The U.S. should never get involved where we have no clear national interest. We should not intervene militarily in a country like Syria, where we can’t separate friend from foe and might end up arming the very people who hate us the most.
Interpretation
Intervention in foreign conflicts should only occur when there is a clear national interest.
In this quote, Rand Paul emphasizes the importance of understanding national interests before engaging in military intervention abroad. He warns against getting involved in complex foreign conflicts, like the situation in Syria, where the lines between allies and enemies are blurred, which could lead to unintended consequences such as supporting radical groups that oppose U.S. interests.
In practice
In a debate about military intervention, this quote can highlight the importance of national interest.
The GOP of old has grown stale and moss-covered. I don't think we need to name any names, do we? Our party is encumbered by an inconsistent approach to freedom. The new GOP will need to embrace liberty in both the economic and the personal sphere.
No American should be killed by a drone on American soil without first being charged with a crime, without first being found guilty of a crime by a court.
Opponents of civil liberties contend the NSA data collection has made our country more safe, but even the most vocal defenders of the program have failed to identify a single thwarted plot.
When you couple this militarization of law enforcement with an erosion of civil liberties and due process that allows the police to become judge and jury - national security letters, no-knock searches, broad general warrants, pre-conviction forfeiture - we begin to have a very serious problem on our hands.
I will speak until I can no longer speak. I will speak as long as it takes, until the alarm is sounded from coast to coast that our Constitution is important, that your rights to trial by jury are precious, that no American should be killed by a drone on American soil without first being charged with a crime, without first being found to be guilty by a court.
To be an enemy of America can be dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal
We must abandon the notion that the people govern. Instead, we must adopt the theory that, by their occasional mobilisations as a majority, people support or oppose the individuals who actually govern.
Man is not free unless government is limited.
The government is tottering. We must deal it the death blow an any cost. To delay action is the same as death.
What I have come to realize over the twenty years when I have worked in different roles as a legislator is that no legislation is as good as the enforcement of it.
The government has no money of its own. It's all your money.
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