Rubio Campaign Press Release - Marco Rubio: 'We Need to Understand Who ISIS Is'

December 1, 2015

In an interview Monday with New Hampshire Now's Chris Ryan, Marco outlined his plan to keep Americans and our allies safe.

In part, he said, it's about understanding the enemy:

We need to understand who ISIS is — they're an apocalyptic jihadist group, that believes that they're being called to defeat the West in an apocalyptic showdown, they even name the city where it's gonna happen. They're not going to stop fighting until they're defeated. They're not going to go away, they're not going to melt away, they're not going to go into another line of work. Their goal is a global caliphate . . . .

I continue to believe the most effective way to defeat them is local forces. A Sunni Arab fighting force, a fighting force made up primarily of Sunni Arabs, will have to defeat them militarily and reject them ideologically. They will need our help, and that includes increased airstrikes, more special operators on the ground, more logistical and intelligence support and coordination, but ultimately they must be defeated on the ground by a fighting force made up primarily of Sunni Arabs.

Marco has put forward a detailed plan to defeat ISIS.

He also discussed what can be done to combat mass shootings and violence in the United States.

I think as a country we need to be more serious about how we address mental health. There's a bill working its way through Congress, that's something we should look at. I also think we should look at our society at large, why is it these things are happening, I think it will lead you back to a societal breakdown being a major contributor to some of the problems we face in this country.

Not every problem in America has a federal government solution to it; a lot of them lie in our own homes, our own neighborhoods, our own communities.

Finally, Marco discussed his plans to make the U.S. economy as competitive as it can be.

It is the private sector that creates not just new jobs, but hopefully better paying jobs. In a 21st Century economy that's globally competitive, we have to put in place policies that allow us to be globally competitive. We have policies in place on the federal level now, tax policies, regulatory policies, energy policies, Obamacare, not allowing ourselves to fully utilize our energy resources, that act as an impediment, to not allow our private sector to be competitive.

Marco has outlined bold policies that address the changing economy, as well as a plan to bolster small business job creation.