Sen. Marco Rubio, one of the Republican Party's favorites for the presidential nominee in 2016, unveiled his foreign policy platform, making him the first of the growing list of contenders to outline his foreign policy goals.

Sen. Rubio took to the stage at the Council of Foreign Relations Wednesday afternoon where PBS's Charlie Rose introduced him. The Florida senator advocated a new foreign policy, which distanced itself from President Barack Obama's cautious diplomatic approach and military cutbacks. He called it the "Rubio Doctrine," harkening to great foreign policies enacted by previous presidents like James Monroe and Harry Truman.

Sen. Rubio's policies, however, did not carry the gravitas such doctrines wielded.

"American Strength is a means of preventing war, not promoting it," he said at the beginning of his speech. "And that weakness, on the other hand, is a friend of danger and the enemy of peace."

President Obama, the senator argued, weakened U.S. presence worldwide through negotiations with certain governments, a relatively passive stance on world affairs, and the downsizing of the military. The president's election, however, helped change global opinion on the U.S.

The Pew Research Center has kept track of global opinion on the U.S., showing it has improved in most cases or, at the very least, not changed. Particularly in Europe and Latin America, U.S. favorability has improved since President Obama took office. This shift and the nation's less belligerent stance has helped advance some issues that remained stagnant for decades.

Cuba and Iran pose to instances in which Sen. Rubio believes the administration sacrificed American interests and values for diplomatic progress. He called Iran's increasing influence in the Middle East and the nuclear deal between with the U.S. "most threatening of all."

"President Obama's desperation to sign a deal -- any deal -- has caused him to elevate politics over policy, legacy over leadership, and adversaries over allies," Sen. Rubio argued.

Many Americans, though, favor the treaty with Iran, with various polls showing support for the president's deal. Notably, the U.S. was not alone at the negotiation table, being joined by a handful of other countries, including Russia, a nation we have not seen eye to eye with for some time.

Sen. Rubio's stance on the deal aligns with that of his party. Many Republicans have remained adamantly opposed to the president's Iran deal, going so far as to attempt to derail the negotiations with a letter to Tehran.

Written by Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas penned an open letter to the Iranian leadership about the nuclear deal in an attempt to dissuade Iran from going forward with it. Among the 47 signatories is Sen. Rubio.

As president, Sen. Rubio would correct this administration's mistakes, the senator said. He would modernize and expand the military and "restore our people's faith in the promise and power of the American ideal."

The "Rubio Doctrine" is founded upon three pillars: American Strength, the protection of the American economy, and establishing a moral clarity on U.S. core values.

Sen. Rubio criticized President Obama's downsizing of the military and vowed, as part of his foreign policy's first pillar, to return the military budget to the 2012 fiscal year standards. He criticized the sequestration of the military, citing the concerns of then Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

The Budget Control Act, passed in 2011, cut more than $400 billion over 10 years from the defense budget and Sen. Rubio voted against it.

Something Sen. Rubio failed to address in his remarks on foreign policy that should be at the forefront is management of funds and accountability. Money can be funneled to the Pentagon regardless of who sits in the Oval Office. However, how the Pentagon spends said funds also needs to be a priority since a mismanaged military can be as detrimental as an underfunded one.

The senator also threw his support behind the Patriot Act's Section 215 provision, allowing for the keeping of phone, email, and other communication records by the NSA. Sen. Rand Paul, another presidential hopeful, has already made statements against the provisions.

This is not the first time the senator has expressed support for the controversial law, writing an op-ed on USA Today calling for its reauthorization just three days after the Second Circuit Court of Appeals found the data collecting to be illegal.

His second point, protecting U.S. economy, combines the economy with foreign affairs, explaining how the two can complement each other. Aligning himself with the Republican majority, as well as President Obama, Sen. Rubio expressed his support for the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and called for the president to have Trade Promotion Authority to facilitate the passing of the trade deal.

He believes the trade deal would create jobs in the U.S. and solidify our relationships with Asian countries, something the U.S. needs to do in light of an encroaching China.

Yet, Sen. Rubio also took the opportunity to criticize Hillary Clinton, the second time during the speech, saying she is "not willing to stand up to special interests and support free trade." He could be referencing Clinton's recent vacillation concerning the TPP, which many Democrats oppose, but the administration and Republicans favor.

Aside from advocating trade, Sen. Rubio explained he would defend the ability to freely trade. Taking another swipe at the president, he said he oppose "the economic disruption caused when one country invades another," adding that there will be no more "debating where a ship is flagged."

Sen. Rubio believes the Obama administration has been too light-handed when dealing with Russia's invasion of Crimea and Iran's interception of a transport ship in the Straits of Hormuz. However, he does not provide any concrete solutions for these problems.

Sanctions have already been enacted against Russia and U.S. warships temporarily accompanied transports through the narrow channel. Short of a military response, Sen. Rubio does not offer any resolutions to these current issues.

The last pillar of his doctrine concerns "moral clarity regarding America's core values," since the Obama administration U.S. foreign policy has diverted from the nation's core values of freedom, human rights and democracy, the senator explained.

"We must recognize that our nation is a global leader not just because it has superior arms, but because it has superior aims," Sen. Rubio said. "America is the first power in history motivated by a desire to expand freedom rather than its own territory."

This last sentence, however, has drawn some ire on social media, especially among minority groups whom Sen. Rubio might be trying to appeal to. Sen. Rubio's statement seems to forget America's history of Manifest Destiny and colonialism, in which we fought Mexico, taking part of its territory, as well as fighting Spain. Instead of freeing her colonies, we co-opted them for ourselves, keeping one to this day: Puerto Rico.

Notably, American foreign policy has not been historically one to spread these ideals, as the 20th century history of Latin America can reveal. Sen. Rubio's lack of understanding or willful omission only serves his own agenda.

He criticizes President Obama for dealing with "repressive regimes" like Iran and Cuba but fails to mention the historical evidence of the U.S. partaking, covertly, in similar dealings throughout the past century, regardless of party affiliation.

Sen. Rubio's speech on foreign policy does not much to provide solutions to our current problems but simply say he will do the opposite of what the president's policies. Many questions remain to be answered on how he will address various issues around the world, without reverting to the same tactics President Obama has used.