Last week, as Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee, I focused on how well our congressional district has done in saving jobs, helping small businesses, and receiving funding from the PPP. We were #1 in all three categories among the 16 congressional districts in Ohio, both Republican and Democratic.
Well, I’m also a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and I thought this week I would focus on the chief challenges the United States faces across the globe. Let’s start with – Russia.
Vladimir Putin, Russia’s now leader-for-life (or as long as he wants to be) recently rammed through legislation allowing him to remain in office through 2036, so for the next 16 years. He’s already been in power for 16 years, so that would be 32. And Putin could push through legislation in 2036 allowing him to rule even longer if he so desires, although he will be 83 in 2036, so we’ll see.
Russia’s behavior in recent years under Putin has been terrible. Their principal goal seems to be undermining US efforts across the globe. Russia’s intervention in Syria, propping up Bashar al-Assad, has set back that region tremendously. Their aggression against Ukraine and Georgia has undermined peace and the growth of democracy in those nations. And whether or not the Russians were actually paying the Taliban to target US military personnel and those of our allies (and I’m inclined to believe that they were) we’ve known the Russians have been aiding our opponents there and elsewhere, for years, during both Republican and Democratic administrations. That’s just what the Russians do.
And it’s not just outside the United States they try to damage us, it’s right here at home too. Russia attempted to meddle in our 2016 presidential election, and even though they may not have actually affected the outcome of the election, the political turmoil they caused, pitting Americans against Americans, ultimately leading to an impeachment, surely made Putin a very happy guy.
Uighurs detained in China
Next, China. The PRC (People’s Republic of China) will be our principal rival on the world scene for the next century, and likely beyond that. Hopefully, we will not end up in a shooting war, but their actions are every bit as reprehensible as Russia’s. Their most recent outrage was covering up the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan China, and letting it spread across the globe, while they cornered the market on PPE (personal protective equipment.) 600,000 have died across the globe from the COVID pandemic – so far.
China’s other transgressions against the civilized world are nearly too many to list. They’ve locked away in gulags 1 million Uighurs; imprisoned, tortured and killed thousands of Falon Gong, and sold their organs for profit; overrun and annexed Tibet and killed countless monks and nuns; violated their agreement with Hong Kong and are in the process of subjugating its people; built islands in the South China Sea, and militarized them, in violation of international law; bullied neighboring countries from Vietnam to Philippines to Taiwan; forced incalculable numbers of abortions; consistently violated trade agreements with the United States and other countries; ripped off intellectual property worth billions upon billions of dollars; and on and on.
Iran has been a thorn in our side since the Ayatollah Khomeini came to power in 1979 and the US Embassy there was overrun and dozens of Americans were taken hostage. They have been fomenting instability in the region in recent years, and they’re the chief promoter of terrorism in the Middle East and across the globe. Besides the instability and terror they’ve spread, their greatest threat is their potentially obtaining nuclear weapons. This must be avoided at all cost.
Next, North Korea. The hermit kingdom continues to be a flashpoint. They actually HAVE nuclear weapons, and have threatened time and again to use them. President Trump expended considerable time and effort trying to convince Kim Jong-un to denuclearize , without much to show for it. I was very skeptical at the time, and unfortunately, turned out to be right. That’s one time I wish I would’ve been wrong.
And finally, Venezuela. This is a country that has vast natural resources, and great people, but also has about the worst leadership in the Western Hemisphere, perhaps on the globe. It’s a perfect example of how socialism doesn’t work, despite what Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren may think. This once-prosperous nation went down the tubes when Hugo Chavez came to power, and inflicted his socialist vision on the country. After he died of cancer, his successor, Nicolas Maduro, followed in his footsteps, and the results have been the same – poverty, misery, hopelessness. That’s socialism for you!
So when it comes to foreign affairs, and dealing with foreign policy challenges across the globe, is Joe Biden the person we should be turning to? In my view, a resounding NO. In fact, Joe Biden has been wrong on most major foreign policy issues over the years. He voted against the 1991 Gulf War that pushed Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait, and later admitted he had been wrong. Then he voted FOR the 2003 Iraq War, and then said he was wrong there too. He opposed “the Surge” in Iraq – which actually worked. He famously said “the Taliban is not our enemy” (they were, and are.) And he was against the raid that succeeded in killing Osama bin Laden. I could go on, but in the interest of respecting your time, I’ll stop there.
See you next week.