The United States has a history of often picking sides in Middle East conflicts to its own detriment. In the 1980s, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld met with Saddam Hussein to establish a relationship that helped the dictator gain access to American arms during Iraq's war with Iran. In the 1990s, the U.S. would drive former ally Hussein from Kuwait and impose a decade of sanctions that were devastating for Iraqis, but had little effect on the dictator. In 2003, we went to Iraq, overthrew Hussein, and became part of nation-building effort from which we only recently saw most of our soldiers return home.
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Rand Paul: U.S. has a habit of picking the wrong sides in Mideast conflicts
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Paul: First, U.S. supported Gadhafi in Libya; switched sides to support rebels
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We don't know who the rebels in Syria are, he says
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Paul: We must also consider how rebels might treat Syrian Christians
Arguably one of the greatest beneficiaries of the Iraq war was @placeholder, which now enjoys more power and influence with the elimination of its historic enemy.