Sen. Marco Rubio: Kurds are 'good, strong' ally

WASHINGTON, DC, United States (Kurdistan24) – Republican Senator from Florida Marco Rubio explained to Kurdistan24 how much he values the contribution made by the Peshmerga to the US-led war against the Islamic State (IS).

“Peshmerga have been an important element in the fight against [IS],” Rubio said. “They have been a good and strong ally of the United States.” He added that the Kurds will be “an important part of the future of that region.” 

However, Rubio indicated he did not want to address the issue of Kurdish independence, at least at this time.

“I understand the desire of the government of Kurdistan to pursue options about independence,” he said. “We’ve had conversations with them about it.”

Rather, Rubio wants to cooperate with the Kurdistan Regional Government to address pressing problems, above all to defeat IS.

”There’s this immediate issue that we’re working on together,” he stated. “And I think it’s important to continue to work together on it—the [IS] situation.”

To a significant extent, Rubio embodies the American dream. He is the son of Cuban immigrants, who arrived in the US with little by way of money or possessions. Both of his parents worked hard at low-skilled, low-paying jobs. Yet merely one generation later, their son is a US senator.

Rubio sits on the Senate’s Committee on Foreign Relations, as well as the Select Committee on Intelligence. Both positions provide him a platform for exercising a strong voice in the debate over US national security policy.

The Republican Party is now sharply divided between a liberal, internationalist wing, which favors intervention abroad to promote US values, above all, democracy and human rights, and a more domestically oriented wing which would limit US intervention abroad to confronting major threats to national security.

Like former President George W. Bush, Rubio belongs in the internationalist camp. However, 15 years of continuing conflict since 9/11—with no end in sight—has soured the US public on the liberal, internationalist perspective.

Thus, although Rubio ran in the Republican presidential primaries, he was obliged to withdraw from the race in March, after Donald Trump won his own state of Florida.

Still, Rubio, an unusually thoughtful and articulate figure, remains an influential personality in Washington.

Rubio is a hard-liner on Iran. Speaking of the nuclear deal that the Obama administration concluded with Tehran and with an eye to the new policies that will emerge in the next administration, Rubio told Kurdistan24, “I hope [the nuclear agreement] is repealed. And we can go back to treating Iran for what they are: the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism.”

Editing by Delovan Barwari 

(Rahim Rashidi conducted the interview in Washington, DC)