Sen. Rand Paul defended President Barack Obama over the accidental killing of two hostages in a U.S. drone attack in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region.
The Kentucky Republican and presidential candidate, who’s become known for his opposition to the use of drones on American soil, said he sees value in drone warfare overseas and argued that this was a difficult situation.
“The world is so partisan, I tend not to want to blame the President for the loss of life here. I think he was trying to do the right thing,” he said Monday morning on Fox and Friends.
Paul said he’s not opposed to the use of drones in combat, saying that the holding of hostages constitutes an act of combat and there’s not “due process if you’re in a war zone.”
“These people were in a war zone and probably got what was coming to them – the captors. Unfortunately some innocent people also died,” he said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a potential presidential rival for Paul who’s been sharply critical of the senator’s views on foreign policy, took to Twitter to welcome Paul’s comments.
“Glad to see your new position on drones/targeting Americans who join al-Qaeda & affiliated groups. They do so at their own peril,” the tweet stated.
While Paul has gained a reputation for being anti-drone – he told CNN that he’d shoot down any drones that fly over his house, and his campaign website sells “Don’t drone me, bro” t-shirts – his comments Monday weren’t inconsistent with what he has said in the past.
One of Paul’s hallmark moments in the Senate was when he took to the floor for a 13-hour filibuster opposing the President’s choice of John Brennan to head the CIA, given that Brennan was known as one of the main architect’s of the country’s drone program.
He questioned the administration’s policies for targeting American citizens, both at home and abroad. But, much like he said Monday, he acknowledged at the time that due process doesn’t apply to combat zones.
“But when people say, ‘Oh, the battlefield’s come to America’ and ‘the battlefield’s everywhere,’ ‘the war is limitless in time and scope,’ be worried, because your rights will not exist if you call America a battlefield for all time,” the senator said at the time.
However, he’s also expressed skepticism of the killing of al Qaeda operative Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen, who was targeted and killed in a U.S. attack in Yeman.
“In our country, even if you are a terrible person, if you are murderer or a rapist, you are accused, but then you’re given a chance to confront tour accusers. The burden is on the government. There has to be a burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt,” Paul said in an interview with CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper.”
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U.S. Sen. Rand Paul delivers remarks while announcing his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination during an event in Louisville, Kentucky, on Tuesday, April 7.
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Paul and his wife, Kelley, wave to supporters in Louisville on April 7.
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Paul speaks in Rochester, New Hampshire, prior to meeting potential voters in March.
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Paul walks on stage before speaking at the Values Voter Summit in Washington in September.
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Paul attends a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Syria in September.
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Paul speaks at a news conference in June about the U.S. role in Syria.
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Speaking at the University of California at Berkeley in March 2014, Paul speaks on the issues of privacy and curtailing domestic surveillance.
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Paul addresses the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference, where he easily won the presidential straw poll.
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From left, U.S. Sens. Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand and Paul attend a March 2014 news conference to announce a new medical marijuana bill at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
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In February 2014, Paul announced that he was suing President Barack Obama and top national security officials over the government's electronic surveillance program made public by intelligence leaker Edward Snowden.
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Paul leaves the Capitol in March 2013 after staging a filibuster over the nomination of CIA Director John Brennan.
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Ethics laws prevent senators from accepting payment for any job other that their duties in Washington. So Paul, a veteran eye surgeon, performs pro-bono procedures to keep current on his practice.
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Paul speaks in Bowie, Maryland, in March 2013 during a discussion on reforming the criminal justice system.
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Paul and his father speak with supporters in Ames, Iowa, before the start of a 2012 presidential campaign event.
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Paul boards an elevator after attending a Republican caucus meeting in Washington in July 2011.
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Paul unveils his own version of the federal budget during a news conference in March 2011.
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Paul speaks to hometown supporters in Bowling Green, Kentucky, during his campaign for the Senate in November 2010.
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Paul and his family celebrate his 2010 Senate victory during an election night party in Bowling Green.
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Coming from his son's soccer game, Paul wears shorts and a suit jacket while preparing for his guest spot on a Fox News television program in May 2010.
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Paul waits to tour a mine in Pineville, Kentucky, in May 2010.
