John Hudson
Foreign Policy
5/21/2013
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) blasted members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday, which voted overwhelmingly to arm elements of the Syrian opposition in a bill co-sponsored by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN). “This is an important moment,” Paul said, addressing his Senate colleagues. “You will be funding, today, the allies of al Qaeda. It’s an irony you cannot overcome.”
The legislation, which would authorize the shipment of arms and military training to rebels “that have gone through a thorough vetting process,” passed in a bipartisan 15-3 vote. Paul offered an amendment that would strike the bill’s weapons provision, but it was rejected along with another Paul amendment ruling out the authorization of the use of military force in Syria. (Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy was the only senator to join Paul in support of the weapons amendment.)…
…The dispute centers on the issue of whether the United States could properly vet Syrian rebels so that weapons and body armor would not fall into the hands of extremist groups, such as the al Qaeda-aligned al-Nusra Front. The Pentagon’s top brass has vacillated about whether it’s logistically possible to keep track of weapons as they enter a conflict involving a complex mix of opposition groups, as the new bill would require…
Read the complete article at Foreign Policy.
Also, McCain Finds Paul’s Defense of Apple “Offensive”
I am offended by the spectacle of dragging in here executives from Apple using the brute force of government to bully a great success story.
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) May 21, 2013
Read Senator Paul’s Twitter feed at Big Government.
Congressman Justin Amash wrote on his Facebook page:
The IRS takes your money. Congress uses your money to arm our enemies. The IRS takes more of your money. Congress uses that money to fight the enemies Congress just armed.
