He accuses Obama of offering terror suspects fewer protections than Nazi war criminals. Paul slams Obama on drone strikes

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — Ron Paul accused President Barack Obama on Thursday of offering suspected terrorists fewer legal protections than Nazi war criminals were given.

The Republican presidential candidate laced into Obama for authorizing the CIA-led drone strike that killed Anwar al-Awlaki, an Al Qaeda leader, in Yemen this September. He reiterated his previously stated position that al-Awlaki’s American citizenship entitled him to due process.


“As bad as they were, you know even Adolf Eichmann finally when he was captured he was taken to Israel. Israel gave him a trial. What did we do with the Nazis — war criminals — after World War II? They got trials. Yeah, and they got what was deserving: they got hung,” Paul told more than 700 voters during a campaign speech at a convention center in western Iowa.

“This year has not been good for the cause of personal liberty because about a year ago the president announced there are so many bad people around that he has to really go after them to protect us.

“There are some dangerous people out there. There’s a lot of ‘em. Most of them get a trial, but he changed the rules. He says now it is proper for the president to decide to assassinate an American citizen without a trial, without charges, because he thinks they’re that dangerous,” he said.

Many in the crowd booed Obama as Paul raised the issue with no prompting. It’s a signal that he’s unapologetic about his views and unwilling to blur his pacifist foreign policy vision with political expediency. Tellingly, the crowd of loyalists roared with approval.

That more than 700 people showed up on a rainy night offered a powerful reminder five days before the caucuses that no Republican candidate has as devoted a following as the 76-year-old Texas congressman.

Promising to “bring our troops home” got the rowdiest applause from an audience with a lot of college-aged faces — the standard at Paul events — but also many middle-aged voters. His 52-minute stemwinder touched almost every sensitive issue of the libertarian-minded coalition of Republicans, independents and disaffected Democrats that the campaign is counting on.

Paul took no questions from the audience or reporters, and he again avoided directly engaging with the opponents who have intensified their attacks on him. In broad contours, he attacked his opponents for advocating militarism.

“Some just can’t wait ‘til the shooting starts over Iran,” Paul said.

He also warned about the military-industrial complex.

“Nobody will ever dare attack us,” Paul said. “They’re not about to invade this country any time soon.”

He got big cheers for criticizing the war on drugs and arguing that addicts should be treated more like alcoholics than criminals, and also struck a heavily populist tone. At one point, he went after the big banks and others who make their wealth “off us.”

“The middle class is shrinking. The debt is accumulating,” he said. “And still the wealth is being accumulated into smaller and smaller hands.”