[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 62 (Monday, April 27, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4726-S4728]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          U.S. FOREIGN POLICY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, America faces many serious challenges, 
not only at home but abroad. I was reminded of that fact in a vivid way 
during my own recent trip to Iraq and to the broader Middle East. I was 
reminded of it as I followed, with great interest, the President's 
recent trips to Europe and South America as well as some of his recent 
decisions relating to the shape and spirit of U.S. foreign policy.
  What these trips and decisions have shown many of us is that looking 
forward we would do well to reaffirm some basic foreign policy 
principles that have served America well in the past; namely, that our 
security and our prosperity rely on a strong national defense, both 
militarily and with regard to the gathering of intelligence, and that 
America must honor its commitments to allies and alliances. This 
afternoon, I would like to take a few moments to explain why these 
principles are so important. I would also like to outline a few of the 
areas where I agree and where I respectfully disagree with the foreign 
policy decisions the new administration has made.
  I will begin with the praise. In my view, the President admirably 
followed the principle of maintaining and employing a strong defense 
when he accepted the advice of his military commanders to withdraw U.S. 
troops from Iraq based on conditions on the ground, not political 
calculations. He followed this principle again by pursuing in 
Afghanistan the same counterinsurgency strategy that has worked in 
Iraq. The administration deserves credit for both decisions. I have not 
been hesitant in giving it that credit.

  The next step, of course, is to keep our forces ready. In order to do 
so, the Senate must pass the administration's supplemental spending 
request to train and equip the armed services. This is a spending 
request I will support.
  Unfortunately, the administration erred when it selectively 
declassified a number of so-called CIA interrogation memos almost in 
their entirety. The choice on this issue was clear: Defend career 
intelligence professionals or reveal to al-Qaida terrorists the 
interrogation methods they can expect to face if captured.
  The administration chose the latter. That was a mistake. It would 
also be a mistake for the administration to pursue or condone the kind 
of protracted investigation that some have proposed into intelligence-
gathering efforts after the 9/11 attacks.
  Some of the President's own advisers have warned that such an 
investigation would only serve to demoralize the intelligence community 
and, therefore, weaken its ability to protect the American people. 
Moreover, the President himself has repeatedly said America must use 
all the tools in its arsenal addressing problems we face, including, 
presumably, the ongoing threat of Islamic terrorists.
  Weakening our tools of intelligence through an investigation of the 
intelligence community and other key decisionmakers would, by 
definition, make that pledge impossible to fulfill. It would also serve 
to divide us, I fear, at a time when we must continue to present a 
united and determined front to our known enemies.
  In my view, the Commander in Chief has an obligation to unify the 
country while we are at war and at risk. Looked at in this context, 
attacking each other on these issues is not only counterproductive, it 
is actually dangerous. It is important to remember we are still very 
much engaged in a global fight against terror, and as long as that 
fight continues, a strong, ready defense will require strong support 
for an intelligence community that is uniquely equipped to deal with 
many of the problems that arise in this fight.
  At a time such as this, hampering the vital work of our Nation's 
intelligence professionals is exactly the wrong thing to do. I have 
already openly and repeatedly expressed my disagreement with the 
administration's approach on Guantanamo. Americans would like to know 
why they are preparing to transfer prisoners involved in the 9/11 
attacks either to facilities that are outside our control entirely or 
here in the United States. They want assurances the next detention 
facility, or the country to which they are transferred, keeps them as 
safe as Guantanamo has.
  So far, the administration has not been able to provide those 
assurances. Its only assurance is that Guantanamo will close sometime 
within the next 9 months. To achieve that goal, the administration has 
asked Congress for $80 million in the upcoming supplemental war funding 
bill. In my view, Congress would be shirking its duties if it were to 
approve these funds one second--one second--before we know exactly what 
the administration plans to do with these terrorists.
  News reports over the weekend suggest the administration is very 
close to announcing the release of a number of detainees into the 
United States, not to detention facilities but into the

[[Page S4727]]

United States, directly into our communities and neighborhoods right 
here on U.S. soil.
  Virtually every Member of the Senate is on record opposing the 
transfer of detainees to U.S. soil, even if it only meant incarcerating 
them in some of our Nation's most secure prisons. We had that vote a 
couple years ago, 94 to 3. The presumption was that they would be 
coming to the United States and incarcerated, not free. The Senate 
expressed itself 94 to 3 against such a release.
  Until these new reports emerged, no one had even ever contemplated 
the possibility of releasing trained terrorists into American 
communities. It never occurred to anyone. If the administration 
actually follows through on this shocking proposal, it will have 
clearly answered the question of whether its plan for the inmates at 
Guantanamo will keep America as safe as Guantanamo has.
  By releasing trained terrorists into civilian communities in the 
United States, the administration will, by definition, endanger the 
American people. Moreover, by releasing trained terrorists into the 
United States, the administration may run afoul of U.S. law, something 
that was pointed out to us by the Senator from Alabama some weeks back. 
Many were unaware that such a release might actually violate U.S. law, 
and I believe the Senator from Alabama will have more to say about that 
shortly.
  That law presumably would prohibit admission to the United States of 
anyone who has trained for, engaged in, or espoused terrorism. Before 
any decision is made that will affect the safety of American 
communities, the Attorney General needs to explain how his decision 
will make America safer and whether this decision complies with U.S. 
law.
  I also disagree with the administration's recent pledge to ratify the 
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, a treaty that we have voluntarily abided 
by for years. Before the President rushes to fulfill this goal, America 
needs assurances that our nuclear stockpile is both reliable and safe. 
As our nuclear stockpile ages, the assurance becomes increasingly 
important. There are only two ways to ensure the safety of our nuclear 
stockpile: through actual tests or by investing in a new generation of 
warheads. At the moment, the administration is not willing to do 
either. When it comes to deterrence, this represents a serious dilemma.
  As Defense Secretary Gates has said:

       There is absolutely no way that we can maintain a credible 
     deterrent and reduce the number of warheads in our stockpile 
     without resorting [either] to testing our stockpile or 
     pursuing a modernization program.

  As we seek to keep our defenses strong, we must also be careful to 
keep our commitments to our allies and friends, particularly in the 
Middle East and in NATO. After all, what good is an alliance if one of 
its members cannot be trusted to uphold its end of the bargain. If 
America cannot be expected to keep its word, we cannot expect others to 
keep theirs.
  Now, our NATO allies need to know we will not walk away from missile 
defense or rush to reduce our own nuclear stockpile in the misguided 
hope of securing a promise of cooperation from Russia with respect to 
Iran. The notion that the key to containing Iran lies with Russian 
cooperation is not new. But it has repeatedly proven to be futile. The 
previous administration pursued the path of cooperation in the form of 
the Nuclear Cooperation 123 Agreement, and Russia did not end its arms 
sales to Iran as a result.
  I might add, that treaty was subsequently withdrawn. We should learn 
from our mistakes, not repeat them. This means that as we engage the 
Russians, we must also do so as realists. The newer members of the NATO 
alliance must know the United States will not help Russia carve out a 
new sphere of influence in the 21st century to match the one it had in 
the second half of the 20th century.
  The administration should be equally realistic in its dealings with 
Iran. It must make perfectly clear that pursuit of nuclear weapons is 
unacceptable. This means explaining to our friends and to our foes that 
the pursuit of such a program will have consequences. Israel and a 
number of moderate Arab regimes have all risked a great deal in 
confronting Islamic extremism. We need to assure every one of them that 
the administration's negotiations with Iran will lead to real results.
  The challenges we face abroad will require much patience and 
endurance, as they always have. Efforts to improve our image abroad are 
a part of that. But we should not overvalue the power of personal 
diplomacy in overcoming problems that have been with us for years. We 
saw this recently with Iran. In response to the administration's offer 
of a new era of engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual 
respect, Iran convicted an American journalist to 8 years in jail after 
a secret trial and accused the United States in an international forum 
of conspiring to create Israel on the ``pretext of Jewish sufferings.''
  The administration offered respect, and Iran responded with contempt. 
Iran continues to fund terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and 
Hamas, and there is little evidence that any incentive can keep the 
Supreme Leader of Iran, Khamenei, from pursuing a nuclear weapon.
  Iran must be deterred.
  Then there is Cuba. In response to the administration's proposal for 
a ``fresh start'' in our relations with Communist Cuba, Fidel Castro 
said the new administration had confused his brother Raul's 
reaffirmation of the Cuban Revolution and its principles for an 
openness to discussing Democratic reform.
  As far as fresh starts go, this was not particularly encouraging to 
me, nor was it likely to encourage the 11 million Cuban citizens who 
continue to be denied any basic human right, the thousands of Cubans 
who, according to the State Department, are forced to serve jail 
sentences without even having been charged of a specific crime or human 
rights advocates who face arbitrary arrest, detention, and the denial 
of a fair trial.
  What about Venezuelans who face arbitrary arrest and detention and 
who cannot expect a fair trial? It is unlikely they would cheer by the 
new administration's warm embrace of a man who oppresses them. Imagine 
the signal this sends to those in Venezuela and throughout the world 
who are fighting for the freedom and Democratic reforms and who expect 
the United States to defend and to protect their efforts in our 
dealings with friends and foes alike.
  Similarly concerning is the increasing reliance on special envoys. 
The administration has rushed several of those envoys, all fine public 
servants, to foreign capitals. Yet none of them were subject to Senate 
confirmation or are answerable in any way to Congress. I see by the 
morning paper they require considerable staff.
  These envoys face significant challenges, from divides among the 
Palestinian people to the growth of the Taliban inside Pakistan. During 
their negotiations, these envoys are likely to make commitments that 
Congress will be expected to fulfill or fund, but Congress cannot be 
expected to simply hand out funds to support negotiations we know 
nothing about. These special envoys should be accountable to Congress.
  Every American President from George Washington to the current day 
has struggled to balance America's interests with its ideals. This is 
something Americans have long accepted. But the rush to initiate fresh 
starts with old adversaries or to find quick solutions to the many 
complex problems we face is not always advisable when it comes to 
advancing our long-term interests or in preserving and strengthening 
alliances or our relationships with allies.
  Republicans will have many reasons to stand with the President in the 
months and years ahead. But we will not be reluctant to remind them of 
some of the principles that have served us well in the past or to speak 
out against decisions with which we respectively disagree.
  As we wage two wars overseas, we must be sure to maintain strong 
relations with our allies.
  Some days they will need us. Some days we will need them. But in a 
dangerous world, these vital relationships must be preserved. We must 
also preserve the dominance of the U.S. military in the near term and 
in the long term. And any arms control agreement sent to the Senate 
must be verifiable and clearly in the national interest.
  These are principles all of us should agree on and all of us should 
be eager

[[Page S4728]]

and able to defend. Our allies deserve to know that we will be guided 
by them, and so too, I believe, do the American people.
  I yield the floor.

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