Getty Members Only We Asked Marco Rubio to Lay Out His ISIL Strategy. Here It Is.

Marco Rubio represents Florida in the U.S. Senate.

Last week, France suffered the deadliest terror attack to hit Europe in more than a decade. It was perpetrated by a terrorist organization that has repeatedly warned the world of the scope of its intentions and the brutality of its methods. After the attack, French President François Hollande declared that France would wage war against the Islamic State (ISIL) with the sole intention of obliterating it. “It is not a question of containing but of destroying this organization,” he said.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama—the leader of the most powerful nation on earth—has decided to maintain his strategy of weakness and neglect. He claims, falsely, that ISIL is geographically contained. He insists, foolishly, that using ground troops would be a mistake.


While he dithers, ISIL is diligently forcing its way across the borders of the Middle East—expanding beyond Syria and Iraq, now into Libya, Egypt, Afghanistan and even nuclear-capable Pakistan. It is threatening to advance into Saudi Arabia and Jordan, and in recent weeks has launched attacks into the Sinai, Beirut and, as we saw on Friday, into the heart of Europe.

Obama hopes he can defer leadership long enough for ISIL to become the next president’s problem. Yet with every day that passes, the danger of an ISIL-inspired or ISIL-sponsored attack on the U.S. homeland grows. This is now more than a mere military battle; it is a civilizational struggle—one with the free peoples of the world on one side and those who believe everyone must convert to their perverted version of Islam or be killed on the other.

When I am president, what I will do to defeat ISIL is very simple: whatever it takes. Exactly what it will take will depend on how the situation on the ground changes over the next 15 months. If Obama begins acting with strength, the next president could face a more manageable crisis; but if he continues to fail the test of leadership, the next president will face a challenge of enormous proportions.

Here is what Obama must do—and what I would do if I were president today—to defeat ISIL and guarantee the safety of our people.

First, I would protect the homeland by immediately stopping the flow of Syrian refugees into the United States—not because refugees fleeing conflict are unwelcome, but because it is currently impossible to verify their identities or intentions. I would also strengthen the Visa Waiver Program’s security screening to ensure individuals coming to our country are not a threat. I would rescind limitations on overseas intelligence collection and restore the intelligence gathering authorities Congress drastically limited this year. We don’t want to wake up the day after an attack wishing we’d had these programs in place.

Next, I would reverse defense sequestration so we have the capabilities to go on the offense against ISIL. We will only be able to protect our people at home if we defeat ISIL abroad. I would build a multinational coalition of countries willing to send troops into Iraq and Syria to aid local forces on the ground. When I am president, I will tell my commanders that the mission is the total destruction of ISIL and will send them the forces necessary to succeed.

Furthermore, I understand the ideological conflict at the heart of this struggle and will apply the appropriate pressure to tip the scales in favor of peace and stability. As president, I would demand that Iraq’s Shiite-dominated government grant greater autonomy to Sunnis, and would provide direct military support to Sunnis and the Kurds if Baghdad fails to support them. I would back those demands with intense diplomatic pressure and the leverage of greater American military assistance to Iraq.

Cutting off oxygen to ISIL also requires defeating Assad in Syria. I would declare no-fly zones to ground Assad’s air force and coalition-controlled “safe zones” in the country to stop his military. These safe zones would stem the flow of refugees and provide a place to train and arm rebel fighters. I would oppose Russia and Iran in their fight to prolong Assad’s brutal regime.

All of this and more must be done immediately to defeat ISIL. Obama will likely refuse to take these actions. As a result, ISIL will continue its death march across the Middle East, Americans will remain at risk, and America’s next president will inherit an even larger challenge than the one we face today.

Hillary Clinton wants to be that next president, yet she continues to claim that ISIL cannot be America’s fight. Some of my Republican colleagues are also vying for the presidency, yet they have spent the last several years helping to gut our defense and eliminate key intelligence programs. All have failed to grasp the threat posed by disengagement from Syria and Iraq. I warned against it from the beginning.

Early in 2011, when a strain of isolationism seemed to be taking root in the Republican Party, I began to warn of the dangers of failing to lead on the growing challenge in Syria and Iraq. I predicted much of what has happened today. I have repeatedly laid out what must be done to defeat ISIL and have spoken of the need for American strength even when it wasn't popular.

The greatest job of America’s president is to keep our people safe. I will not tire in my efforts to do so. Evil will never relent, and when I am president, neither will America.