Wayne Allard: “I rise in support of the NATO enlargement proposal of including Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. I will make a…”

“I rise in support of the NATO enlargement proposal of including Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. I will make a few comments in that regard. Many people will say that the cold war is over and then will continue to argue that we can now dismantle our defenses and look inward. I completely disagree with this assessment. I think that Secretary Albright, in testifying before the Armed Services Committee on April 23, 1997, made the proper statement in relating this to an insurance policy, saying "If you don't see smoke, there is no real reason to stop paying for fire insurance." Because of President Reagan and his desire to see the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics put on the ashheap of history, the United States no longer faces the threat of the U.S.S.R. But this is no time to be complacent. U.S. interests are still being threatened by internal political and economic instabilities; the reemergence of ethnic, religious, and historic grievances; terrorism; and the proliferation of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. However, for nearly 50 years, NATO has been the organization which has defended the territory of the countries in the North Atlantic area against all external threats and today we have an historic opportunity to recommit to this security. I believe we must not turn our back on this historic opportunity. We must embrace these new market democracies and say that the old ways are gone and that we welcome them into the free world.”