Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., outlined his views on the role of America in the world, why we need American power, and his position on what the U.S. military should look like in a speech today.
Here is a brief recap of what Rubio said:
1. “Foreign policy is domestic policy.” “Never before have our people and our economy been so connected and dependent to the world. What happens across the planet can have a greater impact on your family than what happens down the street.”
2. Rubio’s Foreign Policy doctrine
- “In this globalized world, conflict breeds economic disruption.” “We must boldly oppose efforts by other nations to infringe upon the freedom of international waters, airspace, cyberspace, and outer space.”
- “We need to have moral clarity regarding what we stand for and why. This means reinforcing our alliances. It means resisting efforts by rising and resurgent powers to subjugate their neighbors. It means being unabashed in our support for the spread of economic and political freedom.”
- “We need American Strength.” “The world is at its safest when America is at its Strongest.”
3. America’s enemies are getting bolder and threats are rising. The lists includes nuclear proliferation to countries like North Korea and soon Iran, growing Russian and Chinese militaries, and terrorist groups like ISIL. More problematic, “our adversaries are emboldened by what they perceive as our diminished military presence.”
4. The military has been cut too much. The Defense Department has borne the brunt of spending reductions, even though Social Security and Medicare make up a greater portion of federal spending. As Rubio stated, “adding insult to injury, the savings found in the defense budget were redirected to already bloated domestic programs.” These cuts, 21 percent in four years, has resulted in “a perilous strategic weakness.”
5. Increase the defense budget. The senator would like a return to the former Secretary of Defense Robert Gate’s Fiscal Year 2012 budget as recommended by the bipartisan National Defense Panel. The increased budget would allow the military to invest in two “vital objectives for national defense: modernization and innovation.”
In short, Rubio’s remarks laid out a solid conservative plan for foreign policy and defense, one that acknowledges both the countries’ fiscal responsibilities as well as global realities. His plan is rooted in his belief that “America cannot avoid its role as a global leader.”