[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 2, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H1212]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                         RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Alabama (Mr. Brooks) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BROOKS. Mr. Speaker, as background, I have served on the House 
Committee on Armed Services for 11 years and on the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs.
  There is an old saying: Those who do not learn from history are 
doomed to repeat it.
  The lesson from Vietnam is that war is hell. If America is unwilling 
to do horrible things required to win a war, then America should not 
fight it. Be all in or all out.
  A World War II lesson is that Europe's pre-war appeasement strategy 
does not work against aggressor nations. In the 1930s, Adolf Hitler and 
his National Socialist German Workers' Party time and again seized more 
and more of Europe. Beginning in 1935, Adolf Hitler and dictatorial 
socialist Germany annexed the Saarland; invaded and seized Austria in 
the Anschluss; seized the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia; seized the 
Slovak state Bohemia and Moravia; and forced Lithuania into ceding the 
Memel Territory.
  In response each time, Europe and the free world tried appeasement 
and did little to nothing, thereby emboldening Adolf Hitler and 
dictatorial socialist Germany.
  The result? Hitler and Germany invaded Poland, triggering the 
Holocaust and the deaths of tens of millions of people in World War II.
  The question is: Has the world learned from history?
  In 2014, Vladimir Putin and Russia invaded Crimea. The free world did 
little to nothing.
  Also in 2014, Vladimir Putin and Russia inspired a rebellion in 
Donetsk and Lugansk in Ukraine, costing thousands of lives and creating 
hundreds of thousands of desperate refugees. The free world did little 
to nothing.
  Last month, Russia invaded Ukraine again, apparently seeking the 
total destruction and conquest of Ukraine. I admire the bravery and 
kindred spirit of citizens who fight and die for liberty and freedom 
against overwhelming odds.
  They remind me of American Revolutionary War heroes like George 
Washington and Patrick Henry and places like Valley Forge, Cowpens, 
Kings Mountain, and Saratoga.
  Fortunately, something is different about this Russian attack on 
Ukraine. This time, the world does not do nothing. This time, the free 
world is helping Ukraine during their time of peril. This time, time 
will tell whether the world's help is enough and effective.
  First, Europe and America impose economic sanctions on Russia. In 
that vein, we must learn from Vietnam. Economic sanctions must be all 
in or all out. There can be no half measures. America must be in this 
to win or not be in it at all.
  Second, Europe and America must be, and are, supplying Ukraine with 
much-needed tank-killing Javelins, aircraft-destroying Stingers, 
advanced fighter jets to replace those lost in combat, and other 
military equipment Ukraine desperately needs.
  Third, Europe must decide whether to deploy combat troops. For 
emphasis, it is my view that America should not even consider providing 
combat troops in Ukraine unless Europe first does so in significant 
numbers. Even then, whatever America decides about troop assistance 
should never go beyond assistance to our European allies.
  I, like many Americans, am tired of America spending our Treasury and 
our lives in so many parts of the globe. It is time for the rest of the 
free world to step up.
  Ukrainians bravely shed themselves of the dictatorial boot in 1991. 
Russians can, and should, do the same.
  My message to the Russian people is this: Your Russian comrades 
fought side by side with you in World War II against Adolf Hitler and 
dictatorial socialist Germany. Now, Vladimir Putin forces you to kill 
each other and die by the thousands in Ukraine. It does not have to be 
this way. The true way to peace is to do what America regularly does: 
replace our political leaders.
  I urge freedom-loving Russians to bravely stand up and do the same. 
Do what is necessary to get the leadership Russians want and deserve, 
and do it before it is too late. That is the lesson of World War II.

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