Do you believe in peace through strength?
Friends,
"We know only too well that war comes not when the forces of freedom are strong, but when they are weak. It is then that tyrants are tempted." – President Ronald Reagan, 1980 RNC.
As Fort Bragg's Congressman, you know I will always advocate for a strong national defense. I believe in President Reagan's philosophy of achieving peace by showing strength. Unfortunately, as threats increase from across the globe, President Biden is showing the opposite.
In the last four years, we saw ‘peace through strength' in action. We rebuilt our military and supported our troops, their families and veterans. We raised troop pay over 10% and I secured additional support for warfighters in hazardous combat zones. The Trump administration wiped out the ISIS caliphate, killed al-Baghdadi, as well as the world's top terrorist, Qasem Soleimani. The Trump administration enacted a maximum pressure campaign against Iran and withdrew from the one-sided Iran deal. President Trump moved our embassy to Jerusalem, recognized Israel's possession of the Golan Heights, and brokered historic peace agreements between Israel and Arab-Muslim countries.
Unfortunately, these accomplishments are now being threatened. Since President Biden was sworn into office, our adversaries have been testing America's resolve at an accelerated rate. China has sent a record number of warplanes into Taiwan's air defense zone, Iran has started enriching uranium at its highest level ever, Israel has fallen under attack from Iran-backed Hamas, and the Taliban continues to ramp up attacks in Afghanistan as our troops are withdrawing.
Now our most recent provocations come from Russia. Last week, it was reported Russians launched a cyberattack against our food supply. This follows last month's attack of our critical fuel supply. It is inconceivable that these attacks could occur without the direction, or at least knowledge, of Vladimir Putin. These actions require strong responses. However, I am concerned by President Biden's message to Putin and the world by moving forward with a planned summit later this month.
After last month's Colonial Pipeline attack, the Biden administration responded by green-lighting a Russian pipeline that will spell doom for Ukraine and increase Russian dominance over Europe. Now following last week's cyberattack, I am calling on President Biden to postpone his meeting with Putin until he stops the attacks. We should not reward continued aggression from Russia by allowing Putin to share the global stage with the President of the United States.
I am committed to dialogue with Russia. I am the chairman of an international security committee that seeks peace, security and human rights in Europe. However, a summit between President Biden and President Putin sends the wrong message at this time. To his credit, President Biden has talked tough and said that Putin would ‘pay a price' for aggressions. I now hope President Biden's actions back up this rhetoric.
We can send a strong message to Russia and the world, that the United States will not be intimidated by increased aggressions from Russia or any other adversary. Peace is not obtained by hope and happy thoughts. We must show the tyrants of the world that the forces of freedom are strong and America is prepared to lead the way.
Until next week,
Richard Hudson
Member of Congress