As Iran begins its coordinated response to Donald Trump’s decision to kill one of its top generals, Republican Sen. Rand Paul went on live TV and called the commander-in-chief’s strategy in the region a complete failure that led directly to the crisis unfolding in the region.
During an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, Sen. Paul said, “This maximum pressure campaign where we give no off ramp and there’s no ability or attempt to engage, I think it’s been a failure.”
The Kentucky Republican pointed to Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal as the initial trigger that led to what looks to be the beginning of a another war in the Middle East.
Video:
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
After Iran targeted U.S. troops in Iraq with missiles, Republican Sen. Rand Paul calls Trump’s policy in the region a complete failure. #ctl #p2 pic.twitter.com/a6xMjlW003
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) January 8, 2020
Sen. Paul said:
I think this maximum pressure campaign where we give no off ramp and there’s no ability or attempt to engage, I think it’s been a failure. Secretary Pompeo has been saying we will force them into accepting our will, but we got out of the Iran agreement which broke the trust that we had developed with them. We then put an embargo on them and now we’ve killed one of their leading generals. So I think this is predictable. I hate it and I hate the fact that we’re involved with a military escalation now. There is no easy answer now. I think that they will not have a full on war with us so I think this goes on intermittently. This is the opening salvo, but I think it will go on for some time now. I think they will try to avoid a direct war because we can defeat any other nation and we would defeat them in the matter of weeks but it would be another catastrophe and another mess times ten of what happened during the Iraq war and I hope we don’t go that route. And I hope saner minds will pull back and say, enough’s enough. Let’s try to have some means of conversation or some means of engagement but it’s difficult right now because the Iranians are very, very upset with the killing of their general and I don’t see them being open to any type of engagement at this point.
None of this happens without a Trump presidency
For anybody who still believes that elections don’t matter, the unfolding crisis in the Middle East should disabuse them of that notion.
After all, the real pivot point in the Iran-U.S. relationship came after Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear agreement that was crafted by the Obama-Biden administration and imposed sanctions on the Iranians.
As Sen. Paul noted on Tuesday, the move by Trump to undo the Obama policy in the region broke the trust the U.S. built with Iran, and it set off a chain of events that has put America on the doorstep of another war.
Without a Donald Trump presidency, none of this would be happening.
Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
