Marco Rubio Urges Obama to Communicate Strategy Against IS

On Friday, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, called on President Barack Obama to outline a strategy to take on Islamic State (IS) forces in the Middle East. Rubio sent Obama a letter, urging him to reach out to the American people on why IS should be defeated and insisting the president had the constitutional authority to strike against IS forces in Syria without congressional approval.

The American people and the world need to hear you outline our strategy to defeat IS in clear and unequivocal terms, Rubio wrote. They need to hear the truth about IS, the threat they represent, and the sacrifice and combined effort that will be needed to defeat them.

IS represents a clear and immediate threat to the national security of the United States, which is why you should use the constitutional and legal authority you possess as commander in chief to conduct attacks to degrade and defeat IS, Rubio continued. Just as the U.S. has conducted operations against terrorists elsewhere, there is no legal reason preventing you from targeting IS in Syria.

With U.S. leadership, the United States should vigorously pursue an international coalition to increase military options against IS, including increased air support and lethal assistance to Iraqi and Kurdish forces as well as a more aggressive approach to destroy supply routes, vital infrastructure and IS leadership wherever they are operating, Rubio added. It is also important to increase support to moderate Syrian opposition forces currently fighting IS.

In addition to striking IS abroad, there must be a renewed and heightened effort to secure the homeland as well. With the disturbing increase in Western fighters from Europe and the United States drawn to support IS, as well as ISs attempts to expand their territory, we must be vigilant in working with European and Middle Eastern partners to track the flow of IS fighters and prevent the return of jihadists to Europe or the U.S., Rubio wrote. This is a large challenge and one that will require considerable attention by the U.S. government and a broad coalition of allies, but it is paramount to U.S. national security.