Even Paul Thinks Cheney Pushed Iraq War For Profit

An old video has resurfaced of Sen. Rand Paul accusing Dick Cheney of entering the Iraq War for Halliburton profit. In the tape, filmed at Western Kentucky University, Paul publicly declared that Cheney, the former CEO of oil-services company Halliburton, pushed for the U.S. to enter Iraq, using 9/11 as an excuse, so he could benefit from the defense contracts.

Now, this isn't a new theory, but it does illustrate the long-standing divides in the GOP. The 2009 video, which was recently published by David Corn at Mother Jones, was shot just before Paul - a 2016 GOP White House contender - announced his run for Senate.

""He's being interviewed, I think, by the American Enterprise Institute, and and he says it would be a disaster, it would be vastly expensive, it would be civil war, we'd have no exit strategy. He goes on and on for five minutes — Dick Cheney, saying it would be a bad idea, And that's why the first Bush didn’t go into Baghdad," Paul tells the crowd. "Dick Cheney then goes to work for Halliburton. Makes hundreds of millions of dollars — their CEO. Next thing you know, he's back in government, it's a good idea to go into Iraq."

"9/11 became an excuse for a war they already wanted in Iraq," Paul added.

But even as the deep cracks in the GOP continue to make themselves known, the party is hotly tipped to take the Senate in the November midterms. Paul has slowed down on the theories in recent years, though he did recently try to sue the White House.

Paul's office did not comment on the newly resurfaced video, and it's not clear if this'll hurt his chances at a GOP presidential nod for 2016.