Some of Rand Paul's remarks from his speech at the Faith & Family Coalition in DC

"Even when we’ve tried through good intentions to make the world a better place our actions have often backfired. During the Iraq War, over a quarter-million Iraqi Christians fled Iraq. Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator but his government was secular and therefore relatively safe for Christians. Christians, however, feared the Shiite government that we helped put in place after Saddam, and they fled in droves.

Where did these Christians go? They headed mostly for Syria, joining the over one million Syrians who have lived as Christians since the time of Christ. Now, the senate is attempting to arm the rebel forces in syria, many of whom are al-Qaeda or affiliates.   they do so out of a miguided attempt to stop the violence in syria.  

Instead their actions will bring more violence and more persecution of Christians, who have long been protected in Syria. Before the Arab Spring, Christianity flourished in small outposts, like the Coptic Christians in Egypt. I had hoped that the Arab Spring would bring freedom to long-oppressed people throughout the Middle East, but I fear the Arab Spring is becoming an Arab winter.

Today, Christians in Iraq, Libya, Egypt and Syria are on the run—persecuted or under fire—and yet, we continue to send aid to the folks chasing them."

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