On Wednesday, Texas Congressman and GOP Presidential candidate Ron Paul said that while he doesn't want Iran to have a nuclear weapon, the United States is encouraging the regime by threatening it.
"I don't want 'em to get a weapon, but I think what we're doing is encouraging them because they feel threatened," he said.
He went on to say that the U.S. has 45 bases around the country plus submarines.
"The Iranians can't possibly attack anybody," he said. "And we're worried about the possibility of one nuclear weapon," he added. Paul continued by saying America should be worried "about the nuclear weapons that were left over from the Soviet Union" that are "still floating around."
But Iran doesn't need ballistic missiles to deliver a nuclear weapon, with groups like Hamas and Hezbollah ready to commit suicide. A single nuclear weapon of the right yield, properly placed, could effectively destroy Israel - the stated desire of the Iranian leadership.
Paul also said there was no evidence that Iran has a weapon, drawing jeers from the audience. But the International Atomic Energy Agency said in November that it believed the nation had carried out research related to developing a nuclear weapon, and the widow of a slain nuclear scientist admitted the goal "was the annihilation of Israel.”
An article at the Fars News Agency noted:
"Mostafa's ultimate goal was the annihilation of Israel," Fatemeh Bolouri Kashani told FNA on Tuesday.
Bolouri Kashani also underlined that her spouse loved any resistance figure in his life who was willing to fight the Zionist regime and supported the rights of the oppressed Palestinian nation.
Iran's 32-year-old Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan Behdast, a chemistry professor and a deputy director of commerce at Natanz uranium enrichment facility, was assassinated during the morning rush-hour in the capital early January. His driver was also killed in the terrorist attack.
Nevertheless, Ron Paul seeks to blame the United States.
An article at the American Spectator adds:
Paul may think he can be elected President but as long as he maintains his Tehran Ron posture he won't win. Whatever reservations the American public might have about going to war with Iran, the American public will not back someone who is an apologist for the Iranian regime. But at this point for the Paul campaign it's about accumulating delegates and influencing the Republican platform rather than actually winning.
Gingrich, Romney and Santorum all took a much harsher tone with Iran, saying that if necessary, they would use military action to ensure Iran did not acquire a nuclear bomb.
More on Ron Paul at Examiner.com can be found here.
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