Back in 2007 I rallied behind then-Sen. Barack Obama as a freshman in college because he called for a curtailed presence abroad, a drawn down from the Bush-era hubris.

Further, he was critical of the Patriot Act, in 2005 claiming: “Giving law enforcement the tools they need to investigate suspicious activity is one thing — and it’s the right thing — but doing it without any real oversight seriously jeopardizes the rights of all Americans and the ideals America stands for.”

Unfortunately since being elected president, Obama has mostly extended Bush-era policy. He never closed Guantanamo, dragged his feet on troop withdrawals and has kept to broad interventionism.

Much of this has been reliant on long range drone strike capabilities. Among those directly targeted include two American citizens: Anwar al-Aulaqi first and his son in a subsequent strike. There was never a trial for either citizen, something guaranteed to us by the Constitution.

Meanwhile collateral damage continues to stack up, including numerous non-combatants. The hazy veil under which the Obama administration conducts its foreign policy regime should be questioned now just as many did under President George W. Bush.

From the Patriot Act, warrantless wiretapping and now a looming drone program that can be used against ‘combatant Americans,’ we need to draw the line somewhere. The past 12 years have required us to give up too much.

I do not agree with Rand Paul on many policies; as someone who has crossed the isle to work with many anti-war, pro-civil liberties groups, I too must now stand with Rand in calling for a more transparency and legality in the president’s actions, both domestic and abroad.