Rand Paul: Republicans Are Acting Like 'Grade-School Children' on Iran

Most Republicans have taken the line that President Trump was right to order the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani because he was "an evil bastard," but that's the way "grade-school children" think, and in foreign policy, you have to be a little more sophisticated and farsighted, Rand Paul (R-told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Monday.

The Trump administration's "stated purpose" for killing Soleimani, head of Iran's elite Quds Force, "was that they were going to prevent attacks on Americans," Rand said. "But I think if you ask the question now, is it more or less likely that there will be attacks on Americans, I think it's much more likely, the replacement for Soleimani is basically a clone," and "so while Soleimani may have been plotting attacks — and probably was — it's now a certainty that there will be attacks in revenge for his killing."

"The administration, mostly at John Bolton's behest, tore up the Iran agreement, placed a significant, severe embargo on Iran, and then killed one of their major generals — nobody in their right mind would actually think that that would lead to negotiations," Rand said. "So when Secretary of State [Mike] Pompeo's out there saying, 'Well, maximum pressure, our goal is to get them back to the negotiating table,' no naive child would believe that, you would have to be brain-dead to believe that. ... Nothing justifies their military action, but it is predictable given what path we've chosen."

Below is the full interview. Rand is excellent here:


 -RW