Rand Paul voted yesterday in favor of Amendment No. 1549 to the National Defense Authorization Act. The amendment would allow the U.S. to provide direct assistance to the Kurdistan Regional Government in their fight against the Islamic State. Specifically, the amendment would provide temporary, emergency authority for the President to provide weapons and training directly to Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
The amendment failed to pass with a vote of 54-45.
Not exactly the U.S. staying out of foreign entanglements. How is it that some see Rand as libertarian?
-RW
Justin Raimando had a rather important insight last year into the Kurdish, Iraqi, ISIS, Israeli situation.
ReplyDeletehttp://original.antiwar.com/justin/2014/08/10/iraq-why-bomb-now/
"The fuse of Kurdish independence has been lit: it’s only a matter of time before the bomb goes off. And when it does, it will atomize the rest of the region, limning Iraq’s fate.
This suits the Kurds’ ally, Israel, just fine – because that was the plan all along. Atomize the Arab states, turn them into ineffectual statelets fighting each other, while Israel gobbles up the occupied territories and expels its Arab population. "Greater Israel" and "Greater Kurdistan" – these two projects are being accomplished in tandem, with the latter making the former much more likely."
This background info may possibly explain why Rand voted for the amendment, pandering to the Israeli lobby and interests. Even worse, this is Raimando's evaluation of the Kurds, "Militant Kurdish ultra-nationalism unleashed on the Middle East will prove a scourge for the entire region, one that could end in a war involving all the major players."
I wonder who is advising Rand Paul on foreign policy? They need fired. Hirer Raimando and McAdams.