Texas Gov. Rick Perry assailed Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) for his stance against deploying troops in the Middle East, a sign of things to come for potential presidential candidates of the Republican party in 2016.

In an op-ed piece that the Washington Post ran on July 11, Perry said he felt "disheartened" to learn about Paul's view on "isolationism," saying such principle overlooks the threat being posed by terror groups.

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"The main problem with this argument is that it means ignoring the profound threat that the group now calling itself the Islamic State poses to the United States and the world," Perry wrote. "In the Islamic State ... the world is confronting an even more radicalized version of Islamic extremism than al-Qaeda."

The Texas governor pointed out that the U.S should be bothered by the growing clout of the Islamic State, whose fighters include people who are legitimate European and American passport carriers.

The U.S. government's inaction could bring more harm than good, as the threat of attackers flying into the mainland carrying bombs would always be a possibility, given that suicide bombing had been carried out by the group's American supporter.

Perry said this possibility represents a real threat to U.S. national security to which he accused Paul of seeming to be curiously blind. He said anyone who carries these passports could easily buy acquire a plane ticket in the absence of a visa.

Perry likewise criticized U.S. President Barack Obama's pullout of troops in the Middle East, saying his decision to withdraw American presence in the area allowed terror groups to sprout once more.

The governor said Paul was terribly wrong when he cited the policies of former President Ronald Reagan during the height of the Cold War.

He said that the present U.S. noninterventionist policies today ran contrary to what former President Reagan believed --persistent engagement and leadership worldwide to ensure security and economic prosperity.

Perry feared that if Paul's brand of isolationism gains steam, it would only lead to an increased threat of terrorism in the U.S.

"Ignoring the growth of the Islamic State and events in Syria and Iraq will only ensure that the problem will fester and grow," he said. "The United States needs to take the threat seriously this presents to our nation."

TagsRick Perry, Gov. Rick Perry, Isolationism, Foreign Policy, war on terror, ISIS