Date: 05/13/2011
This is a rush transcript. Can you help us out and proofread the transcript while you watch the video? Go to our writeboard (password: ruleoflaw). Then click the “Edit this page” button to make changes. We check all writeboards daily and will update this post with your proofread transcript ASAP. Thanks!
Wolf Blitzer: Osama Bin Laden: did President Obama do the right thing in ordering his death?
Ron Paul: Oh, you know, I actually endorsed that when I voted for this authority in 2001 to go over and deal with the people that orchestrated 9/11. So I actually am on record for that. And you know, it’s not wrong, nobody can defend and say that it’s terrible that he’s dead. But I think the process is what I’m so annoyed about. The fact that we didn’t do the job in 2001, I really think we had the opportunity, we got distracted, we did not keep our eye on the ball. We went into Iraq and fought a useless, unnecessary war, compounding our problem. Then we went into nation building and finally we’re getting caught up with. And I think the process could have been much improved. And I keep thinking about that in the past we have dealt with sovereign nations a little bit differently. When we caught Sheik Mohamed, it was done with the corporation of the Pakistanis. That’s what they resent. So we’ve stirred up a bit of a hornet’s nest there, and yet in the past they have delivered to us many of these criminals and we’ve brought them here, convicted them, executed some of them. And I just think that we should make an effort. But you know, to be a strong…
Wolf Blitzer: Let me interrupt you for a second, Congressman. The White House and the Pentagon make the point that Bin Laden, even though he was unarmed, was resisting when those Navy Seals killed him.
Ron Paul: Yea, you know, and that’s where the problem comes from, because at the beginning there was the great resistance and a firefight and you could say little. But yes, that is the case. But I keep thinking about how we got hold of the real ring leader, and that was Sheik Mohamed. And I think he was the real ring leader, and we have him in prison and we’ve gotten some information from him. But, you know, why should it be automatic that we shouldn’t even talk to people. Think about what happened after World War II. I remember that, I remember the Nuremberg trials. We got the really bad guys that brought on the holocaust and put them on trial and they were executed, and we know they’re dead. But I think they’ve set the stage for the conspiracy people to go forever. When was he killed and what happened and the story keeps changing. I don’t think there’s anything extremely wrong with suggesting that there could have been another way of doing this, and maybe that would have settled a little bit better. But my big beef is really the wasted 10 years, 5000 American lives, a trillion dollars, 10s of thousands American casualties, 100s of thousands of civilian deaths. And we have created a lot of enemies because that’s what the Taliban is all about. They’re organized and they’re motivated by the fact that we’re occupying their land. So if we don’t understand that, and we just keep … like in Pakistan, we both, want to be their allies and we want to help them. We send them money and at the same time we’re bombing them, even today a bomb went off from a drone and killed civilians over there. It doesn’t always just kill somebody that we determine…
Wolf Blitzer: Well, let me ask you this, Congressman. If you’re president of the United States, your military or your intelligence leadership come to you and say, “Mr. President, we know where Anwar al-Awlaki, the American born cleric in Yemen is located, the Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula leader, or we know where Ayman al-Zawahiri, the No.2 Al-Qaida leader is. And they say we can get these guys, kill him. What would you say?
Ron Paul: I would say, “Where and when and how?” If he’s in Yemen, I don’t think we should violate the sovereignty of Yemen. We should deal with it and we come up with it. I mean, to talk about an American citizen and establish a precedent where you just say, “Well, he’s an American citizen, so we’ll assassinate him”. That is so dangerous as far as I’m concerned. And there are three Americans on the list. And now that is policy now. But we need to wake up to this so you don’t casually drift towards that, because we know there is a very, very bad guy out there. But if you work with the rule of law, an American citizen is supposed to at least have a little bit of his day in court. I realize that they’re bad, and I don’t care about protecting the bad people. I care about protecting American citizens so that they’re never treated this way in court. And we are drifting in that way. When you think about the enforcement of some of our drug laws, our police barging in houses and shooting people that are totally innocent. So I don’t like that idea. I think we should protect the rule of law because we want to protect all Americans, not because we have sympathy for these very bad people.
Wolf Blitzer: If you were president what would you do about Muammar Gaddafi and Libya?
Ron Paul: I’d let them fight it out themselves and stay out of there. Why should we go there and protect the oil interests. We’re not in Syria, we’re in Iraq because there’s oil and there’s interest there. So yea, we’re over in Libya. That’s an internal fight, it’s a civil strife going on. And now it looks like we’ll be helping the rebels and there may be Al-Qaida there. There have been pretty good hints that Al-Qaida’s involved. I just think the principle of non-intervention, minding our own business, no entangling alliance, don’t get involved in these civil wars, that’s what George Bush won on in the year 2000. How quickly we forget. The American people like that message. Of course, when they’re rattled up and they can have a target, they get careless on how things are done because we can build up so much emotions. But no, we shouldn’t be over there. And this is one of the reasons why this country is bankrupt. We spend over a trillion dollars a year maintaining our empire. We’re in too many places and I just think … and you know Obama was elected with the idea that he would end some of these wars, and he’s expanding these wars. And I really dread the fact of what’s going to come out of Pakistan now. We’re going to wake up to the day when there’s going to be a justification for us to invade and occupy Pakistan because they’re going to say, “Oh, today there has been some breakdown and more people have been killed and we’ll have to go in.” And they’ll say, “Well, it’s in our best interest, it’s in national security interest. We have to go in”. And I don’t like that, we don’t need to be occupying another country. We’re flat out broke and we ought to start taking care of our own business.
Processing your request, Please wait....









I think Ron Paul comes across as too much of a bin Laden apologist in this interview.
»crosslinked«
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Ron Paul dang! totally truthful and to the point.
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
this guy not gonna become president cuz he says the truth.
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
*READ THIS FOR RON PAUL!*
Ron Paul money bomb tomorrow. Check out my video response, or go to Facebook and type in “Ron Paul’s Ready, Ames, Fire Money Bomb”. It is important to donate so that Ron Paul can win the Iowa Straw Poll. Donate for Ron Paul…do it for LIBERTY. Like this comment so that other supports may see that we are raising money for Ron Paul!!!! I’m just a broke college student entrepreneur, and I’m still donating 10 bucks…so step up to the plate.
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Ron Paul is right on!
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Bin Laden was not the right man to get for 911 G.W. BUSH is the one to get for the 3000 people died for what to make him look good bush is to blame and his people JFK WOULD OF PUT HIM IN JAIL ( RON PAUL IS THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE USA TO KEEP US IN THE RIGHT LIGHT)
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Bin Laden was not the right man to get for 911 G.W. BUSH is the one to get for the 3000 people died for what to make him look good bush is to blame and his people JFK WOULD OF PUT HIM IN JAIL ( RON PAUL IS THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE USA TO KEEP US IN THE RIGHT LIGHT)
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
killuminati.isgreat.org
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Wolf “dickless” Blitzer: “We know where Anwar Al Awlaki, the Al Qaeda leader in the Arabian peninsula is located……”
Try the Pentagon. True story. Several months after 911 this Al Awlaki, the number 3 guy in Al Qaeda, went to the Pentagon for lunch. Fox News Exclusive.
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Wolf “dickless” Blitzer: “We know where Anwar Al Awlaki, the Al Qaeda leader in the Arabian peninsula is located……”
Try the Pentagon. True story. Several months after 911 this Al Awlaki, the number 3 guy in Al Qaeda, went to the Pentagon for lunch. Fox News Exclusive.
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Not an intentional one,no.
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
RON PAUL , I HAVE A MESSAGE FOR YOU! UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL
NEVER BE A PUSSY COUNTRY!
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
RON PAUL , I HAVE A MESSAGE FOR YOU! UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL
NEVER BE A PUSSY COUNTRY!
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
RON PAUL , I HAVE A MESSAGE FOR YOU! UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL
NEVER BE A PUSSY COUNTRY!
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
1
9 people have never heard of letters of marque and reprisal.
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
9 people have never heard of letters of marque and reprisal.
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
is that a joke?
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
I don’t know what love has to do with it but the first three are fine.
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
what a dumbass
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
I just have one question….What has Obama done different than George Bush? Can’t think of anything he has pretty much all the same people on his staff as Bush. He’s a liar and a deceiver. Were sending more troops to Iraq. He Lied and told us he would take them out…in 2008! Change? I think not.
RON PAUL 2012
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Fuck yeah, were not putting up with vote rigging either.
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
You can’t deny that in March, congress passed the biggest military budget since WWII. Obama is the biggest pro-war president we’ve had in 20 years, even beating GWBush. Martin Luther King opposed the Vietnam war, because he said those funds should be spent to help the poor in America and programs of “social uplift.” Obama increased the number of drone bombers used in Afghanistan, causing thousands of civilian deaths. Cluster bombs Obama used in Yemen also killed innocent civilians.
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
You can’t deny that in March, congress passed the biggest military budget since WWII. Obama is the biggest pro-war president we’ve had in 20 years, even beating GWBush. Martin Luther King opposed the Vietnam war, because he said those funds should be spent to help the poor in America and programs of “social uplift.” Obama increased the number of drone bombers used in Afghanistan, causing thousands of civilian deaths. Cluster bombs Obama used in Yemen also killed innocent civilians.
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
1
0
I agree Hector, How much are we spending to drop predator drone bombs on Syria, and why? Have they violated any laws against us, have we declared war on them? As an American I am embarrased, we had great relations with most countries until this 10 year devastation of nations. With the climbing debt why are we wasting bombs, is there going to be a good outcome to this or will China still be watching us destroy ourselves like Russia? Just think if JFK would have signed the bill that was on his desk when he got back from Dallas , to disban our military and give our tanks bombs and guns to the UN. We would have never been in Vietnam and most think this was the beginning of trouble as no president since has had the balls to fight for the working class since. We as America could save $500 billion a year just to eliminate military spending that would be 12 months without us borrowing a dime. When my house is low on money i look at what benefits my family and I cut what doesn’t. If our government would think like this instead of throwing money where we don’t need it. Are there that many terrorist out there? I understand alot of people are upset at our government, but does this mean I have to be monitored for another 4 years with this unconstitutional “Patriot Act.” How much do we spend to have someone monitoring us? We talk about government waste and here are some examples, how about the “just say no” program, we spend $50 million dollars on pamphlets and dumb commercials. They say the person smoking weed is supporting terrorist, well lets see Bill Gates admits to smoking a joint a day so is he a terrorist? How about George W Bush Jr. he admitted to smoking pot is he a terrorist, to some countries he is but do we think he is? We as America have some serious thinking to do now until elections we must go with the person who is going to stick up for the majority and not the minority(big business, the war machine), it is time we have someone who will stick up for us. Because as you see big business are the ones that made this mess, maybe they should clean it up with all the money they scammed from us. We just want some to be held accountable for their actions, as I know I would be.
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
As a European I say all you fat, brainwashed hyper religious war monging tools BETTER get your asses up and get this man elected and take care he doesn’t end up like Kennedy, otherwise you all (or your children) will soon enough get a taste of what your fascist government is really capable of.
But let’s face it, you will only realize the truth when you wake up in a concentration camp.
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
3
0
You make a good point but not all Americans think that way and most are embarrassed that we are starting stuff we shouldn’t. As an older American going through college I see what your college students face with the increase in the price of education. I hope in this country we will not come to the hardships your students have encountered. Tell your news media to keep up their fabulous accounts of the devastion we are causing as the news media in the US is way to biased. I only watch the BBC news as they seem to tell more of the bigger picture. We as Americans have become fat and lazy as we think don’t worry our government will fix it, but even in our constitution we are given the right to watch our government closely so why aren’t we. I also think megatroll your government needs to put pressure on our government to stop all of the carnage going on because of us. We as Americans need to revolt wiether nonviolently or with many protests, we need to show other nations that the American people have not become pushovers. We need to impeach Obama for him not living up to his Innaugural by him stating he will live up to the laws set forth in our constitution. Which a back-door agreement is unconstitutional, and declaration of war without Congressional approval, because his 90 days are up. It is time our Politicians come back to the real world, and start being held accountable for their crimes. Americans need to go online and actually read their bill of rights and the constitution, in all government they have to pledge to live up to these standards. We pay there wages and we are their boss, we have the right to hold them accountable so why aren’t we? Its time we stop being a joke to other nations.
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
I fear that there are too many, way too many, Americans that are stupid not to vote Ron Paul
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
freedom
liberty
peace
&
love
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
I’m all for Ron Paul he will put america back on track, read a good book called “how did things get so crazy in america” find it at amazon.com it puts a good prospective on what’s going on today in america.
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
RON PAUL 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!…i dont fucking care if you like obama, listne to ron..hes smart and he wants the best for america..how can you not vote for ron!!!
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
RON PAUL 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!…i dont fucking care if you like obama, listne to ron..hes smart and he wants the best for america..how can you not vote for ron!!!
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Ron Paul 2012 From Pakistan.
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Ron Paul 2012 From Pakistan.
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0
Ron Paul 2012 From Pakistan.
Report this comment
Like or Dislike:
0
0