Rubio: Sever Ties With Syria, Expand Sanctions

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is calling on the U.S. to cut diplomatic ties with Syria amid the government’s violent crackdown on protesters.

“As ill-advised as it was to restore diplomatic relations with Syria by sending an American ambassador to Damascus last year, we should now sever ties and recall the ambassador at once,” Rubio said in an article in Foreign Policy Magazine published Thursday.

In addition, Rubio said that the U.S. should expand sanctions “to include persons identified as authorizing, planning, or participating in deplorable human rights violations against unarmed civilians” and urge U.S. allies to take similar steps.