[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 162 (Tuesday, October 3, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H4955-H4956]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            WHY NOT VICTORY?

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
South Carolina (Mr. Wilson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, America is sadly in a 
conflict of dictators with rule of gun opposing democracies with rule 
of law.
  This conflict, we did not choose, was begun by war criminal Putin on 
February 24, 2022, invading Ukraine, in the murderous tradition of 
Hitler invading Poland on September 1, 1939, and Stalin invading Poland 
2 weeks later on September 17. In 5 weeks, over 70,000 Poles were 
killed in 1939 by the Nazis and Communists, and now thousands of 
Ukrainians have been killed by Putin.
  I am grateful to have read the book by Senator Barry Goldwater in May 
1963, ``Why Not Victory?'', proposing the ultimate achievement of 
democracy over Communism.
  The Goldwater Presidential campaign led to the hallmark speech, ``A 
Time for Choosing,'' by Ronald Reagan in 1964. This led to the Reagan 
Presidency and hundreds of millions of people being liberated from 
totalitarian communism. More countries today live in freedom and 
democracy than in the history of the world due to American military 
strength defeating Communism.
  The Russian Embassy in Berlin, Germany, which I visited outside on 
May 1 this year, clearly reveals Putin's murderous goal of recreating 
the evil Soviet empire. The hammer and sickle communist symbol is 
maintained over the massive building, revealing that the Russian people 
are still being oppressed by a despotic dictator.
  With the invasion of Ukraine, Putin now has troops in Moldova and 
Georgia with direct threats to Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and even 
Poland to realign international boundaries. The murderous conquest of 
Ukraine would be a green light for more conquests putting American 
families at risk of attack.
  It is reassuring that NATO has never been stronger with Finland and 
Sweden joining the alliance. Finland has an 830-mile border with 
Russia, and Sweden has given up 200 years of neutrality to stop 
dictators.
  The European Union has doubled the aid correctly provided by America, 
according to analyst Luke Coffey of the Hudson Institute. Additionally, 
more than 160 officials across Federal oversight agencies monitor the 
U.S. aid to Ukraine.
  Democracies must continue to stand together to support the brave 
Ukrainians to restore peace through strength. Goldwater was correct in 
his book, ``The only alternative to victory is--obviously defeat.'' 
Putin can end this war today by living up to the agreements that Russia 
has already signed for Ukrainian territorial integrity.
  The Chinese Communist Party is watching as it plans world domination 
by 2049, with the largest peacetime military build-up in world history. 
The regime in Tehran continues its chants of death to Israel, death to 
America with drones to Putin to murder Ukrainians.
  The axis of evil is clear: you have dictator Putin, dictator Xi, 
dictator Raisi. They must be stopped now, or every American family will 
be threatened by murderers, which I have seen when I saw the murders 
that were conducted in Bucha, Ukraine, where innocent civilians, with 
their hands tied behind their backs, were brutally executed and buried 
by the Putin troops.
  As a teenage Republican supporter myself of Barry Goldwater, who 
attended the National Draft Goldwater Rally in Washington on July 4, 
1963, I will always be grateful for his vision for freedom.

[[Page H4956]]

  In conclusion, God bless our troops who successfully protected 
America for 20 years as the global war on terrorism continues, moving 
from the Afghanistan safe haven to America with Biden open borders. 
Border security is national security for America.

                          ____________________