Motion to Discharge--S.J. Res. 111

Floor Speech

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Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, Senator Welch is my friend, and he is very eloquent. I just listened to his eloquent remarks in support of Senator Sanders' resolution.

And Senator Sanders is my friend, but he is wrong. He is wrong. Senator Welch talked, as he should have, about the right thing to do. The right thing to do and the smart thing to do is not to pass Senator Sanders' resolution.

I don't know why this is--if I make it to heaven, I am going to ask-- but there is some people in this world, they are not mixed up, they are not confused, they are not sick, it is not that their mama or daddy didn't love them enough--they are just bad people. And they hurt other people, and they take other people's stuff. Why? Because they can.

And some of them are running countries, and they hate America. They hate Americans. They want to kill us and drink our blood out of a boot. That is just a fact.

Now, you do not have to be Einstein's cousin to see what is going on in the world. President Xi in China is working with President Putin in Russia who is working with the Ayatollah in Iran. Sometimes they allow Kim Jong Un from North Korea to come along, but mostly as a mascot to get them coffee.

President Xi is running the show, but that doesn't mean that President Putin of Russia and especially the Ayatollah in Iran are not right there by his side.

And what is their objective? Their objective is to have Russia dominate Central and Eastern Europe. Their objective is to have China dominate the Indo-Pacific--about which I will speak in a moment--and to have China dominate Sub-Saharan Africa and to have China have the ability to roam free in South America.

And their objective is to have Iran--the Ayatollah--dominate the Middle East, which it has done until Israel decided to fight back, which it has done through Hamas and Hezbollah and the Houthis rebels. Now that is just a fact.

And one of our best friends in the world--maybe, on some days, our only friend in the world--Israel--patient people, principled people but realistic people--they have decided to stand up to Iran. And in standing up to Iran, we are finding out very quickly they are also standing up to China and Russia. But I will save that subject for another day.

They have decided to stand up to Iran. They have beaten Hamas in Gaza. They are beating Hezbollah in Lebanon. They had to do it despite the obstacles thrown up against them every step of the way by President Biden and Vice President Harris.

And if we support them, Israel will beat the Ayatollah in Iran. Israel will cause a regime change. Because I can tell you, the people of Iran--not its leadership--the people of Iran are fed up with their leadership.

We have a duty--not a legal duty, a moral duty--to support our friend Israel. We have agreed to do it. But besides that, we have a moral duty to do it. And my friend Senator Sanders' resolution would turn our back on one of the few friends that I think America--real friends that America has in the world. And it would precipitate a foreign policy crisis.

I don't say these words very often, but we ought to listen to the words of my friend Senator Schumer. He is going to vote against Senator Sanders' resolution. Senator Schumer is right. Even a blind hog finds an acorn now and then. Senator Schumer is right: We need to defeat this resolution. It will precipitate a foreign policy crisis.

And it is not the only one we would have in the world. I want to talk for just a few minutes about another crisis that is going on quietly as we speak.

This is the Indian Ocean, as the Presiding Officer well knows, one of the most important parts of the world. Here is China; here is India. China is trying to dominate all of these sea lands for military reasons and for commercial reasons.

Here in the middle of the Indian Ocean is a group of islands called the Chagos Islands. You may not have heard of them; I hadn't before I was alerted of this crisis. America has a military base in the Chagos Islands. There are about 40 to 60 islands. One of the islands is called Diego Garcia. And we built a military base there. And it is not just any military base. It is an extraordinarily important military base.

Our military base is one of the few in the world where our military can reload submarines--hugely important. Our military base on Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands houses a number of Navy ships. Our military base there houses long-range bombers that we use to carry out missions around the world.

Now, we have to--we and the United Kingdom--I will explain why the UK is involved in a moment--we have to work hard every day to police our military base, not just the base itself, but the land--or, rather--the water surrounding it, because China--China knows how important this military base is to the security of the world. China is constantly sending craft trying to spy on our military base there.

And we and the United Kingdom--again, I will explain in a second the United Kingdom's relevance--are constantly having to patrol and fight off the espionage of China. In fact, China has breached the security of American military bases over 100 times in the last few years. They are very aggressive.

Now, why am I talking about this military base? Because President Biden and Vice President Harris, as we are all working here trying-- like a bunch of ants on a sugar bowl, trying to wrap up our work for the year, President Biden and Vice President Harris are giving away this military base. They are giving it away.

The Chagos Islands is a territory of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom gave America permission to build our military base here.

Now, the Chagos Islands has a rich history. It has a relationship with another island in the Indian Ocean, Mauritius. And I mention that because to understand what is going on, you have to understand the relationship.

Mauritius and the Chagos Islands used to be partners. The Chagos Islands were what is called a dependency of Mauritius. And Mauritius, many, many years ago, beginning in 1715, was a colony of France. And while Mauritius was a colony of France, Mauritius established a relationship with the Chagos Islands.

And then, beginning in 1814, France said: Look, we are going to cede Mauritius and now the Chagos Islands--where we have our military base-- to the United Kingdom. And they did.

Mauritius and the Chagos Islands, 250 years ago, they might have been close, but they are not today. They don't share the same culture. They don't speak the same language. They don't visit each other. In fact, many of the people from Chagos lived in the United Kingdom.

But here is what President Biden is doing and Vice President Harris. They say we need to grant independence to the Chagos Islands but not let the people of the Chagos Islands run their country. We need to give the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius. Why? I mean, no offense, but that is cell-deep stupid.

Why? Mauritius and the Chagos Islands don't have a relationship anymore, and we have a military base there.

I will tell you why. The United Nations--the United Nations, and particularly the International Court of Justice, which has no jurisdiction over the United States of America and has no jurisdiction over the United Kingdom and which currently controls the Chagos Islands, they have scolded the United Kingdom.

They said the United Kingdom is a colonizer, and the United Kingdom, the people of the United Kingdom are bad people.

Now, remember, this is coming from the United Nations. This is the same United Nations that has the following countries on its human rights council: Somalia, Iraq, Venezuela, China. That is who thinks we ought to get rid of this military base. OK? I mean, this is not some act of justice here.

But in any event, the United Nations is saying: United Kingdom, you bad people, give the Chagos Islands back--but not let the Chagos Islands be free; they want to give the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius. And President Biden could stop it and so could Vice President Harris. But they are for it, all in an effort to curry favor with the people at the United Nations who walk around with their NPR tote bags and their organic broccoli and have great relationships with members of the media who they think write history. Why on God's green Earth would we do that? Why?

China, of course, is delighted. Why is China delighted? Now, the United Nations says: OK, we don't want to be too mean-spirited here; America can keep its military base for 99 years, but you have to sign a lease. And we got to start paying Mauritius to stay there.

China says: Fine. That sounds good to us. Why? Because, No. 1, China has already started currying favor with Mauritius, and No. 2, Mauritius will now be in charge of the security of the Chagos Islands and our military base and the water surrounding it.

China, Xi Jinping, he is as happy as a gopher in soft dirt. He will be hacking the Mauritius security as soon as the trade is made.

Now, President Trump, I hope you are listening to this. My good friend Senator Rubio, soon-to-be Secretary of State, I hope you are listening to what I am talking about.

What we are debating today is important. I don't mean to say that. And I am not kidding you. I am not going to bubble wrap it. If Senator Sanders' resolution passes, it will precipitate a foreign policy crisis. But this foreign policy crisis is being perpetrated--or prosecuted right now, and it is another foreign policy crisis, and it is going on all because President Biden--all because President Biden and Vice President Harris want to appease the United Nations and China.

President Trump, please, pretty please with sugar on top, pick up the phone and call the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and say: Don't sign that treaty. Don't give away the Chagos Islands. Don't give away America's military base. Don't do it.

If we object, they won't. If we don't say anything, they will.

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