Ron Paul said that American policymakers were at least partially at fault for the country being attacked on 9/11 during a discussion of foreign policy on CBS's Face the Nation Sunday.
Paul argued that the American military presence in Saudi Arabia - rather than ideological differences or anger over American prosperity - were motivation for the September 11 hijackers.
"Just remember that immediately after 9/11, we removed the base in Saudi Arabia, our policies definitely had an influence," Paul said. "To argue the case they want to do us harm because we're free and prosperous I think is a very dangerous notion, because it's not true."
Host Bob Schieffer then pressed Paul on whether that wasn't the equivalent of blaming America for the attacks.
"If you have a flawed policy, that may have influenced it… that's a far cry from blaming America," Paul responded.
"So what you're saying is that it was the government's fault," Schieffer then said.
"I'm saying the policymaker's fault," Paul responded. "[They] contributed to it, contributed to it."
Paul went on to say that if he became president, he would pull troops out of overseas bases, arguing that submarines and long-range missiles would work just as well as deterrents.
"Absolutely, and the people are with me on that, those troops oversees aggravate our enemies," Paul said.
The Texas congressman went on to warn against posturing towards Iran after a recent intelligence report found that the nation was more aggressively seeking nuclear weapons.
"I think the greatest danger for us now is to overreact… Iran doesn't have a bomb, there's no proof, and for us to overreact and talk about bombing Iran is much more dangerous," Paul said.
He also said that he did not support sanctions against the nation, arguing they were the "initial steps towards war."
