No it isn’t. The point is Ron Paul called us an occupying power. We were/are not. We are there by invitation of the Saudi Arabian government.
Just because OBL (0r Ron Paul for that matter) doesn’t like the fact of our presence does not make the invitation any less valid. But the fact of the invitation invalidates Paul’s viewpoint.
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RP read what OBL wrote and relayed it. You can’t see that?
The full portion of pertinent text (nothing out of context):
Stossel: "Some people say that if we don't attack the enemy there, they'll attack us here.
Ron Paul: I think the opposite is true. The radicals were able to use our bases in Saudi Arabia and the bombing of Iraq (from 1991 to 2001) as a reason to come over here. If China were to do the same thing to us, and they had troops in our land, We would resent it. We'd probably do some shooting.
Is this case not different? Religious fanatics hate us and want to kill us because of our culture.
I don't think that's true. It is not Muslim fanaticism that is the culprit. The litmus test is whether we are actually occupying a territory. In the case of Saudi Arabia, that was holy land.
Uh, excuse me. These are Paul's own thoughts and beliefs he's expressing; not his relaying OBL's judgments. What? You can't see that?