Political Quotes

“as chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, I rise today to support Montenegro's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also known as NATO. NATO is a defensive alliance founded in 1949 to provide collective security against the threat posed by the Soviet Union. Although the world had hoped that the threat had subsided with the collapse of the Soviet Union, under the rule of Vladimir Putin, Russia has become an ever-growing menace to its neighbors and to world peace and security. As a result, NATO remains as relevant today as it was in the year of its founding. As Defense Secretary GEN James Mattis stated in his January confirmation hearing, ``If we did not have NATO today, we would need to create it.'' NATO has evoked article 5 of its charter--which states that an attack against one member shall be considered an attack against all--only once in its history, in response to the 9/11 attacks against America. Since then, our NATO allies have sent their sons and daughters to fight and die alongside our own in the generational war against radical Islamist terrorism. The accession of Montenegro to NATO is important for a number of reasons. Montenegro has shown that it is committed to NATO and to making the internal reforms required to remain a member in good standing. Because of that commitment, Montenegro's membership in NATO will enhance stability in Europe.…”