Paul blasts Gingrich for skipping military

Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) jabbed at Newt Gingrich during Saturday night’s Republican presidential debate for not serving in the military while advocating for foreign intervention as a candidate.

Paul had previously called Gingrich a “chickenhawk” for avoiding military service in his younger years, and did not back off from that line of attack during an ABC News/Yahoo! debate in New Hampshire.

“I’m trying to stop  these wars, but at least I went when called,” he told Gingrich.

{mosads}The former House Speaker fired back in a seething response, accusing Paul of having “a long history of saying things that are inaccurate and false…I personally resent the kind of comments and aspersions he typically makes.”

He went on to say that his father was a long-time member of the military with multiple tours of duty, adding, “I have a pretty good idea of what it’s like in a family to worry.”

He maintained that he never asked for a deferment, but did not serve because he was married and had a child. Paul rebutted by saying he served in the military while married and with two children.

Paul’s call for little to no foreign intervention by America’s military separates him from most of the GOP field, but the man who served in the Air Force said candidates with no military experience have “no right to send our kids off to war.”

“I have a pet peeve that annoys me to a great deal because when I see these young men coming back, my heart weeps for them,” he said.