Rubio: The Choice Shouldn’t Be Assad or ISIS – ‘They Both Need to Go’

Monica Sanchez | October 1, 2015
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On Fox News’ “The Kelly File” Wednesday night, Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio argued that it would be foolish for the U.S. to support Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in the fight against ISIS as Russian president Vladimir Putin had advocated for during his address to the UN.

“I don’t think the choice should be Assad or ISIS,” said Rubio. “I think they both need to go.

The Florida senator also discussed Russia’s involvement in Syria as a power play "to replace America as the most important outside powerbroker” of the Middle East.

“They may conduct some operations against ISIS, but this is not about ISIS,” he argued. “This is about propping up Assad, who is a client state of both Iran and Vladimir Putin.”

“And it’s about something even broader, and that is showing the world that Russia is now a powerbroker in the Middle East. And the message they’re sending is, they’re actually more reliable than America under Barack Obama. So this is a multi-faceted plan by Vladimir Putin to prop up Assad, but more importantly to replace America as the most important outside powerbroker of the region.

“We’re beginning to look like a junior partner under Barack Obama,” Rubio added.

For more, watch the interview below.  

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