Rand Paul blames 'hawks in our party' for Islamic State's rise

Rand Paul says the Islamic State exists and increased in strength because of the hawkish wing of the Republican Party that provided weapons to the region “indiscriminately.”

The Kentucky senator and Republican presidential candidate blasted members of his own party like South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham for arguing that the terrorist group exists because of people like him.

“I would say it’s exactly the opposite. ISIS exists and grew stronger because of the hawks in our party who gave arms indiscriminately, and most of those arms were snatched up by ISIS. These hawks also wanted to bomb Assad, which would have made ISIS’ job even easier. They’ve created these people,” Paul said in an interview with MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough that aired Wednesday on “Morning Joe.”

Paul said the group is “all over Libya” because the “same hawks in my party loved — they loved Hillary Clinton’s war” in the country.

“They just wanted more of it, but Libya’s a failed state and it’s a disaster. Iraq really is a failed state or a vassal state now, of Iran,” he said. “So everything that they’ve talked about in foreign policy, they’ve been wrong about for 20 years, and yet they have somehow the gall to keep saying and pointing fingers otherwise.”