Marco Rubio explains his ‘surprising’ vote against the use of U.S. military force in Syria: Not everyone buys it
Florida Senator Marco Rubio surprised some with his vote against U.S. Military action in Syria. Has he turned over a new leaf, turning from his interventionist ways?
Here is a portion of the transcript:
“What is happening in Syria is a vital national security concern for the United States. I know Syria is far way, and some may wonder why it matters. But it matters for several reasons.
“First, Syria is of vital importance to Iran and to their ambitions to become the foremost power in the region. They use Syria to arm Hezbollah and then to attack Israel. They use it to traffic weapons and terrorists to destabilize Iraq. Second, Assad is a dangerous anti-American dictator. For example, he helped terrorists get into Iraq so they could 
maim and kill American soldiers. Third, this prolonged conflict is creating vast ungoverned spaces in Syria which are turning into the premier operational area in the world for jihadists to operate. And fourth, if Assad does not face consequences for what he has done, and is doing, it sends a message to other rogue governments like North Korea and Iran that they too can cross red lines without fear.
“That is why those who argue that what happens in Syria is none of our business are wrong. And that is why I have, for over two years, urged the President to pursue a more robust engagement in the hopes of helping the Syrian people replace Assad with a stable, secular and moderate government.
“However, while I have long argued forcefully for engagement in empowering the Syrian people, I have never supported the use of U.S. military force in the conflict. And I still don’t. I remain unconvinced that the use of force proposed here will work. The only thing that will prevent Assad from using chemical weapons in the future is for the Syrian people to remove him from power. The strike the administration wants us to approve I do not believe furthers that goal. And in fact, I believe U.S. military action of the type contemplated here might prove to be counterproductive.”
Not everyone buys Rubio’s change of heart as indicated by the comments posted with his YouTube video–here are a few examples:
“Mr. Rubio sure needs a new advisor. Talking from both sides of the mouth would not help anyone at anytime.”
“You can bet this RINO got the OK to vote against Obama… From Obama himself. This RINO thinks that by voting against this War he is somehow fixing his treasonous vote for Amnesty, we will NOT forget and we will NOT forgive this type of Treason from Rubio, Graham and McCain and the others… they will NOT keep their seats in the Senate and those who support Amnesty in the House will lose their seats in the next election. Rubio is scum we will not forget”
and
“So you would have armed the rebels a long time ago, but don’t want direct U.S. involvement. I agree we shouldn’t get involved, but Marco Rubio sucks. He is the definition of a puppet. He tries to please everybody, but at the end of the day he just isn’t that smart.”
Is Rubio for real? What are your thoughts?
