Rep. Ron Paul, a soon-to-be presidential candidate known for opposing U.S. military intervention overseas, said if he were president, he would not have duplicated President Obama's plan for taking out the man responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Paul plans to announce his candidacy Friday in New Hampshire, two sources told Fox News. Ahead of that announcement, he suggested in a radio interview Tuesday that the U.S. government could have worked with Pakistan to secure Usama bin Laden's capture instead of unilaterally entering the country and killing him -- despite concerns that the Pakistanis could have tipped him off.

"It was absolutely not necessary," Paul said of the May 1 CIA-led Navy SEALs raid.

The Texas congressman questioned whether Obama could have gotten away with the operation if Usama bin Laden had been in a country other than Pakistan.

"What if he had been in a hotel in London?" Paul said on Newsradio 1040 WHO. "So would we have sent the ... helicopters into London because they were afraid the information would get out? No, you don't want to do that."

Paul said the United States should have gone after bin Laden the same way it went after Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, architect of the Sept. 11 attacks, by working with the Pakistan government.

"They arrested him, actually, and turned him over to us," Paul said, suggesting the same formula should have applied to bin Laden.

Though Paul is credited by some with inspiring the Tea Party movement, one faction of that movement was not happy with the comment.

"If there is any doubt that Ron Paul should not even get near the Oval Office, even on a tour of the White House, he has just revealed it," Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips said on his website. "For a Congressman to say the raid to kill the man who is one of the greatest mass murderers of Americans in history was, 'not necessary,' is simply nuts."

Other potential GOP candidates have expressed support for the way Obama handled the bin Laden operation. Asked about Paul's comments, an aide to businessman and potential candidate Herman Cain reiterated that sentiment.

"Mr. Cain believes that bringing Usama bin Laden to justice was absolutely the right thing to do," spokeswoman Ellen Carmichael said.

Paul, who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2008, is expected to make his candidacy announcement Friday in New Hampshire, site of the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. He has already started a presidential exploratory committee, opened an office in Iowa and raised more than $1 million online last week on the day of the first Republican presidential debate, hosted by Fox News and the South Carolina Republican Party.

Pakistani officials, while saying the death of bin Laden is a positive development, have decried the U.S. raid as a violation of their sovereignty. Obama officials have staunchly defended the mission.

Paul has used the death of bin Laden to renew his push to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Paul also wants to drastically reduce the U.S. military presence around the world.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/05/12/ron-paul-ordered-bin-laden-raid/

This idiot needs to go away. He also needs to think before he opens his trap.

We tried several times to trust Pakistan to capture Bin Laden, they screwed us everytime by letting him slip away or tipped him off.

Another retarded statement if he was in London would we do that? What a moron, we pledged to go after Bin Laden no matter what country he was in, so if it came down to that, yes we would BUT with England, we wouldn't have to. We can and have trusted them, they are our closest ally. MI6 and the CIA would have worked closely together as well as the SAS and Seal Team 6 who have conducted joint missions together since Seal Team 6 was founded in the Reagan Presidency. If that moron even understood that he wouldn't have made that statement.

He just lost over half his supporters with that interview. Keep it up Looney Toon's, cause everytime you open your mouth you just reinforce why you shouldn't even be within 100 miles of the White House. I guarantee he just killed his chances about getting re-elected to Congress with this idiotic statement.

He is not a credible candidate or a serious one. He will never get elected to the Oval Office, he needs to go away.

Not to mention major candidates make him stutter during debates, imagine what our enemies would do.

Ron Paul is Al Qaeda and The Talibans best friend. He should be charged with treason.

Ron Paul is a throwback to the old school republicans. Eisenhower and Goldwater. The war party has always been the democrats until the disaffected marxists like Irving Kristol broke from the democrats and started the neo con movement. Paul represents non moralist voters that used to be the core if the republican party. Neo cons and the moralists brought the republican party to where it is. No different than the democrats. It's time to go back to what true conservatives believe in and it ain't wanton wars and assassinations.

Eisnehower was not a coward like Paul is. Eisenhower was a great President.

Paul is a loon and is on his own planet.

I think everyone on here knows how much I hate Obama, but I would vote for Obama over Ron Paul if it came down to it.

Sorry, let me choose my words wiser here...Most politicians are terrible at their job, have been, and will always be. The few of them that are actually good at their job (and mind you, very few of them are) get attacked for simpleton things such as this. Do I agree with Mr. Paul on this one? No, but then again I haven't agreed with the general ****ed direction most politicians have taken our country in.

Report this, I don't even care anymore...I'm not even trying to debate with you because it is useless and ultimately goes nowhere anyway. All the information in the world and I'd bet you'd still turn a blind eye to it.

Somehow I have the feeling Pakistan knew where Osama Bin Laden was the whole time. I am surprised they didn't do anything until the US found out. Would that really be cooperation on their behalf?

Something fishy about this all....

because he has been dead for years, and abama lied... iran even said they have proof that he died in 03, and the government has been covering it up..

Well there you go as I have mentioned a few days back it was a political stunt to boost his approval ratings when the news was flooded throughout the internet.

i just heard Ron Pauls platform will be to legalize prostitution and heroin...

Pakistan hid him and protected him..........

No, hell Iran is harboring over half of his children!

Figures, two things he probably uses a lot of.

And his doantions and popularity is rapidly dropping now!