Ron Paul?s foreign policy stands win support, criticism from GOP voters

DES MOINES

This month, a wealthy Republican called up two officers who served as platoon leaders in Iraq and Afghanistan with a proposition: He would lend them his private jet, and they would fly around Iowa to Representative Ron Paul?s campaign events in the weeks before the Jan. 3 caucuses, telling reporters at each location that the congressman?s foreign policy and military positions were dangerous and na?ve.

The deal never came to pass. But it reflects both Republican establishment concern about his insurgent candidacy ? polls now place Mr. Paul, of Texas, at or near the top of the pack in Iowa ? and unease among many traditional Republican voters who support the party?s tougher line on national security.

?A lot of people are very, very nervous about Ron Paul,? said Mark Lucas, a first lieutenant in the Iowa National Guard who led a platoon in restive Paktia Province of Afghanistan from 2010 to 2011. He was one of the officers approached by the businessman, whom he declined to identify but who lives in a state neighboring Iowa. Lieutenant Lucas says of Mr. Paul, ?We cannot afford to give him a pass when it comes to his reckless foreign policy.?

Likewise, Mr. Paul?s rivals have sharpened their attacks on his critiques of military involvement abroad. ?You don?t have to vote for a candidate who will allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, because America will be next,? Gov. Rick Perry of Texas said this week, a statement clearly aimed at Mr. Paul. ?I?m here to say, ?You have a choice.???

The emerging question is to what extent Mr. Paul?s more dovish stances ? like ruling out pre-emptive strikes against Iran ? are so far out of the Republican orthodoxy that they will limit his support in many places, or, as many in the party argue, make him unelectable in important early-nominating states like South Carolina and Florida. One recent national poll by ABC News and The Washington Post found that 45 percent of Republicans and independents who lean Republican said Mr. Paul?s opposition to American military interventions overseas was a major reason to oppose his candidacy, compared with the 29 percent who saw it as a major reason to support him.

He has said he would bring troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan, and questioned the American military presence in South Korea.

But Mr. Paul?s national security positions draw raves from many veterans, students and others who believe his noninterventionism would curtail a dangerous trend toward military adventurism and strengthen America?s influence and prestige while diverting resources to pay down the national debt. In interviews at Paul campaign events this week, many said they embraced his national security proposals, rather than reluctantly accepting them.

?He would get us out of our difficulties overseas,? said Tony Snook, a retired Army sergeant first class wounded in a rocket attack in Basra, Iraq, in 2007 who came to a raucous Paul rally that drew 500 people on Wednesday night in Des Moines. ?You should choose your fights wisely,? he said. ?If it?s not there, don?t invent something, don?t shed blood needlessly.?

Jesse Benton, Mr. Paul?s national chairman, says internal polling has found that more than 70 percent of probable Republican voters in Iowa and New Hampshire would be more likely to support someone who wanted to bring troops home, foster a strong national defense and end the United States? role as the world?s policeman.

?We need another armed conflict like we need a hole in the head,? Mr. Benton said. There is no question, he added, that Mr. Paul would ?take direct military action to completely wipe out the threat? if there was credible evidence of an imminent attack by Iran on the United States.

He also said military service members favored Mr. Paul in donations to Republican candidates. While there is no way to prove this because only itemized donations over $200 require occupations to be listed ? information that is self-reported ? a review by The New York Times of federal contributions suggests that active-duty and retired service members overwhelmingly lean to Mr. Paul. He received at least $115,000 in itemized contributions through Sept. 30, almost double that of all other Republican candidates combined.

But for many Republicans, Mr. Paul?s approach is just too radical. Troy Levenhagen, a businessman and entertainer, said he had ruled him out over national security and other issues. ?He says too many things that are too far out there,? he said Tuesday as he waited for Mitt Romney to speak in Mason City, Iowa.

Bill Watson, a former Republican central committeeman for Story County, called foreign policy Mr. Paul?s ?weakest point? with Iowa Republicans and said Mr. Paul could poll perhaps 40 percent if he pursued an orthodox Republican approach.

Mr. Watson says he is uncommitted ? and differs with Mr. Paul in some areas ? but he is frustrated that Mr. Paul is caricatured as overly dovish. ?If you listen to him long enough he makes more sense,? he said.

Jeff Zeleny contributed reporting from Mason City, Iowa.

Source: http://htpolitics.com/2011/12/30/ron-pauls-foreign-policy-stands-win-support-criticism-from-gop-voters/

ufc on fox juan manuel marquez juan manuel marquez penn state stanford oregon joe paterno velasquez vs dos santos