Rubio: Tillerson’s Strategy of Beating ISIS and then Working with Assad Won’t Work

EXCERPT:

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SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: I have never supported the use of military force of U.S. military force in this conflict and I still don’t. I believe that U.S. military action of the type contemplated here may prove to be counterproductive. After a few days of missile strikes, it will allow Assad, for example, to emerge and claim that he took on the United States and survived. And by the way, I also think this action could unleash a series of events that could further destabilize the region.

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STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Marco Rubio back in 2013 warning against what he called pinprick military strikes against Bashar al-Assad in Syria. He’s joining us now this morning. Senator Rubio, thank you for joining us this morning.

RUBIO: Thanks, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: That was back in 2013. You praised President Trump’s strike this week as a first step in a longer strategy. But are you worried based on what we’re seeing from Assad this morning, the airfield up and running again, his defiance, that the consequences you feared back in 2013 are coming through now?

RUBIO: Well, first of all, the consequences actually happened. And I would say that three-and-a-half years is a long time.

Here’s a loft things that have changed. Here’s the first thing that’s changed from 2013 to now, the Russians are now there. Assad was losing back in 2013. If we had armed non-jihadist elements on the ground, they could have overthrown him. That’s what I thought was the better approach at the time.

As long as Assad is there, you’re going to have a radical jihadist Sunni element, even if you destroy ISIS it’ll be al-Nusra and that new coalition. These people who have been killed and gassed and human rights violations against them will never accept Assad as their rightful ruler, and they will join or become radicalized in order the fight him.