Ron Paul: France’s Foreign Policy Invited ‘Retaliation’ on Charlie Hebdo

As he has said in the past about the attacks of September 11, 2001, Ron Paul again argued Wednesday that “bad” foreign policy, this time on the part of France, “invites retaliation,” now in the form of today’s shooting at Charlie Hebdo’s Paris offices.

Paul made his comments in an interview with NewsmaxTV’s Steve Malzberg, saying he does not “blame” the country of France for the attack, but he does blame on “bad policy that we don’t fully understand.” He added, “It doesn’t justify, but it explains it.”

“This is pretty obscene, when it comes to violence, and libertarians are pretty annoyed by anybody who initiates violence,” Paul said of the attacks, explaining that France has “been a target for many, many years, because they’ve been involved in foreign affairs” in Libya and Algeria.

Citing U.S. wars in the Middle East, drone strikes and sending weapons into Syria, Paul said, “It’s that overall policy which invites retaliation, and they see us as intruders.” He added, “We’ve been conditioned to believe that the only reason 9/11 happened is that we are free and prosperous. I don’t believe that for a minute.”

Watch video below, via NewsmaxTV:

[h/t BuzzFeed]
[Photo via screengrab]

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