Ron Paul: Abolish FEMA

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, whose strict libertarian message is finding surprisingly robust support in the early phases of the 2012 campaign, said on Sunday that he remains committed to the idea of dismantling FEMA and minimizing the government's role in responding to future storms.

The Republican congressman from Texas, appearing on Fox News Sunday, shied away from criticizing FEMA's current response to Tropical Storm Irene. But he said the agency had a history of mismanagement, citing its costly and deeply flawed response to Hurricane Katrina. If elected president, Paul said, he would gradually do away with the agency.

"It has one of the worst reputations for a bureaucracy ever," Paul said. "Anyone who wants to defend this agency, they have a tough argument to make."

Turning to foreign policy, Paul blasted the Obama administration for its military intervention in Libya, which he described as "unconstitutional." The lawmaker noted that the long-term impact of U.S. operations in the Middle East often remains unclear for several years, which means that it is far too soon to know whether toppling Libyan strongman Muammar el-Qaddafi would be beneficial or harmful for American national security.

"We have no idea what's going to come out of Libya," he said. "We may be delivering al-Qaida another prize; they'll be in Libya, they weren't there before. These unintended consequences of our foreign policy are so overwhelming."