Biden Administration

Floor Speech

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Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to point out the failures of the Biden administration's foreign policies, and specifically President Biden's failures in addition to that of his administration, because President Biden ran for President based on basically two things: what he described as his competence and as his foreign policy expertise.

He has failed miserably at both. It has been nearly a month since President Biden withdrew from Afghanistan.

And what about the Taliban?

Well, right now, they are more powerful than ever. They have billions and billions of dollars' worth of high-tech military equipment. It is beyond their wildest dreams.

Where did they get their weapons?

Well, they got them from the United States of America.

As we hear on nightly news broadcasts, and as we know from what we are hearing at home, there are hundreds of Americans still stranded behind enemy lines. The administration doesn't want to admit a number, but there are hundreds of Americans stranded behind enemy lines, if not more.

The detrimental consequences for America are only beginning.

Our friends are furious. And our enemies? They are emboldened by what has happened in Afghanistan.

Earlier this month, I visited with our NATO allies. Our allies are enraged. And a host of foreign policy mistakes by President Biden, in my opinion and in theirs, are irreversible.

Here are just a few examples:

Angela Merkel's designated successor in Germany called our Afghanistan withdrawal ``the biggest debacle'' in the history of NATO.

President Biden didn't mind offending our Canadian allies when he shut down the Keystone XL Pipeline. Months later, he gave Vladimir Putin the green light to build the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline, and we just heard Senator Cruz talking about that.

Remember, this pipeline is a geopolitical weapon that Putin is going to use to hold our European allies hostage--hostage for money and hostage for energy.

President Duda in Poland, he said recently the Nord Stream 2 giveaway is ``grounds for reflection on relations with the United States.''

France was so offended with President Biden, at one point they recalled their ambassador. Never happened in American history. Go back all the way to the 1700s. France is a nuclear power. It is one of our closest allies.

This is Presidential incompetence on an unprecedented scale. Our allies see the incompetence. Our enemies not only see it, they can smell it. China has said so publicly that Afghanistan shows Americans cannot defend our allies anymore.

Now China is threatening Taiwan and building more than 200 missile silos. Iran has accelerated its nuclear program. According to Israel, Iran is only a few weeks away from having enough material to build a nuclear weapon.

And on the 20th anniversary of September 11, 2001, American troops in Iraq were attacked.

Russia is preparing to test a nuclear cruise missile near the Arctic Circle.

North Korea is expanding uranium enrichment; and just days after America withdrew from Afghanistan, North Korea tested two ballistic missiles.

In every area and region of the world, our Nation--America's interests are in retreat. Our enemies are on the march. America has grown weaker under Joe Biden; our enemies have grown stronger under Joe Biden.

Because of President Biden's incompetence, mismanagement, and weakness, we are all, as citizens of this country, less safe.

When I think of the last 8 months, I am reminded of something that former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said. And, remember, he was Secretary of Defense under President Obama.

He said: ``Joe Biden has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue of the past four decades.''

Forty years of being wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue. At the time he said that, it had been four decades. Now Joe Biden is President of the United States, and it is five decades.

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