The RNC shouldn't honor Ron Paul at the convention

When Paul remarked that “the IAEA and CIA said they are not on the verge of a nuclear weapon,” that “they are permitted to have their nuclear programs under the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” and that “we continue to be . . . obsessed with Iran and the idea that Iran is a threat to our national security,” he paints a picture of a peaceful and benevolent Islamic Republic that has never actually existed.

Indeed, in November, the IAEA reported that it had “serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear programme” and that “Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device.” The Nonproliferation Treaty does not afford Iran — or any other country — a right to uranium enrichment. Paul’s apologia for the ayatollahs is as absurd as it is dangerous. It is wholly irresponsible for anyone who aspires to national leadership.

Paul has left a trail of similar factual errors and conspiracy-mongering on issues ranging from the defense budget to America’s position overseas, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and even the origins of the attacks of September 11, 2001 — all themes he repeated during a speech to his supporters at the University of South Florida on Sunday as he boasted that “we will get in the tent because we will become the tent eventually.”