Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Has Ron Paul lost his Stethoscope?

I haven't exactly made up my mind as to my choice for a Republican candidate. There have been a few times when I've even entertained the idea of Ron Paul. But now I've come to the conclusion that the good doctor has fallen off his rocker. Following one of the recent GOP debates, Sean Hannity got in a short interview asking what he thought about Iran going nuclear, the following is a partial excerpt: 

Sean Hannity: Alright, a lot came up tonight and it got very heated on the issue of national security and Iran. Let me ask you this question: with Iran killing Americans in Iraq (you argue we shouldn’t have been there in the first place) but they’re also fighting proxy wars through Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations. They were planning an assassination of a Saudi Ambassador on our soil, they clearly have said they want to wipe Israel off the map. Why do you think it wouldn’t be dangerous if they got that nuclear weapon?

Ron Paul: Well, I don’t want them to get the nuclear weapon and it would increase the danger, but I don’t think we should deal with that. ... And, matter of fact, those quotes about wiping Israel off the map, just as a favor to me, look it up and check the real interpretation. They talk about getting rid of the regime, those people in Jerusalem.

Sean Hannity: I have gone back on numerous occasions, he has said “eliminate the state of Israel, wipe them off the face of the earth”.

Ron Paul: It literally says getting rid of the regime and remove it from the pages of time, it is a lot different than Israel being wiped off the earth.

Sean Hannity: He’s also a holocaust denier.

Ron Paul: Okay. I think they’re acting in self-defense. [Ayud Barack] said that they’re acting logically and they’re acting in their self interest, and if he was an Iranian, he would probably think the same way. So they have a lot to contend with.

Concluding Thoughts

While I'm not exactly excited about the idea of war with Iran (or any war for that matter), I find Ron Paul's remarks quite disturbing. "They are acting in their own best interest?" What about the Iranians begging the US to come and relieve them of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's tyranny and the government crack down on dissidents. But then, for Ron Paul to argue that Ahmadinejad is "acting in self defense" is completely outrageous and inexcusable. Does Iran really want to wipe Israel off the map? Well, maybe not the actual geographical location of Israel, but I think it is preposterous to think that he merely wants a different prime minister and government. In the end, I'm not sure if Dr. Paul understood what he said, because at the very least he claims that Iran wants to get rid of the people in Jerusalem. But why stop there? Israel is a democracy, as such, the government is elected by the people. So, yes, he wants to get rid of the people, the Jewish people of Israel. Nevertheless, even if he is only referring to the population of Jerusalem, should it really make Ron Paul feel more comfortable with Iran having nukes? Evidently for him, it does.