A diplomatic solution is much more "difficult" after the recent hostilities with Iran, but at least "we're still in a lucky place," Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told Newsmax TV on Wednesday.
"Fortunately, last night the attacks killed no one, but what if the attacks killed 200 Marines? Today we would be at war with Iran," Paul told "National Report" host Bob Sellers. "And, so, as things get out of my control, voices for peace and voices for diplomacy get drowned out once Americans are killed.
"The real goal here is to have diplomacy. Some kind of mediation. Some kind of engagement. Give the Iranians an opportunity to have discussion as opposed to only escalation.
"So, right now, we're still in a lucky place where no Americans were killed in the most recent escalation, and hopefully we stay there."
Although he supports President Donald Trump, Paul stressed, it is "too much power for one person" to have to order an act of war, a definition which the senator said fits the U.S. killing of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani.
Paul said the Constitution never envisioned allowing such a crucial decision to be made by one person, and instead gave the power of declaring war to Congress.
Paul said, even a successful military operation can lead to another provocation, which can then easily get out of control.
He emphasized, his main point in foreign policy is leaders must think through the full and long-term consequences of military action. He gave the example of the decision to kill Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, which Paul said only led to a worse situation that continjues to have negative consequences for the U.S. many years later.
Paul said he will continue to push both sides to talks so a diplomatic solution will be more possible and hoped the fact there were no casualties from the Iranian attack means a de-escalation will be possible.
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Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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