[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 136 (Thursday, September 24, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H9920]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1330
            OUR FRIENDS IN EUROPE: YOU WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, a national missile defense: I am aghast at 
its being dropped by this administration.
  First of all, we have a missile defense program, and that protects 
the west coast against a launch by a rogue nation, namely, North Korea. 
The national missile defense site proposed plan for Europe was designed 
primarily to defend our eastern coast against a rogue attack by Iran, 
so that's why I reject the arguments of this administration. This 
administration is citing concerns into Europe.
  The benefit of the national missile defense site was that we got a 
twofer from this. Not only did we get a system, again, that's already 
in application on the western coast--we have a system in place to 
protect our eastern seaboard from a launch of an intercontinental 
ballistic missile, armed by a nuclear warhead by Iran against our 
eastern coast--but it also gives coverage to our allies and friends in 
the vast majority of Europe.
  Our allies, the Poles and the Czechs, worked hard to educate their 
public to bring together consensus and to support the two sites--one 
being a radar site in the Czech Republic and another being an 
interceptor site in Poland.
  What did they do based upon the negotiations with us? What is our 
response to them? Our response to them is to now reject and to turn 
away from this site.
  Now, the launch sites in Poland are a few interceptors, not the 
hundreds of offensive missiles that are placed in Russia. The 
interceptors were never a threat to Russia. However, this 
administration now bows to the totalitarian regime in Russia at the 
rejection of our friends and allies in the democratic countries in 
Eastern Europe--our friends the Poles and the Czechs--who have worked 
hard, who have solid democratic institutions, who support the war on 
terror, and who are our allies in the battle of freedom. So we side 
with the Russians in opposition to our Eastern European friends and 
neighbors.
  You know, Russia may have been successful in causing this 
administration to back away from its commitment, but I want them to 
understand there are still many, many Members in this Chamber who will 
not kowtow to you or bow to the threats imposed by a reemergent Russia. 
Russia has meddled in the affairs of the Eastern European countries for 
long enough, most recently in the invasion of Georgia, meddling in the 
Ukraine and trying to destabilize their neighbors on the borders.
  We will continue to fight for those freedom-loving, democratic 
institutions in Eastern Europe, especially for the countries I 
mentioned before--the Ukraine and Georgia--and for the people who want 
democracy in Belarus. We will not allow a reemergent Russia to try to 
build a new sphere of influence that will deprive these people of 
freedom.
  This battle on national missile defense is the first victory for 
Russia in, again, attacking the credibility of the leadership of our 
country and in causing us to back down to commitments we made, not only 
to our citizens on the eastern coast but also to our allies and friends 
in Europe as a whole, and particularly to the Eastern European 
countries.
  For years, the Eastern European countries have been called the 
``captive nations'' because these were the countries which were under 
the totalitarian regime, under the old Soviet Socialist Republic 
system. They were deprived of their freedoms for decades. Of course, 
that is the desire of this new emergent Russia--to bring them back into 
that sphere. It is disappointing that this administration didn't stand 
strong in support of freedom and democracy and keep the movement on the 
national missile defense reaching forward.
  We look forward to continuing this debate. I just want to send a 
message to our friends in Europe that you will not be forgotten.

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