Rand Paul: Blame Maliki, Not Obama for the Crisis in Iraq

Rand Paul to Hannity: Blame Maliki, Not Obama for Crisis in Iraq (Mediaite)

Last weekend, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) broke with the vast majority of his party by telling Meet The Press host David Gregory, “I don’t blame on President Obama” for the current crisis in Iraq. This week, he brought that message to a more conservative audience by saying the same onSean Hannity’s radio show.

Hannity began by grilling Paul on what he meant when he said he doesn’t “blame” Obama for the rise of ISIS, arguing that if the U.S. had “stood our ground” in Iraq rather than removing our troops, the situation would look very different today. “By leaving the Iraqis hanging like President Obama did, it opened the door where all of these groups could reorganize with any ramifications,” he said.

Paul replied by telling Hannity that one of the reasons ISIS has become stronger is that the U.S. “allied with them in Syria” against the Bashar al-Assad regime. But then he cautioned Hannity against solely blaming Obama for what is happening in the Middle East.