Sen. Rand Paul on Monday said he disagreed with the Obama administration's decision to arm Syrian rebels in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).
The comments came after President Barack Obama's announcement last week that the United States would begin airstrikes against the militant group in Syria. Obama appealed to Congress to authorize him to arm and train rebel factions to fight on the ground.
"It's a mistake to arm them. Most of the arms we've given to the so-called moderate rebels have wound up in the hands of ISIS, because ISIS simply takes it from them, or it's given to them, or we mistakenly actually give it to some of the radicals," Paul, the Kentucky Republican and possible 2016 presidential candidate, said on CBS's "This Morning."
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Paul also cited reports over the weekend of a truce between some moderate Syrian rebels and ISIS.
"I would say one insightful piece of news from the last week is, some of the moderate rebels, so-called moderate rebels have now signed a cease-fire with ISIS," he said. "So, really their enemy is really [Syrian President Bashar] Assad. They don't really care what ISIS does."
Paul, however, has said he supports expanding airstrikes in Syria, a reversal from his position in June when he said he did not believe there was a clear U.S. interest in getting involved in the conflict.
"I am, like most Americans, I am influenced by the beheading of Americans, now the beheading of a British journalist," he said regarding his change of opinion. "I think it's going to unite the world against ISIS.
"But I have steadfastly been against Hillary Clinton and President Obama's intervention in Libya as well as Syria, because I think they have helped to create the situation that we now face with ISIS," Paul added.
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