Rubio’s Defense Speech: Fearless, Informed, and Refreshing

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National Review:

Roger Zakheim

September 19, 2014

 

Fearless. That’s the word to describe what you saw if you had a chance to watch Senator Marco Rubio deliver a major national security speech this week. Fearless in the national-security policy he supports, fearless of the political hurdles that may accompany his “peace through strength” agenda, and fearless for speaking at length (over forty minutes) on defense policy initiatives that are often left to wonks and analysts to discuss.

 

First, to the policy proposals. Senator Rubio signed up to many of the recommendations of the recently released National Defense Panel (NDP). Understanding that defense policy is hollow without resources, Rubio’s first recommendation advocates for a dramatic increase in defense budgets. There was no hint of concern that funding defense would compromise his status as a fiscal hawk. In what seemed like an attempt to reassure the tea-party faithful, the Senator reminded the audience that, “Article One, Section Eight of the Constitution assigns 17 separate duties to Congress. Six deal exclusively with the national defense — more than any other area.”

 

Like other defense hawks in the party, he emphasized the need to rebuild the military via modernizing the Air Force and building more ships for the Navy. Less common was the senator’s emphasis on the need to reverse the cuts to the size of the Army and Marine Corps. Jettisoning the current administration’s defense-policy guidance, Senator Rubio argued that end strength reductions “have risen from the dangerous illusion that America will never again have significant ground forces in combat.” “But as we’ve learned in Iraq,,” he pointed out, ”declaring wars over does not end them.” This is decidedly not the lesson President Obama, or for that matter, Senator Rand Paul, learned from Iraq. Rubio made clear that strength is a precondition for peace – not a driver of foreign entanglement. Citing President Reagan, Rubio said “a truly successful army is one that, because of its strength and ability and dedication, will not be called upon to fight, for no one will dare to provoke it.”

 

In fact, few areas of defense policy were left untouched: cyber, space, military benefits, nuclear modernization, and intelligence were all covered in the speech..........(Snip)

 

 

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According to many who commented inform us that Marco Rubio is quite simply a very bad person.

[Valin]