US President Donald Trump to regret allowing neocons taking over US foreign policy: Ron Paul

Former US Congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul

Former US Congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul says President Donald Trump will regret the day he allowed American neoconservatives to take over his foreign policy.

Dr. Paul, a three-time American presidential candidate and the founder of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, which advocates for a non-interventionist foreign policy and the protection of civil liberties at home, made the remarks in a recent interview on his website.

The US, Britain and France launched a barrage of cruise missiles on different Syrian government targets on Saturday morning, targeting what they called chemical weapons sites in retaliation for an alleged  poison gas attack.

The US and its allies had been threatening Damascus with military action since April 7, when a suspected chemical attack on the Syrian town of Douma, Eastern Ghouta, reportedly killed 60 people and injured hundreds more.

President Trump on Saturday declared "mission accomplished" and argued that it "could not have had a better result."

Meanwhile, Russia said on Monday it has “irrefutable” evidence that the chemical attack in Douma was a “false flag” operation orchestrated by British spy services.

Russia’s Representative at the Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Alexander Shulgin made the remarks during a meeting of the organization’s executive council in The Hague.

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“In Syria, the US decided to start bombing before the international inspectors were even allowed to start checking claims that Assad gassed his own people at Douma. Why? What was the rush? Was Washington afraid that they might not find Assad guilty?” Dr. Paul said.

“Who really benefits from the US attack on the Syrian government? There were reports that ISIS began making moves immediately after the airstrikes. Do we really want to be al-Qaeda’s and ISIS’s [Daesh’s] air force? Is that going to keep us safe? Remember when al-Qaeda was considered our enemy, not an ally in overthrowing the last secular government in the Middle East?” he asked.  

Questions about Trump’s 'terrible decision'

“If Syria really had sarin and other chemical weapons factory, does it make sense for the US to bomb the buildings and risk killing thousands by widely dispersing the poison?” the veteran commentator further asked.  

“Does it make sense to risk killing Syrian civilians by chemical weapons in retaliation for the allegations that the Syrian government killed civilians with chemical weapons?” he said.

“No, it seems more likely the phony mobile weapons of mass destruction labs we were told that Saddam Hussein had constructed,” he stated.  

“If the US knew Syria was manufacturing chemical weapons in the buildings they bombed, why not notify the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)? The OPCW had certified that the very buildings the US bombed as chemical weapons-free not that long ago. Why not just call them up and ask them to check it out?  After all they were just arriving in the country as the US started bombing,” he said. 

“There are many more questions about President Trump’s terrible decision to again make war on Syria.  For example, where is Congress? It was disgraceful to see Speaker Paul Ryan telling the president he needs no congressional authorization to attack Syria,” Dr. Paul said.  

“All members of Congress have taken oath to uphold and defend the Constitution and the Constitution   says only Congress can declare war. Does that oath mean nothing these days?” he said.

“President Trump will come to regret the day he let the neocons take over his foreign policy. Their track record is abysmal. The attack on Syria was clearly illegal, and should his party lose the House in November he may find his new fair-weather friends in the Democratic Party quickly turning foul,” he concluded.