McConnell Remarks To Atlantic Council On Upcoming Washington NATO Summit
“The focus of this gathering – an age of marching authoritarians – is one of urgent importance. Recognizing the threat revisionist powers pose to Western peace and prosperity should already be the price of admission to any serious conversation about U.S. foreign policy.
“But the challenge we face today is graver than the sum of its parts. If we acknowledge Russia’s aggressive neo-Soviet imperialism… Iran’s unprecedented promotion of proxy violence… And China’s breakneck race to expand its sphere of influence and challenge the prevailing rules of the international system…
“Then we also have to grapple with the ways these adversaries reinforce one another. How the world’s autocrats are training, equipping, backfilling, and covering for one another’s aggressive gambles. And how the simultaneous threats they pose to the free world compound the challenges before us.
“Of course, acknowledging the threat is one thing. What matters most is what we’re prepared to actually do about it. War in Ukraine may have woken up most NATO members to the harsh reality of Vladimir Putin’s ambitions, and the urgent need to strengthen the alliance’s eastern front.
“But to stop there would be to miss the point.
“The lesson of Russia’s war of conquest isn’t limited to the acute deficiencies of European arsenals or the urgent requirements of helping Ukraine win today’s fight. The lesson allies need to take away is the cost of chronic neglect for hard power and high stakes of the simultaneous, global challenges we’re already facing.
“As you all know, last month the Senate passed an overdue emergency supplemental investment in both the defense of vulnerable allies and partners and our own arsenal and defense industrial base.
“Congress should have approved this investment sooner. But the Administration’s hesitation has hampered the West’s response, limited Ukraine’s capability, and tempered political support here in America from the beginning of Putin’s escalation.
“It’s time to move at the speed of relevance, not the speed of bureaucracy. It’s time for the Administration to put supplemental assistance in action, and stop micromanaging Ukraine’s use of American weapons. We need to equip Ukraine with the tools to win – not just enough to avoid losing.
“But our work doesn’t stop there. That’s why I’ve been urging the President and colleagues in Congress for years to start making greater sustained investments in the sort of hard power capabilities and industrial capacity we’ll need for long-term strategic competition we’re facing from emboldened authoritarians.
“And I’ve been taking this same message to our friends in Europe and beyond. I’m grateful to front-line NATO allies who have dug deep to equip Ukraine’s defense. And I’m encouraged by the commitments larger European powers have made to surge defense spending and restock their own arsenals.
“But anyone who still sees the requirements of collective defense as a matter of special funds or emergency supplementals is, again, missing the point. The task before us is to reflect the magnitude of global challenges in our military requirements, force planning constructs, and base budgets – year after year after year.
“That’s why this summer’s Washington summit will be so important:
“We’ll convene with new allies who have already modeled investment in capable militaries and in defense industrial capacity. NATO is already stronger with Sweden and Finland in our ranks.
“But this summer, we’ll also need to reach a greater shared understanding that spending 2% of GDP on defense – and 20% of that on modern equipment and weapons – cannot be an end goal. These targets have to be a baseline from which we keep building together.
“NATO is the most successful military alliance in human history. But we’re staring down a constellation of challenges to Western security unlike any we’ve seen before. Anyone who doubts Russia’s revisionist aims, Iran’s unchecked confidence, or China’s serious ambition does so at their own peril.
“Just as Asian partners recognize the ways Russia’s war in Ukraine impacts their own interests, Western allies must recognize the importance of stability and security in the Indo-Pacific to our own interests.
“The order underpinning the peace and prosperity we’ve enjoyed for decades will not uphold itself. The rules of the road will not enforce themselves. The test we’re facing is a test of the West’s resolve – it’s as simple as that.
“So more than ever, it’s time to stand firm, to stand together, and to start matching the scale of our commitments to the size of the challenges we face.
“And that work – as is so often the case – begins right here in Washington.”
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Related Issues: National Security, NATO, Russia, China, Ukraine
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