On the recordMarch 27, 2017
Mr. President, President Trump said in his inaugural address that we have defended other nations' borders while refusing to defend our own. I think he was right. Today, the question is, Will we add another commitment to defend yet another foreign country? For decades, NATO has been an organization in which the United States disproportionately spends our blood and our treasure. The other NATO countries have largely hitched a ride on a U.S. train that subsidizes their defenses and allows them to direct their revenues to their own domestic concerns. In short, Uncle Sam is the Uncle Patsy for the rest of the world. The question today is, Will adding to NATO another country with fewer than 2,000 soldiers be in our self-interest? It has fewer than 2,000 soldiers and is a small country in a distant part of the world. Will they make you sleep safer at night? The answer is an emphatic no. There is no national security interest that an alliance with Montenegro will advance. If we invite Montenegro into NATO, it will be a one-way street, with the United States committing to defending yet another country and with you, the taxpayer, being stuck with the bill. Even the advocates of Montenegro's joining NATO admit as much. The Senate hearing on admitting Montenegro to NATO was really just a punching session about Russia. Not one word was said about allowing Montenegro into NATO or how it would advance our own national security. We were going to send a message to Russia.…
Source
govinfo.gov




