MARCH 2011: RUBIO WANTED TO BACK LIBYAN REBELS UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS Asked If The U.S. Should Arm The Rebels In Libya, Rubio Said “We Need To Learn More About Who These Folks Are.” Asked if he supporting arming the rebels in Libya, Rubio said, “Well, I think we need to learn more about who these folks are. And I'm happy to see that - Secretary Clinton engaged with them a little bit yesterday, and we'll continue to learn about them. And as we do, we can make those decisions. So I think it was wise for the President not to take it off the table, to leave that open as an option. But right now, the primary focus and mission, I think, is to continue to degrade the ability of, of Moammar Gadhafi to carry out atrocities in Libya.” [This Week, ABC, 3/30/11] Rubio Said U.S. Should Recognize The Rebel Government In Libya Only If The U.S. Can Verify That It Would “Be Representative Of The Libyan People” And They “Reject Terrorism.” “In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sen. Rubio cautions that the United States should recognize the rebel government only if we can verify that it will ‘be representative of the Libyan people and take demonstrable measures to protect the basic human rights of the Libyan people.’ Further, it must ‘reject terrorism’ and ‘cooperate with international counterterrorism and nonproliferation efforts.’ In fact, there's no way to obtain such guarantees. And if the rebels turn out to be Al-Qaeda sympathizers, do we commit more troops to oust them?” [Editorial, Palm Beach Post, 4/21/11] RUBIO CALLED FO A NO-FLY ZONE IN THE AREA DURING THE LIBYA REVOLUTION Rubio Wanted To Aid The Libyan Rebels And Called For A No-Fly Zone In The Area. “Sen. Rubio has been coy about whether he would support the use of U.S. troops into Libya, claiming that it would be poor military strategy to signal what the nation would do. His office did not respond to a request for clarification. But he asked Senate leaders to put U.S. involvement in Libya to a vote. He wants the United States to make ousting Moammar Gadhafi an explicit goal. President Obama and leaders of Britain and France have said they want the Libyan dictator to leave, but regime change is not a stated goal of the United Nations/NATO operation in Libya. Sen. Rubio called for a no-fly zone even before one was established and wants to aid Libyan rebels.” [Editorial, Palm Beach Post, 4/21/11] APRIL 2011: RUBIO HAD DIFFERENCES WITH HARRY REID OVER LIBYA POLICY Rubio And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Jabbed Each Other Over Libya Policy. Rubio, “stepped into foreign policy, sending a letter (‘perhaps the boldest move any freshman senator has made,’ the Weekly Standard crooned) to Senate leaders urging Congress to authorize the military to force a regime change in Libya. But it did not play out smoothly. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office responded that Rubio seemed ‘oblivious’ to the troops' lives he could put at risk, not to mention the cost to U.S. taxpayers, a seeming jab at Rubio's persistent focus on government spending. ‘My concern for the well-being of our troops is no less than yours,’ Rubio wrote back. ‘I understand that reflexively attacking the ideas proposed by another member of the opposing party has sadly become the way of the modern Senate. It nonetheless remains my hope that the Senate will endeavor to at least make an exception when it comes to issues of national security.’” [St. Petersburg Times, 4/4/11] JUNE 2011: RUBIO WISHES OBAMA CAME TO CONGRESS TO USE FORCE IN LIBYA…”BUT WE CAN’T RE- LITIGATE THE PAST” Rubio Wished Obama Came To Congress Before Sending Forces Into Libya, “But We Can't Re-Litigate The Past.” “‘The reality of it is Moammar Gadhafi needs to go, and the day he goes will be a good day for America and a good day for the world,’ Rubio told the St. Petersburg Times. ‘We should do what we can to help that come about.’ The Florida Republican hedged when asked about President Obama’s contention that he does not need Congressional approval, but criticized the president for not engaging early enough, saying it had been ‘mishandled.’ Many House members say Obama is in violation of the 1973 War Powers Resolution that requires approval of the legislative branch within 60 days, with a 30-day extension. ‘I think those who are upset with him not coming to Congress have a right to be upset,’ Rubio said. ‘I think had he come to Congress in the early days of this engagement, he would have gotten the support that he wanted. I'm not sure why they didn't do that. But we can't re-litigate the past.’ He added: ‘The reality is what we're facing now. Moammar Gadhafi's hands are dripping with American blood from years of terrorist activity. His own people want to get rid of them and to the extent that we can afford to help them and can help them, we should. Had the president committed to that early and forcefully, I think this conflict would have been over a long time ago and it would have saved us a lot of money. I think it's been mishandled.’” [UMCI News, 6/22/11] JUNE 2011: RUBIO PROPOSED AN AMENDMENT THAT WOULD HAVE USED THE GADHAFI REGIME’S FROZEN FUNDS TO REIMBURSE U.S. MILITARY EXPENSES IN LIBYA Rubio Proposed Amendments That Would Use Frozen Libyan Funds To Help Reimburse To The U.S. For Military Costs. “The panel adopted several additional amendments to the resolution. One, sponsored by Rubio, said it was the sense of the Senate that the Qaddafi regime's frozen funds should be used to reimburse the United States for its military expenses in Libya, as well as any humanitarian or reconstruction funding.” [Congressional Quarterly Today, 6/28/11]