Paul's rivals see his national security views as his biggest liability. Paul to lay out foreign policy vision

Rand Paul, whose foreign policy views have become a frequent target of his GOP critics, will use a high-profile speech in New York on Thursday to urge the United States to exercise restraint when engaging in wars overseas.

At a dinner hosted by the Center for the National Interest, the libertarian-minded Kentucky senator, a potential White House contender in 2016, will argue for “limits” on U.S. engagement in military conflicts. It’s a view that runs counter to the hawks among his fellow Republicans who have called for a more aggressive American presence in hot spots in the Middle East.


“America shouldn’t fight wars where the best outcome is stalemate,” Paul plans to say, according to excerpts provided by his office. “America shouldn’t fight wars when there is no plan for victory. America shouldn’t fight wars that aren’t authorized by the American people, by Congress. America should and will fight wars when the consequences — intended and unintended — are worth the sacrifice.”

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Paul plans to add: “After the tragedies of Iraq and Libya, Americans are right to expect more from their country when we go to war.”

Paul aides say the speech will be the first time the freshman senator fully spells out his “conservative realist” foreign policy, outlining how he views international trade, diplomacy and the national debt as it relates to national security.

The speech also comes as Paul has faced criticism from potential rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, some of whom accuse him of harboring views of isolationism and see his national security views as his biggest liability.

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In a July op-ed in The Washington Post, for instance, Texas Gov. Rick Perry called Paul “curiously blind” to the threat posed by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants. Paul responded in a POLITICO op-ed, writing that “apparently [Perry’s] new glasses haven’t altered his perception of the world, or allowed him to see it any more clearly.”

“The let’s-intervene-and-consider-the-consequences-later crowd left us with more than 4,000 Americans dead, over 2 million refugees and trillions of dollars in debt,” Paul wrote at the time.

In a series of speeches and public remarks since the summer, Paul has sought to straddle the line between the staunch libertarian views of his father, former GOP Rep. Ron Paul, and the neoconservative wing of his party. Some critics have said he has betrayed his libertarian principles in order to appeal to a wider array of Republicans.

The younger Paul argues that the country should exert its military might against Islamic State militants, who have grabbed significant territory in Iraq. But he clearly is far more hesitant than many in his party over how intensely the U.S. should engage in danger zones in the Mideast.

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Paul allies believe he can court younger voters eager to see a less aggressive U.S. presence in the world, even if it turns off other Republicans, particularly in the party establishment.

“We need a foreign policy that recognizes our limits and preserves our might, a common-sense conservative realism of strength and action,” Paul plans to tell the foreign policy group, which was established by Richard Nixon, during its dinner at the JW Marriott Essex House hotel in Manhattan.

“Americans want strength and leadership — but that doesn’t mean they see war as the only solution,” he is expected to say. “[Ronald] Reagan had it right when he spoke to potential adversaries. ‘Our reluctance for conflict should not be misjudged as a failure of will.’”