On the recordSeptember 6, 2017
As a lifelong cold warrior promoting victory over communism, it was a dream come true to lead a bipartisan delegation to Eastern Europe in early August reaffirming America's commitment to our new NATO allies in the European Reassurance Initiative. We know that peace through strength will be successful. The vision of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan has been achieved. Visiting with military and government leaders in Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia, and Poland, we saw dynamic and prospering American allies achieving world-class defensive capabilities with their professional military fully equipped with the latest technologies. In both Warsaw and Tbilisi, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence made it clear America will protect these new democracies. I was inspired as an election observer in Bulgaria in 1990, and have seen this country evolve from totalitarianism to the now dedicated democracy led by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov. I was grateful to be accompanied by my youngest son, Hunter, an Afghanistan veteran, as we witnessed freedom in these countries in stark contrast to the year Hunter was born in 1987, when all six countries were enemies to the United States and were suffering under communist dictatorships. In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget September the 11th in the global war on terrorism. ____________________
