Rubio urges more assistance for Syrian rebels

After Mideast trip, he says U.S. should supply ammunition

WASHINGTON — Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., back from a Middle East trip, said Wednesday that the United States should start supplying ammunition to moderate Syrian opposition groups in order to protect U.S. interests by countering the rise of radical groups.

Rubiometwith top Israeli and Jordanian leaders, along with a former Syrian prime minister, last week during a three-day visit. He spoke about the trip at a prominent Washington think tank as he shored up his foreign policy portfolio for a possible 2016 presidential run.

On Iran, Rubio said U.S. sanctions are damaging the Iranian economy, but he predicted they won’t stop Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.

After meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior leaders in Tel Aviv, however, Rubio stopped short of supporting a military strike by the United States or Israel to take out Iran’s nascent nuclear facilities.

“I agree with their concerns that Iran is moving toward development and deployment of nuclear weapons, and that it is using the (current) negotiations as a ploy,” Rubio said in a lunch talk at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Rubio said the threat of Iran developing nuclear weapons and the Syrian war are more urgent matters for the security of Israel andthe United States, putting Palestinian peace initiatives on the back burner.

Despite having voted Tuesday against confirming former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel as defense secretary in part because of claims that he’s soft on Israel — the Senate confirmed Hagel with only four Republican votes — Rubio did not criticize President Barack Obama, who will make his own visit to Israel next month.

While in Jordan, Rubio met with former Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab, who defected in August.

Rubio said he was told that Syrian rebels fighting to overthrow President Bash- ar Assad are becoming angry because they feel abandoned by the United States and allied Western nations.

Rubio called for extending the current humanitarian aid from Washington to the Syrian Opposition Coalition to include ammunition.

“We don’t have to give them weapons; they have plenty of weapons,” he said. “What they need is ammunition. They are running low on that.”