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Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 1:08 PM UTC

GOP Rep. says Cheney will rot in hell

Rep. Walter Jones says the former VP will achieve this destiny for pushing the Iraq War

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Topics: Dick Cheney, Iraq war, Libertarianism, Ron Paul,

GOP Rep. says Cheney will rot in hell

North Carolina Republican Rep. Walter Jones joked Saturday that if Congress won’t hold former Vice President Dick Cheney accountable for the Iraq war, God will, sending the hawkish veep to hell.

“Congress will not hold anyone to blame. Lyndon Johnson’s probably rotting in hell right now because of the Vietnam War, and he probably needs to move over for Dick Cheney,” Jones, a libertarian who is often critical of the war in Afghanistan, told a Young Americans for Liberty conference in Raleigh this weekend.

Jones also called the use of drones in targeted killing “absolutely unconstitutional,” warning the autonomous aircraft could be used against Americans in the future. “When that drone comes to America from a foreign country, we’re going to wonder what in the hell hit us. It was a drone,” he said.

Young Americans for Liberty is an offshoot of former Rep. Ron Paul’s presidential campaign organization, and Jones praised the libertarian hero. “I want to give credit to the man who helped me understand if you’re ever going to send young men and women to die, it needs to be with the Constitution and debated by the Congress,” he said of Paul, as first reported by Slate’s Dave Wiegel.

Jones was once a Neo Conservative hawk, spearheading the effort to change the name of French fries in House cafeterias to “freedom fries” after France declined to support the Iraq war. But he’s since had a change of heart and is now one of the most outspoken critics of American interventionism, picking up the mantel left by Paul.

Alex Seitz-Wald

Alex Seitz-Wald is Salon's political reporter. Email him at aseitz-wald@salon.com, and follow him on Twitter @aseitzwald. More Alex Seitz-Wald.

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