Paul suggests that blame for the unrest in the Middle East can be placed elsewhere. Paul: Ask Cheney about Iraq War

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) wants to turn the tables on those who are questioning President Barack Obama’s handling of the draw down of troops in Iraq.

In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that will air Sunday, when host David Gregory asked Paul if he found former Vice President Dick Cheney to be a credible critic of the president, Paul responded “I think the same questions could be asked of those who supported the Iraq War. You know, were they right in their predictions? Were there weapons of mass destruction there? Was the war won in 2005, when many of those people said it was won?”


Paul’s response comes after Cheney and his daughter Liz published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal criticizing the president for the ongoing conflict in Iraq where militants have begun to take over some of the country’s largest cities.

( Also on POLITICO: Paul makes case for foreign restraint)

“Rarely has a U.S. president been so wrong about so much at the expense of so many,” the article said. “Too many times to count, Mr. Obama has told us he is ‘ending’ the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — as though wishing [makes] it so.”

Instead of placing blame on the president, Paul suggested that blame for the unrest in the Middle East can be placed elsewhere.

“I don’t blame President Obama,” Paul said. “Has he really got the solution? Maybe there is no solution. But I do 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”