Kentucky Senator Rand Paul threw President Obama a lifeline over the weekend amid questions about U.S. involvement in Iraq.
Speaking Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the Bowling Green Republican criticized those who pushed the U.S. military invasion in Iraq.
"What's going on now, I don't blame on President Obama, but I do blame the Iraq war for the chaos that is in the Middle East," said Paul. "I also blame those who were for the Iraq war for emboldening Iran."
Former Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday he was a strong supporter of going into Iraq during the Bush administration and remains so now. Cheney dismissed Paul as an "isolationist.”
Senator Paul, who is considering a White House run in 2016, said he supports the president’s decision to send 300 advisers to Iraq in the interest of protecting the U.S. embassy there. But even as the terrorist group ISIS gains new ground in Iraq, Paul maintains the U.S. should stay out of the region militarily.