Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise to address the administration's plan to withdraw some 10,000 troops from Germany, and I rise to advance a bipartisan amendment to slow that process down and potentially even to stop it. The administration explains that Germany needs to get to 2 percent of its spending on military matters, a direction I support. Germany is already at 1.5 percent and is on track to get to get to 2 percent. By all appearances, the withdrawal of 10,000 troops in Germany is a very bad idea. First of all, it is a slap in the face at a key ally, a friend, and a great country. This country is an economic powerhouse. It is dynamic and productive people who have created that economic vitality. It has been driven to global leadership not by virtue of having cheap labor or polluting the air with pollutants or CO<INF>2</INF>. China buys more from Germany than Germany buys from China. Why? Not because Germany threatens China but because Germany is making products that China wants. It is a democracy noted for its strong, steady, and firm leader. Germany pays an equal share to the United States into NATO, and NATO, of course, has preserved peace in Europe for over 70 years. Now is also a time to draw our friends closer and to link arms with our allies, in part because of China's ambition to become the dominant player on the Earth, to displace the West, to displace the United States, and to supplant democracy with authoritarian despotism. China brutally represses its minorities.…”