President Obama has set a bad precedent by negotiating a prisoner swap to secure the freedom of U.S. citizens held in Iran, says Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, citing Ronald Reagan’s approach to freeing U.S. hostages as a better model, USA Today reported, January 17, 2016.
“He’s put a price on the head of every American abroad,” Rubio said of Obama. “Our enemies now know that if you can capture an American, you can get something meaningful in exchange for it,” he said on NBC’s Meet the Press.
“When I become president of the United States, our adversaries around the world will know that America is no longer under the command of someone weak like Barack Obama,” said Rubio, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.
The U.S. approach to Iran has been a focal point of Republican criticism of Obama’s policies, including the administration’s recent nuclear deal. Obama has said it demonstrates the value of engaging U.S. enemies while Republicans say it puts the nation in a weaker negotiating position and that they would immediately revoke it.
The Americans were freed in exchange for clemency to seven Iranians charged or imprisoned over sanctions violations. The U.S. also dropped charges against 14 Iranians outside the U.S.