Leading Republicans who could find them facing off for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination in just a few months have staked out different positions on combatting the Islamic State.
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said Sunday that no strategy for decapitating the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria would be complete without attacking the extremist movement’s command and control centers inside Syria. But Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who has previously called for President Obama to bomb ISIS “back to the stone age,” stopped short of advocating for U.S. military action inside of Syria, which remains ravaged by civil war.
“What we ought to have is a direct, concerted, overwhelming air campaign to take them out,” Cruz said on ABC’s “This Week.” Asked by reporter Jeff Zeleny whether that air campaign should include Iraq and Syria, Cruz said: “The focus should be Iraq, but the real focus should be taking out ISIS. Within Syria, it should not be our objective to try to resolve the civil war in Syria.”
Rubio presented a starkly different approach Sunday during an interview with Bob Schieffer on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
“I think it’s critical that we” hit them in Syria, Rubio said. “If you’re serious about defeating ISIL, you have to go after where they’re headquartered. What’s important to understand about their presence in Syria is that they are generating revenue in Syria with former [Bashar] Assad refineries that they now control and they’re generating revenue.”
“You cannot defeat ISIL unless you hit them in those parts of Syria that they now control where the Syrian government is not even present,” Rubio added.
Cruz and Rubio also differed on whether President Obama should seek congressional approval for expanded military action to combat ISIS. Rubio believes the president has the authority to do so without congressional approval, while Cruz does not. Obama is scheduled to brief congressional leaders and the nation on his strategy for defeating ISIS this week.
