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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today issued the following statement regarding new details on the terrorist attack in Istanbul as well as the administration’s attempts to partner with Russia in Syria:

“Reports emerging out of Turkey appear to provide even more evidence that the horrific attack in Istanbul earlier this week was perpetrated by ISIS.  As I have warned for years, Turkey and Syria’s other neighbors will continue to suffer from these types of attacks as long as Bashar al-Assad remains in power and the chaos in Syria continues.  The American people should understand that these attacks, and the attacks we’ve seen in Paris, Brussels, San Bernardino, Orlando and other places, are all related. And the increasing danger we face here at home are the direct result of five years of failed policy from this administration.  Halfway through 2016 alone, ISIS is now responsible for hundreds of deaths and thousands more seriously injured, with many of those casualties being suffered outside of the war zone in Iraq and Syria. We need to redouble our efforts to support our allies and partners in the region and deepen our intelligence cooperation with those who are most exposed to this threat. 

“Even as we once again witness the horrendous cost in human lives and suffering that is the result of this administration’s failure to destroy ISIS, we see reports that President Obama is doubling down on his failed policy and trying to expand military cooperation with Assad’s chief backer, Russia.  Russia is a key contributor to this ongoing crisis, not part of the solution.  As many of Secretary Kerry’s own officials at the State Department warned earlier this month, a continued focus on negotiations at all costs will only continue a status quo that ‘will continue to present increasingly dire, if not disastrous, humanitarian, diplomatic, and terrorism-related challenges.’

“It has now been two years since ISIS declared its caliphate.  Whatever the incremental progress being made on the ground in Iraq and Syria by our partner forces to reclaim territory from its control, these gains are not happening quickly enough.  At the end of the day, our partners and allies are at risk from this threat, but as we’ve seen in San Bernardino and Orlando, so are Americans here in our own communities. We cannot let this crisis continue to spiral out of control to the extent that these attacks become a regular occurrence here at home.  We must increase our commitment to the fight against ISIS to destroy the caliphate and deprive its leadership of the propaganda value of its continued existence and successes.”