Rick Perry, Rand Paul and American interventionism

Many see the recent squabble between Rand Paul and Rick Perry over the United States’ involvement in other countries — and especially in Iraq — as an early skirmish in the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.

The Kentucky senator is urging minimal U.S. involvement in the escalating conflict in Iraq, while the Texas governor is advocating a more interventionist approach. Their back-and-forth started with a Wall Street Journal column by Paul on June 19, followed by Perry’s column in the Washington Post on July 11, Paul’s retort in Politico on July 14, and a subsequent anti-Paul outcry by more hawkish Republicans.

PolitiFact in Washington, D.C., sorted out the pair’s differences and delved into President Barack Obama’s positions. Read on here