Rubio: Terrorist ‘safe haven’ in Iraq threatens US

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said Thursday that the White House shouldn’t rule out air strikes against a terrorist organization taking over parts of Iraq.

“The goal of these groups is to attack Americans here,” Rubio said on the Senate floor. “If they have a piece of land where they can train … it puts in great danger the security of every American.”

{mosads}An extreme Islamic militant group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has taken over the Iraqi cities of Tikrit and Mosul just a few years after U.S. forces left the country. Senators were briefed on the matter on Thursday.

Rubio said lawmakers still haven’t heard a “cohesive” plan from the White House on how it plans to respond. He said the administration should make sure U.S. personnel in the Middle East are protected and shouldn’t rule out air strikes against ISIS.

“We’re going to have to take some sort of action against this radical group,” Rubio said. “The choice before us is if we take action now of if we take action later.”

Other Republicans senators made similar demands of the administration.

Rubio is considered a potential GOP presidential nominee in 2016.