Date: 02/11/2011
Transcript
Wolf Blitzer: Joining us is Republican Congressman Ron Paul of Texas. He’s joining us now from the Conservative Political Action Conference here in Washington.
Congressman Paul, thanks very much for joining us. Let’s talk about Egypt, a subject you know quiet a bit about. You’ve said a controversial remark. You said, “Egypt is the United States’ 30-year mistake.” What were you referring to?
Ron Paul: Well, we’ve invested a lot of money in Mubarak and I don’t think it was a good investment. It was stable for a while but it was building the resentment and the instability that finally burst out. So I would say that $70 billion dollars was not worth it and that unfortunately, many of those dollars ended up in Swiss bank accounts for his family. So I think it was a big mistake and we really don’t have the money to spare and I don’t think it does anything for our national security.
Wolf Blitzer: So if you had your way, the billion and a half dollars a year that the US provides Egypt in mostly military – about $1.3 billion, about another $200 million dollars on economic assistance. If you had your way, all of that would be gone immediately? Is that what you’re saying?
Ron Paul: Oh, yeah. I think so. I mean, I’m not a believer in foreign aide. And you know, I sort of like what Eisenhower did in 1956. I was a college student then. I’d remember the Korean War and when the British and the French were attacked by the Egyptians to take the Canal, and they went to Eisenhower. And Eisenhower said, “I don’t want anything to do with it!” So I think that was good advice and that’s probably the way we should have stayed that way, and we should do a lot less, a lot sooner, and not waste all these money because it tends to come back to haunt us.
It reminds me a little bit about propping up the Shah of Iran. Just look at that problem. Then we ended up with the Ayatollah. So they’re not good investments. I like the founder’s advice. You know, be friends with people and trade with people, and negotiate, and get along with them, but not to get involved in internal affairs and all these treaties, and border squabbles.
It’s not in our best interest but it will come to an end, mainly for economic reasons, and that’s what happened to the Soviet system. They didn’t end because they all of a sudden got a wisdom. They ended because they got bogged on in Afghanistan and they went bankrupt, and the whole system fell apart. And we can face a crisis just like that and we will have to pull back.
Wolf Blitzer: So what I hear you saying is the United States should simply walk away from Egypt right now and let the Egyptians do what they want. But in terms of maintaining this very tight military-to-military connection, the US should simply leave the Egyptians to the Egyptians. Is that your attitude?
Ron Paul: Sure. I think so. I mean, if we’d have a problem like that, we wouldn’t want foreigners in here to sort things out. We would say, “It’s our responsibility.” So I think that’s the problem, that we’ve been too much involved. So the sooner we get out of it, the better. I mean, right now, I’m sure our state department, our CIA is looking around for our next guy that we can support. Because most of them now have expressed, “Well, we can’t really give them democracy. They might elect the wrong person!”
See, we’re all for democracy as long as they pick the right person, and we’d just as soon prefer a dictator that would do our bidding and then we give them a lot of money. I’d like another option rather than just bombing people or giving them money. I would say, friendship and diplomacy is a much better way to go. I mean, this army was built by us and the military industrial complex loved it. They made a lot of money off that. But the army was there for all those 30 years was to protect Mubarak. It wasn’t for national defense purposes. So that’s our army, 450,000 troops that we, more or less…
Wolf Blitzer: I was just going to say, administration officials going back to Republican administration, whether Bush or Reagan, or Democratic administration, the current one, or Bill Clinton’s administration. They’ll argue, this military assistance to Egypt is a good investment in the United States because Egypt was an ally, a strategic partner and cooperative with US in the war on terror for example. So this was money well spent. That’s the argument we’ve heard now for 30 years.
Ron Paul: Oh, yeah. But I think our current events prove my point. It wasn’t well spent because it ended up in chaos and we don’t know who the next dictator is going to be, and it help contribute to our bankruptcy. So I would say it’s not well spent.
Wolf Blitzer: But if the next leader of Egypt, Congressman, is a democratically elected leader, popular, and doing all the right things, it wouldn’t necessarily be a dictator. Why do we have to assume the next leader of Egypt is going to be a dictator?
Ron Paul: That would be great but I personally believe that the odds of that happening are much better if we’re not there picking up and picking the individuals who spend our money on it. So I’m for that, I just don’t believe that the best way to do is get in there, and finance the military. The military right now, of course, is dependent on us, and the military is in charge so we really own the country right now through the military. And the people will not put up with this. Temporarily, maybe, but ultimately, the people will reject it. We need to think about these problems in terms of what if another country did that to us? The Democrats and Republicans, and Independents would all rebel against that, and that is what the American people don’t quite understand.
Wolf Blitzer: Well, in that part I think you got a good point, that the Egyptians don’t want any outside interference in their domestic affairs. They want to do what they need to do and at least today, they seem to be on that path, but it’s going to be a very, very, difficult path. Congressman, you’re at that CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. One quick political question before I let you go. Are you going to seek the Republican presidential nomination this year?
Ron Paul: I haven’t made up my mind and that’s a truthful answer, and I’m sort of glad nobody else has made up their mind either. So I feel like I have a couple more months to sort it all out. But thanks for asking.
Wolf Blitzer: You’ll make up your mind after the next two months?
Ron Paul: Yeah, I would think so. It would be necessary in the next several months of some sort. I don’t have a timetable.
Wolf Blitzer: And do you want to respond to Donald Trump who told that CPAC conference last night. Who told your supporters there that you don’t have a chance of getting elected. I think I’m paraphrasing what he said but he was brutally blunt in a Donald Trump kind of way.
Ron Paul: Yeah, you know, some people pointed out that – a lot of people said that but my view is when I ran for Congress and I was elected to Congress eleven times, and I had the same views, and some of my views are very libertarian, challenge the status quo of Republican. I had a very conservative bible belt Republican district and they said, “There’s no way you can win this election by basing everything on the Constitution. People aren’t interested in that anymore.” So winning eleven elections would sort of raise a question on whether or not that was an accurate statement.
Wolf Blitzer: You’ve been pretty impressive over the years and you were pretty impressive, I must say, in the run for the Republican nomination. Last time around, your supporters were probably among the most enthusiastic out there as I can personally testify. Congressman, thanks very much for joining us.
Ron Paul: Thank you.
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Ron Paul got it all
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donald trump is just another asshole ……………………only difference is he has his own TV show so people are once again fooled into thinking he cares about them…………he has no political ideology except for the blame it on the foreigners which is groupthink at its finest
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Ron Paul
Rand Paul
2 Parties
1 Enemy
The Federal Reserve (United Nations, your next)
V Click Profile :: Stay Organized :: PAY ATTENTION :: We are loved so much
»crosslinked«
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all of these anti constitutionalist need to stay the hell home and watch this country be ran the right way!!!! ron paul 2012
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all of these anti constitutionalist need to stay the hell home and watch this country be ran the right way!!!!b ron paul 2012
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I agree with Ron Paul. I beleive The established liberal media and politicians fear him and will do everything they can to discredit him.
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There is a VERY good reason that both parties and our government consider Libertarians as their enemy.
We’re offering the only political platform that actually works. Being fiscally conservative and socially liberal MUST go together. When you try to separate one from the other, you’ll get neither. We are the choice you aren’t supposed to have.
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Fuck you Blitzer. Im sure you suck dick under the table at NWO parties.
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It’s so obvious that Wolf “Blitzer” doesn’t like Ron Paul or what he stands for. Could this have anything to do with Ron Paul being very against the primarily Jewish Federal Reserve, and Wolf being Jewish, pro-zionist? Call me crazy but the main people who seem to be against Ron Paul (of intellect) are Jewish supporters of the primarily Jewish owned Federal Reserve which allows the complete economic domination of Israel over the USA…?
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Statists are Statists!
Prosperity is IMPOSSIBLE while Central Banking Monopoly, Fiat Debt-Currency & Fractional Reserve Banking allows Deficits.
The Fed corrupts crony politicians with power to borrow, debase & spend to buy “support” from Special Interest Groups, Unions, “Too Big to Fail” Corporations, the Military-Industrial Complex & Wall Street Cartels.
Central Banking = Political Bribery & Cronyism!
Watch: “Money, Banking and the Federal Reserve” here on YouTube.
END THE FED!
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AMEN I am proud to stand for life and property with this patriot. He speaks the long forgotten truth. LETS ALL BE A RON PAUL, not a little one, A BIG ONE. Lets all go out and make our voices heard, start running for office. CMON live like men, or die like dogs. WHERE IS MY COUNTRY? Where are my countrymen? OH YA, sitting at home watching the Super Bowl…. MY GOD MEN… What have you become. FAT ROMANS all. LETS GO, I got a jeep and a camera, LETS GO. LETS GET UP AND GO OUT YELLING ABOUT LIBERTY!!!! WHILE WE STILL CAN!!!!
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Ron Paul R3volution imminent!
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The goal for every American should be to support what keeps us as a nation free – The Constitution and The Bill of Rights. How will you know when your rights have been taken, if you don’t know what they are to begin with?
Stop supporting political parties and learn only to support liberty and freedom.
The neocon-men are liars, traitors, and are actually neo-liberal collectivists/fascists who support endless wars for endless profit for the banksters that own their ignorant minds.
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Countless billions spent each year on the Military Industrial Complex and half the population of the world going hungry…what is wrong with this picture?!!!
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Dear ,
i would like to see that america should be lern from their dialy failer. the same thing doing in ethiopa. please don’t invest on military instead invest on peaple.
don’t be part of the problem. let the border issue between eritrea and ethiopa demarcate. don’t probe meles for his bad behavior. the next step will be ethiopa.
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braking news the RNC has said they will in fact ban Ron Paul from running in 2012
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Ron Paul tells it like it is!
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maybe you Ron should fallow your own words the GOP are in fact Dictators
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His veracity, his integrity, and even his voting record speaks loudly on this man, Dr Ron Paul knows what he is talking about without a teleprompter. In fact, he has been a far more valuable community organizer than the guy in the house. Neither party is clean, both are corrupted, most looking out for their own agendas or their own profiteering…Dr Ron Paul has credibility and knows more than most in office and has the kahunas to state the truth even if unpopular with the ‘yes men’.
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Imagine a Trump/Palin ticket…
ROFLOL…then ROFcryingOL…
What a joke the U.S. has become because of a 538 sociopaths who think too highly of themselves.
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How have people ignored this guy for 20 years?!
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REAL Americans to Ron Paul . . . STOP BREATHING ALREADY!
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Primary in May of 2012. Every supporter needs to focus on their precinct. If we each educate our friends and neighbors, it can be done.Elections are one one vote, one precinct at a time.
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I am so glad that reality always crushes denial it always has before and it will always do so again and again can’t wait for the day when this collapse happens to the U.S. and then all truth will be revealed the long very well over due correction to restore our republic will be at long last at hand.
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If I lived in the US I’d have finally found someone worth voting for!
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There are more people than what Donald Trump realizes that want to go back to the basics on how our country started. Besides why should we take what Donald Trump says since he’s a guy that can’t do his own hair right.
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We’re for democracy as long as long as the right person is voted on…..look where our country ended up….very, very corrupt….we’re not the best examples to follow.
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Ron Paul is a wonderful human!
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The level of denial in the vast majority of you is beyond appalling. What you don’t know can and will hurt you. Denial and willful ignorance of reality is your greatest enemy. Denial is based in fear of the unknown. The only thing that will help you is knowledge of the unknown.
There are none so hopelessly enslaved as those who believe they are free when they are not.
World events are going to get very ugly before they improve – being in denial will only hurt you in the end Ron Paul is right.
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Hey wheres all the Paul haters callin him a racist? We miss your comedy!
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I get lots of negative comments for many of you because, vast majority are ignorant and too lazy to actually do any research or try to learn anything outside of their cage of blindness and mind-conditioning by the controlled media that I spent many years with in CBS TV and then movie industry in Hollywood which is also totally controlled by the Pentagon.
My goal has been to try and inform – educate as many as will open their eyes to the lies that the media told you all your life. Few listen.
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The goal of the neocons (that includes Obama who is a stooge of Wall Street) is to de-stablize the middle-east as a pretext to raise oil prices so the brainless American Sheeple will once again scream for yet another war in the mid-east now against Iran to lower fuel prices. History repeats it’s self because, the average American is ignorant and blind to truth.
Oil controls everything as well as food prices. Expect sky-high food prices to kick-in here in the US by mid-summer or early fall.
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Just think we could have had this man as president 2 years ago if lazy Americans would get off their asses!Wolf Blitzer is a zionist look it up!
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Wolf you suck balls… Did anyone notice how they slowed the audio to Ron so it would make him look stupid?
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“you don’t have a chance of getting elected” I’m getting sick of these CNN/FOX pigs already implanting messages into viewer’s heads.
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So, Don “Da Toupe” Trump,who never met a corp bailout he didn’t like, said what again?
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