Senator Rand Paul: We Need to Cut Off All Aid to Pakistan Until Dr. Shakil Afridi Is Freed

Senator Rand Paul is leading a charge to strip Pakistan of all foreign aid unless Dr. Shakil Afridi, the doctor who was convicted of 33 years in prison for helping the United States track down Usama bin Laden, is released. Pakistan will receive over two billion dollars from the US this year alone.

Paul joined America’s Newsroom to talk about his quest, saying that he has a lot of sympathy for Afridi. “I’m about the same age, and I can just imagine the courage it must have taken to help us get bin Laden,” he said.

He believes that the Pakistani government responds to strength, and if the United States refused all aid, the doctor would be freed, saying, “About a month ago, I threatened to remove all of the Egyptian aid because they were holding 16 American citizens, and lo and behold, Egypt let them go.”