Sen. Marco Rubio Seeks to Rebuild the American Military and Defense...1 of 1 >
Sept. 17, 2014 -- In a speech titled "American Strength: Building 21st Century Defense Capabilities," Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) sharply criticized the Obama administration on defense, stating that force reductions "have presented not just a crisis of readiness for America, but also a perilous strategic weakness."  "The trend of declining American Strength had been largely incidental among previous administrations, but now it is an active priority," Rubio stated. "Previous presidents had merely taken their foot off the gas pedal of American Strength, but President Obama has stomped on the brake."  Rubio said that, "President Obama has failed the first test of leadership as Commander in Chief: outlining a clear and principled doctrine to our people."

Declaring that "the world is at its safest when America is at its strongest, Rubio set out specific proposals for modernizing America's armed forces, intelligence capabilities and treatment of military personnel.  For example, Rubio noted that the Navy "has only 289 ships and is on a path to 260 or less," and said that a more appropriate number would be 323 ships as recommended by former Secretary Robert Gates.  He called for building "at least two Virginia class submarines each year."  He said the troubled F-35 program is "too important to abandon."  Along with modernization, Rubio called for innovation to deal with new threats, for example from cyber attacks or space activities. [prepared remarks]

The speech, hosted by the John Hay Initiative, in association with Concerned Veterans for America and The Project for the Common Defense, is the latest in a series of policy speeches Sen. Rubio has been delivering as he prepares for a likely presidential campaign.
After the speech, former Sen. Jim Talent posed a few questions of his own and from the audience.
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