Rand Paul Dings Cheney And Defends Obama On Iraq

Senator Rand Paul answer questions during a meet and greet event Friday, May 30, 2014, at the Garrard County Cooperative Extension Office in Lancaster, KY. (AP Photo/The Advocate-Messenger, Clay Jackson)
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Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Friday said that President Obama is not to blame for the current situation in Iraq, and instead pointed to Iraq War architects like former Vice President Dick Cheney.

“They didn’t really, I think, understand the civil war that would break out,” Paul said of Iraq War supporters in an interview with NBC News. “And what’s going on now — I don’t blame on President Obama. Has he really got the solution? Maybe there is no solution. But I do blame the Iraq War on the chaos that is in the Middle East.”

“I also blame those who are for the Iraq War for emboldening Iran. These are the same people now who are petrified of what Iran may become, and I understand some of their worry,” Paul continued.

When NBC’s David Gregory asked Paul about Cheney’s op-ed in the Wall Street Journal with daughter Liz Cheney.

“I think the same questions could be asked of those who supported the Iraq War,” he said about the op-ed. “You know, were they right in their predictions? Were there weapons of mass destruction there? That’s what the war was sold on. Was democracy easily achievable? Was the war won in 2005, when many of these people said it was won?”

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