Rand Paul opposes U.S. attack if it could 'kill Christians in Syria'

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said on Tuesday that an attack on Syria would be a bad idea if U.S. weapons were "used to kill Christians."

In an interview with conservative radio host Mike Huckabee, Paul said that President Barack Obama needed to understand that "there are 2 million Christians living in Syria, more than just about any place in the Middle East."

"And I just don't want to see my kids or weapons of the United States being used to kill Christians in Syria," he explained.

Paul called on the president to "try and convince" a joint session of Congress that action in Syria was necessary.

"You know, I think a good place to start when things are muddled and confused is to start with the Constitution," he told Huckabee.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has estimated that 106,000 people have died so far in the conflict in Syria. A recent study by the Humanitarian Intervention Centre projected that the death toll could top 400,000 by August of next year.

The CIA World Factbook indicates that about 10 percent of the Syrian population identifies as Christian.

Listen to this audio from The Mike Huckabee Show, broadcast Aug. 29, 2013.

[Photo credit: Gage Skidmore]