National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, as we enter the final stretch of the Obama administration, many have began analyzing the President's tenure and debating what legacy he will leave. People are asking: Are we better off? Are we safer? Unfortunately, the evidence suggests that the answer to both of those questions is no.

As we look around the world right now, we see more and more unrest and insecurity, and the foreign policy failures of the President and his administration are partly responsible. Again and again, when it has come time for the President to lead, he has chosen instead to sit on the sidelines. His failure to act has emboldened our enemies and alienated our allies.

Take the situation in Syria. I am not blaming the start of the Syrian civil war on President Obama, but when a redline was drawn and crossed and the President ignored it, we lost our credibility and our ability to influence President Assad. As we retreated from a position of strength, turmoil and unrest erupted in Syria.

The President's reluctance to act must have looked familiar to foreign leaders like Vladimir Putin. It doesn't make the front pages of the papers anymore, but we must remember that Russia invaded the sovereign country of Ukraine and annexed Crimea while the President did nothing. After that, it is no surprise that Russia felt free to involve itself in Syria or that it continues to occupy and influence parts of eastern Ukraine as if it were a colony and not a free nation.

Recently, we have also seen Russian jets buzzing U.S. Navy ships. I can think of few other Presidents who would have stood for Russia's behavior, but this passiveness now defines President Obama's approach to foreign policy. The now-infamous Russian reset promoted by President Obama and Secretary Clinton will go down in history as a strategic failure of this administration.

In the Pacific, which was intended to be a key focus of the President's foreign policy, China has gone largely unchallenged, especially in the South China Sea. The noticeable absence of the United States over the last 7 years has led to China building an island and standing up an airfield in some of the most disputed waters in the world--an island, Mr. President. Can you imagine if a country tried to build an island near the United States and then to militarize it? It is no surprise that our allies in Southeast Asia are growing increasingly nervous with the rising military power making such aggressive claims on their doorsteps.

Then there is the situation in Iraq. During his campaign, the President promised to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq, which he then proceeded to do on a publicly announced timetable. Military planners and congressional Republicans warned that telegraphing our plans to insurgents will encourage them to bide their time and wait for our troops to leave before preying upon an underprepared Iraqi military. But it was evident that President Obama and Secretary Clinton didn't want to see our obligation to the Iraqis through; they were more interested in keeping an ill-advised campaign promise no matter what the cost to security in Iraq.

The President proceeded with his plans to withdraw our troops without pressing former Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki on the importance of making sure his country was stable and secure before we withdrew. Everyone knows what happened next: The lack of American troops left a gaping hole in Iraq security and ISIS rolled in to fill the gap. Once called the JV team by President Obama, ISIS quickly established itself as arguably the most dangerous terrorist organization in the world. From its safe haven in Iraq, ISIS has spread terror across the Middle East and into Europe, destroying peaceful communities and cultural relics alike in its pursuit of a caliphate.

My heart especially breaks for the Christians and other religious minorities in the region in this time of darkness. Their experience under ISIS has been one of relentless persecution and suffering-- genocide, Mr. President.

ISIS's spread has only made the situation in Syria more dire, as well as extended terror beyond the Middle East to Europe. It may have also influenced a mass shooting here in the United States.

Even the President's supposed leadership triumphs have demonstrated his unwillingness to stand up to our Nation's enemies. As the days pass, buyer's remorse from Democrats for the Iran deal continues to grow. The President negotiated a nuclear deal with Iran that will not only fail to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, but it will actually make it easier for Iran to acquire advanced nuclear weapons down the road. This deal will jeopardize the security of the United States and our allies for many years to come.

Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes has admitted to creating ``an echo chamber'' of falsehoods to sell the deal. We have also learned that a firm that helped push the deal also funded positive media coverage. Not only was this a bad deal that will make it easier for Iran to acquire advanced nuclear weapons down the road, the administration was disingenuous in how it sold the deal. It pulled a fast one over Congress, the American people, and our partners around the world, all in the name of burnishing the President's legacy, not because it was the will of the people. This is another instance of the President's missteps that sends troubling signals to our allies--in this case, Israel, our closest and most reliable ally in the region.

I make these points because it is against this backdrop of growing international instability and lessening U.S. influence that the Senate is now considering the National Defense Authorization Act. This legislation authorizes the funding necessary to equip our troops with the resources they need to carry out their missions.

As we look beyond the failures of the Obama administration to the challenges that lie ahead, it is even more important that when it comes to our military, we get things right. It is not America's strength that tempts our adversaries, it is our weakness. That is why we need to ensure that our military is well-equipped and trained to meet the challenges of rising powers through high-tech capabilities, while also being agile and versatile to combat increased unconventional threats from nonstate actors.

We sleep at night in peace and safety because our military stands on watch around the globe. As threats multiply around the world, we must ensure that the military has every resource it needs to confront the dangers facing our Nation. We need to support essential forward-looking weapons systems, such as the B-21 long-range strategic bomber and high- tech drones to deter and defeat future threats.

We must ensure that detainees stay at Guantanamo, instead of returning to the fight. We must ensure that our troops and their families at home have the support they need and deserve. This bill will accomplish all that.

As we continue to debate the National Defense Authorization Act, I am sure there are some contentious issues that will come up, but while there may be some disagreement, we must pass this essential legislation without delay. Playing politics with funding for our troops, as the President did by vetoing the National Defense Authorization Act last summer, is unacceptable. I urge my colleagues to join me to advance this essential legislation to provide for our troops to ensure the safety and defense of America and to help restore America's position of strength.

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