Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on March 4, 2013

Sens. Marco Rubio and Rand Paul in what could be a preview of a 2016 Republican presidential primary showdown are staking out markedly different positions on U.S. intervention in the world, and particularly on American policy toward the Middle East

Kentuckys Mr. Paul, who visited Israel and Jordan in January, is calling for Republicans to adopt a more restrained and less interventionist approach to global affairs, and is embracing the sequester cuts to the defense budget that is sending military hawks into a tizzy.

Mr. Rubio, who visited Israel and Jordan last month, is advocating a more muscular brand of global leadership and observers said it is significant that the Florida lawmaker tapped Jamie Fly, an adviser to President George W. Bush, as a counselor on foreign affairs and national security.

What you are getting from Rand is really what he thinks, said James Jay Carafano, vice president of defense policies studies at the Heritage Foundation. What you are getting from Rubio is in part Jamie, who is more senior, more experienced, and who is more on the side of the offensive realists.

The battle shaping up between the two Republican senators would be Round 2 of the fight that played out last year between Mr. Pauls father, former Rep. Ron Paul, and the rest of the Republican presidential field. The Texas Republicans non-interventionist message hit home with some voters but not enough to give the elder Mr. Paul a realistic shot at the nomination.

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The sons world view is similar, but he calls himself a realist rather than an isolationist.

Mr. Paul, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has said he wants to curtail foreign aid, including to Israel, and hes called on the federal government to stop selling F-16 fighter jets, and M1 tanks to Egypt, warning that it fuels an arms race that hurts Israels security.

He doesnt want to see the United States dragged into the fighting in Syria and he doesnt like the unilateral use of presidential power. Mr. Paul drove home that point last year, holding up a Senate bill to impose further sanctions against Iran and demanding that congressional leaders add language to the measure to ensure it would not pave the way for the president to unilaterally authorize war against Iran.

Iran does need to know that all options are on the table. But we should not preemptively announce that diplomacy or containment will never be an option, Mr. Paul said in a speech at the Heritage Foundation last month.

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Marco Rubio, Rand Paul differ on Middle East

Category: Jewish American Heritage Month
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