President Barack Obama has proven over his past eight years in office that he is unable to meet the challenges of dealing with terrorism, Sen. Marco Rubio says in this week's GOP address.
"The world is now a more dangerous place than when he came into office," the Florida Republican and former 2016 GOP presidential candidate said Saturday. "Because instead of seeing the chaos and threats that all of us see, he dismisses the enemy and underestimates the challenges they pose to our very way of life."
The worst days of Obama's presidency could come, though, in his last four months in office, said Rubio, as the president and his congressional allies want to release all terrorists from the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba prison.
"We've already seen why this is a dangerous mistake, as many have been released to other countries, only to quickly go missing," aid Rubio. "Others have returned to the battlefield, and replenished the forces of evil. The terrorists still behind bars are the worst of the worst, but President Obama and his misguided allies in Congress still want to send them to other countries, or even bring these terrorists here to U.S. soil."
Rubio noted he has introduced legislation to prevent the White House from evading current restrictions and allowing the remaining Gitmo prisoners to be released, and Republicans have kept the president from bringing detainees to U.S. soil, but Obama and his allies are committed to closing the prison.
This is happening, Rubio said, "Even while other policies — like the disastrous deal with Iran — are providing the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism with billions of dollars in sanctions relief and ransom payments, money they will use to fulfill their dreams of 'death to America' and wiping Israel off the planet."
The challenges underscore the need for the United States to rebuild the military and to "reassert American leadership on the world stage," he continued, or risk leaving a world that is not more secure for future American generations."
In recent days, there were attacks in New York, New Jersey and Minnesota, noted Rubio, and "fortunately, this time, the only loss of life was one knife-wielding terrorist, who was taken down by an off-duty police officer before more harm could be done."
But that attack, in a Minnesota mall, along with bombs that were detonated in New York City and one that was set to go off during a Marine Corps charity race in Seaside Park, New Jersey, point out that "evil is real, and we remain a nation at war against radical Islamic terrorism," said Rubio.
"This is a war against our country that has evolved, from terrorists with box cutters hijacking airplanes and flying them into buildings 15 years ago, to the threat of bombs targeting the Boston Marathon and charity 5K runs, speeding trucks being rammed into large crowds, makeshift bombs built with instructions obtained online, and knives and guns being used to massacre people in places like Orlando, Fort Hood, Chattanooga and San Bernardino," said Rubio.
And Americans should not have to accept those events as the "new normal," Rubio said.
"We should not have to constantly look over our shoulder every time we visit a public place with our children, or take a walk down the street," said Rubio, "but we must also understand that this war will not end soon, and we can't become fatigued or complacent about that reality."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.