Sen. Marco Rubio, in a speech in New York at an event sponsored by the Foreign Policy Initiative, a conservative think tank, slammed the Obama administration for not inviting Cuban dissidents.
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As Secretary of State John Kerry helped raise a U.S. flag above a newly opened US embassy in Havana, Republican presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio criticized the administration’s outreach to Cuba, with Bush saying it reflects Obama’s “strategy of accommodation and appeasement”.
The Florida senator also attacked the recent Iran nuclear deal – and said the policies on Cuba and Iran are evidence of what he called “every flawed strategic, moral and economic notion” driving President Barack Obama’s foreign policy.
Biglari said he returned to Iran in 2014 for the first time in 35 years, following the election of President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate elected on a platform of lifting sanctions on Iran and improving its relations with the world.
A poll released Friday by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that only 1 in 3 Americans said it was important to hear from the next president about their approach to Cuba, compared with almost 9 of 10 who wanted to hear about terrorism and cyberattacks by foreign countries or terrorist groups.
The Cuban plan would involve an ultimatum to the ruling Castro regime, in which they would be forced to “either continue repressing your people and lose the diplomatic relations” recently established with the U.S., or to “carry out meaningful political and human rights reforms”.
“He has been quick to deal with the oppressors, but slow to deal with the oppressed”, Rubio said.
Any talks to come afterward must result in a deal that terminates Iran’s nuclear program, he says, and would also be tied to “Iran’s broader conduct, from human rights abuses to support for terrorism and threats against Israel”.
“I will invite Cuban dissidents, Iranian dissidents, Chinese dissidents and freedom fighters from around the world to be honored guests at my inauguration”, said Rubio, stating his strong support for those who oppose oppressive governments. “Iran may not return to the table immediately, but it will return when its national interests require it to do so”.
Rubio did not just lash out against Obama’s foreign policy, but also against Obama’s approach toward his domestic critics.
George Mitchell represented Maine as a U.S. Senator for 15 years.
GOP congressional leaders will bring to the House and Senate floors by September 17 resolutions of disapproval that seek to block the deal from taking place. People who take it seriously are disposed to regard the deal as dangerous-as Rubio put it, a “string of concessions to a sworn enemy of the United States“. And if we can be very clear about the consequences to Iran if it cheats.
Rubio said Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton was a partner in Obama’s failed policies in Iran and Cuba. While Rubio has spoken about Syria in other contexts, it’s critical to point out that ousting Bashar al-Assad, Iran’s closest global friend, and preventing Syria from falling entirely into jihadists’ hands is part and parcel of the effort to roll back Iran’s influence.
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Then Obama addressed the rest of the region: “There is the possibility that if you look at what’s going on the Middle East right now, more and more states begin to recognize that their enemy is chaos and ISIL and disaffected young people, Shia and Sunni, who are attracted to, you know, ideologies that are in opposition to every regime here”.
