On the recordMarch 1, 2022
let me begin with one of the areas of course correction that we are urging the President to undertake, and that is in the area of national defense. There are many lessons that we are going to learn from this Ukrainian invasion, but one of them is certainly that we have entered a new era of authoritarian aggression, led by the dictator in Russia--that is Putin--and the dictator in China--that is Xi Jinping. When they sense weakness, particularly military weakness, they are acting. As I mentioned, this new era of authoritarian aggression is something we need to be ready for. It is led by the dictators of Russia and China, who are increasingly isolated and dangerous. They are driven by historical grievances, they are paranoid about their democratic neighbors, and they are more than willing to use military force and other aggressive actions to crush the citizens of such countries on their periphery. These dangerous dictators, Putin and Xi Jinping, are increasingly working together to achieve their aggressive goals. We must wake up to the fact, and that is what we are calling the President to do--hopefully he does in his speech tonight--that this new era of authoritarian aggression is likely to be with us for decades. What are the areas which we should focus on and which we are respectfully requesting the President to focus on and announce tonight? Well, first, as I mentioned, our Nation's national defense.…





