wait....They don’t need background checks, but We the People do....

Ain’t that a cowinkydink ?


44 posted on 05/21/2013 9:36:55 PM PDT by Absolutely Nobama (The Doomsday Clock is at 11:59:00......tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.....)
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To: jpsb
>> So you’re cool with sending arms to al Qaeda. Me not so much. <<

Funny, I never said that, but believe what you want if it makes you feel better. Personally I think Rand's daddy is far "cooler" with al Qaeda's activities than I've ever been.

45 posted on 05/21/2013 11:23:06 PM PDT by BillyBoy ( Impeach Obama? Yes We Can!)
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To: TADSLOS

“The Senate Foreign Relations Committee just gave Obama and Hillary a get out of jail free pass for doing the same thing illegally via Benghazi”

BINGO


46 posted on 05/22/2013 3:17:39 AM PDT by Dr. Bogus Pachysandra ( Ya can't pick up a turd by the clean end!)
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To: Nervous Tick
The Obama administration [Muslim] will be *vetting* the recipients [Muslims]?

Ever hear of Taqiyya.

Muslims lying to Muslims. Perfect! May they all kill each other.

47 posted on 05/22/2013 6:11:20 AM PDT by upchuck (To the faceless, jack-booted government bureaucrat who just scanned this post: SCREW YOU!)
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To: ConservativeInPA

Awesome!

And that God that you’re spending time with your daughter! Too many parents could give a rip.


48 posted on 05/22/2013 6:18:32 AM PDT by xzins (Retired Army Chaplain and Proud of It! True supporters of our troops pray for their victory!)
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To: ConservativeInPA
You will be funding, today, the allies of al Qaeda.

Help me out here. I want to make sure I understand this.

Arming "the allies of al Qaeda" was a job originally assigned to Ambassador Stevens. Apparently he screwed up and was taken down like Vince Foster.

So now the job is being done by the US Senate.

Is that about right??

What guarantee do we have that the Senate will be more competent than Stevens?

49 posted on 05/22/2013 6:28:53 AM PDT by upchuck (To the faceless, jack-booted government bureaucrat who just scanned this post: SCREW YOU!)
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To: upchuck

I don’t think Ambassador Stevens was killed by the White House for screwing up. He died because he was playing with fire and got burned. It’s called blowback.

I saw this in Kosovo when the USA armed Islamic rebels and then when these Islamic rebels went on a pogrom on the remaining Christians and non Albanian populations in Kosovo the US officials on the ground pretended that it was not happening - literally the Muslim could be killing the Christian in front of the American military base and the Clinton State Dept spokesman would say “nope, you are mistaken or that the Christian in question had it coming” because of Milosevic.

In fact, some of the 9/11 hijackers were former Bosnian Muslim jihadists and this fact was kept hidden by the State Dept (and news outlets helped) so the narrative of the USA helping Bosnian Muslims as the good guys would not be sullied and the policy would not be questioned by the American sheeple.

I feel, Stevens died, because of blowback. Libya’s Islamist won and they looked at this fool of an American who was like a liberal idiot thinking he had gone native and had “street cred” because he ate Arab food or some such and they asked themselves “why do we need that fool anymore? Let’s kill him!” And that’s what they did and the State Dept, staffed by people who during the Clinton era supported the same sort of thing in Kosovo were caught flat footed by their own stupidity and tried to cover up the fact they helped Islamist and these Islamists now turned on them and their war on al-Qaeda was not really gaining results now that we helped them overthrow secular regimes (Libya was run by a nut but he was mostly a secular nut who wanted to hand off his country to his western/British educated secular sons).


50 posted on 05/22/2013 7:13:46 AM PDT by IXNK (Isus Xristos Nikas!)
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To: ConservativeInPA

What I don’t understand is how a committee can unilaterally make this decision without a vote through Congress? Is this democracy?


51 posted on 05/22/2013 11:44:28 AM PDT by Sam Gamgee (May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't. - Patton)
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To: politicianslie
It’s funny that when moderate elements in Iran needed help, Obama was silent.
52 posted on 05/22/2013 11:46:33 AM PDT by Sam Gamgee (May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't. - Patton)
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To: IXNK

Interesting perspective. Thanks.


53 posted on 05/22/2013 4:13:06 PM PDT by upchuck (To the faceless, jack-booted government bureaucrat who just scanned this post: SCREW YOU!)
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