ISIS
Floor Speech
Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, I wish to spend a few moments speaking about national defense.
As we all know, last week, in a much anticipated address to the Nation, President Obama outlined a plan to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. I want my colleagues to know I intend to do my part to make this plan a success.
I am not alone in hoping this goal to defeat--not contain--ISIS will replace the half measures and disengagement that has defined the President's foreign policy to date. The President's previous comment that ``we don't have a strategy yet'' sent the wrong signal to our allies and to our adversaries.
In response to the President's address last week, Congress and the American people are now seeking specifics about the new strategy. I am hopeful the new plan is strong enough and broad enough to be successful long term. U.S. leadership and the projection of military might are critical to defeating the ISIS extremists.
Thirteen years after September 11, 2001, Americans need to send a unified message that we remain resolved to fight the scourge of global terrorism. ISIS is part of that scourge, reeking havoc in Iraq and Syria, with torture, mass executions, crucifixions, and plans for a seventh century-style Islamic caliphate. As we all know, ISIS broadcasts its savagery through gruesome propaganda online, including the horrific murders of two Americans and a British aid worker.
It is clear our efforts to date have been insufficient to overthrow this well-funded, well-equipped, and sophisticated army. It will take more than limited air strikes and the modest deployment of military advisers to curb the rapid spread of ISIS across northern Iraq and Syria. The United States must be committed to building a coalition that fosters regional cooperation, dismantles the group's considerable financial network, and assists the Iraqi, Kurdish, and Free Syrian forces. I wish to help the President in his request for authorization to train and equip these forces.
This coalition needs to include Muslim-majority nations that are all in with a demonstrated resolve to defeat the Islamic terrorists in their own neighborhood.
The cost of inaction is already high. The rise of ISIS in northern Iraq and its operations in Syria have threatened regional stability and the security of our allies in Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, and Kuwait. The involvement of foreign fighters raises fears of potential terrorist plots here at home. Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said there are more than 100 U.S. citizens with passports fighting for the terrorist group. He went on to say, ``There may be more. We don't know.''
Secretary of Defense Hagel, who will testify tomorrow before the Armed Services Committee, has called ISIS, ``An imminent threat to every interest we have, whether it's in Iraq or anywhere else.'' Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed similar alarm, saying, ``The wickedness it represents must be destroyed.'' I agree. But if these statements are true, then we should respond to them aggressively.
Similar to Secretary Hagel and Secretary Kerry, the American public is concerned about the threat of ISIS to the United States. A new report by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News says nearly 7 in 10 Americans believe military action against ISIS in Iraq and Syria is in our national interest.
Americans are ready for a bold international strategy to confront these extremists whose ruthless campaign of terror and ethnic cleansing has survived for too long. These radicals have driven tens of thousands of Iraq's Yazidi and Christian minorities from their homes in fear. According to news reports, thousands of civilians have been slaughtered across northwestern Iraq.
GEN Jack Keane, former Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, and Danielle Pletka, a senior vice president at the American Enterprise Institute, put it this way in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed:
A U.S.-led international coalition can provide the military capability, including air interdiction to deny ISIS freedom of movement, take away its initiative to attack at will in Iraq, and dramatically reduce its sanctuary in Syria.
In other words, with U.S. leadership and international cooperation, we can defeat this enemy, and we ought to get about the business of doing it.
I believe Congress should support our Commander in Chief in the fight against ISIS, a fight that can result in a victory and a peace that can be sustained. I look forward to hearing more details about the President's plans when Secretary Hagel and GEN Martin Dempsey testify before the Armed Services Committee tomorrow.
There are still questions to be answered. For example, if public opinion turns, will the administration lose its resolve? How long will it take to win? How long will it take to crush ISIS? What is the definition of success? What is the definition of victory in this case? If we accomplish our objectives, will we once again abandon our gains, as we did after the surge in Iraq? What is the plan to eliminate the terrorist group's financial network? Are the President and congressional leaders willing to find a solution to defense sequestration in order to fulfill the mission if more resources are required? And more resources will be required.
Addressing these questions is important to understanding the specific goals and aims of the President's strategy, which are yet to be fleshed out. Americans and Congress deserve this clarity.
Congress has the responsibility to provide for the resources our U.S. military needs for its missions. We do this through appropriations, through the power of the purse, and the National Defense Authorization Act, which has garnered bipartisan support for the past 52 years.
Under the capable leadership of Chairman Levin and Ranking Member Inhofe, the Armed Services Committee approved a bill more than 3 months ago. So has the full House of Representatives. It has passed its authorization act. I hope that even at this late date, Majority Leader Reid will allow our country's major defense policy bill to come to the Senate floor for consideration soon.
An annual blueprint of the military priorities is vital to making sure that our troops have what they need to protect our national security interests at home and abroad.
This year's bill, for example, includes a provision to stave off drastic cuts to the U.S. Army which would put troop strength at levels not seen before World War II. Well-trained units such as the 155th Heavy Brigade Combat Team in my home State of Mississippi should not be jeopardized by shortsighted and ill-considered proposals by the Obama administration. Instead, under the committee bill, an independent commission would have the opportunity to make recommendations on force structure and size before the National Guard personnel could be cut or the Apache attack helicopters could be transferred.
Another provision of the bill would allow for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps to modernize their amphibious warships. These incredibly versatile ships signal to the world that America's fighting forces can respond to threats rapidly. Currently our fleet is significantly smaller than the number needed to perform required missions, and many of the ships are near the end of their service lives. The Defense authorization bill as passed on a bipartisan basis by the committee would authorize the construction of a 12th LPD 17 warship ensuring that the men and women who defend us in perilous corners of the globe have world-class hardware for their missions.
I believe it would be a fitting tribute to Senator Levin, who is retiring at the end of this year after decades of distinguished service in the Senate, to take up this bill in regular order and pass it as a tribute to our retiring chair.
In conclusion, we have work to do. The Senate Armed Services Committee and the House of Representatives have passed the Defense authorization bill. It is time for the Senate to follow suit. America has the most formidable fighting force in the world and this presence must remain resilient as dangerous groups such as ISIS put our interests at risk. The rapid rise of the barbaric terrorists is a wake-up call for U.S. leadership. Now that the President has declared his intention to degrade and destroy ISIS militants, we must ensure that the mission is fulfilled.
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