Rand Paul: “supporters of the preemptive war against Iraq say it was justified by the unprovoked 9/11 attacks. They claim that…”

“supporters of the preemptive war against Iraq say it was justified by the unprovoked 9/11 attacks. They claim that Muslim hatred for our democracy, freedom, Western values, and prosperity inspired the 19 suicide terrorists who attacked us on that dreadful day. Opponents of the war argue that al Qaeda radicals who planned the attacks were not allies of Saddam Hussein, and that Iraq posed no threat to our national security. They further argue that our occupation of Iraq now inspires a growing number of radical Islamists to join the ranks of al Qaeda and support its war against U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. But proponents of the war insist that our presence in Iraq is not what motivates al Qaeda to attack us, since we had no troops on Iraqi soil on 9/11; and yet al Qaeda attacked us anyway. The enemy, they claim, is simply a group of radical Islamic fundamentalists who have hijacked the Muslim religion and declared war against our values for no legitimate or logical reason. We should look at the facts if we want to understand why a growing number of Iraqis and Muslims worldwide are now motivated to join the insurgents in a guerrilla resistance that includes suicide terrorism. It is true that there were no U.S. troops in Iraq on 9/11, but it is also true that Saddam Hussein and Iraq had nothing to do with that attack. In addition, we have been bombing Iraq since 1991, more than 10 years, on a regular basis.…”