Ron Paul: Republicans need Reagan's courage

Nick Juliano

Published: Tuesday May 15, 2007 Print This Email This

Long-shot Republican candidate Ron Paul said the current slate of candidates need the "courage" of former President Ronald Reagan to be able to withdraw US troops from Iraq.

The Texas Congressman, who has become an internet favorite but does not register much support in polls, said the Middle East is too unstable a region in which to maintain an indefinite US military presence. Paul compared the current "quagmire" in Iraq to military involvement in Lebanon in the early 1980s.

"We need the courage of a Ronald Reagan," Paul said, explaining the former president initially vowed not to withdraw US Marines who were attacked in October 1983 in Beirut while serving as part of a multinational peacekeeping force. Reagan withdrew the troops in February of the following year.

Paul outlined his initial oppositions to the war in Iraq and his warnings that the war would become a quagmire like Vietnam. He said the war has shrunk the Republican base and touted his plan to end the war.



