WASHINGTON — Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul said Sunday the apparent overthrow of Moammar Khadafy’s regime in Libya does not justify U.S. involvement there and may end up delivering al-Qaeda what he called “another prize.”
The Texas congressman has made his mark in the presidential race as a strict libertarian who would scale back the role of the federal government in domestic and foreign affairs. A recent Gallup poll shows him in third place in the GOP race for the presidency.
Asked on “Fox News Sunday” whether getting rid of Khadafy was a good thing, Paul conceded that it was but added that Khadafy’s departure did not mean the long- term result would be good for the United States. He said that getting rid of Saddam Hussein also was good but that the long-term result in Iraq has not been a success for the U.S.
“We’ve delivered Iraq to the Iranians,” he said.
