The President's Foreign Policy

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, before I close, I would like to take a minute to talk about the President's foreign policy. The Congress has received the President's request for authorization for the use of military force in Iraq and Syria, and we will take a hard look at this request. But we still haven't seen a comprehensive strategy from the President for confronting and defeating ISIS. ISIS represents a barely comprehensible level of evil. Wherever its members go they leave a trail of blood. Their reign of terror in the Middle East has included the systematic persecution and murder of Christians and other minorities, rape, torture, burnings, beheadings, as well as reports of the crucifixion and burying alive of children.

Just 2 weeks ago ISIS beheaded 21 Coptic Christians in Libya. The men's only crime was professing their faith. This morning's news included reports of another 90 Assyrian Christians being abducted by ISIS from a village in northern Syria.

My heart sinks each time I hear any report of abductions of this nature because we know the fate that is likely in store for these people. Evil like this cannot be ignored. It must be confronted. The United States should be a leader in the effort to defeat this hellish organization and its reign of brutality.

The President should have articulated a plan for responding to ISIS months ago, but, unfortunately, his lack of decision is par for the course when it comes to this administration's foreign policy. Time and again, the President has been confronted with a foreign policy crisis and has simply failed to respond. That needs to end now. With crises multiplying around the world, it is time for the President to step up and start leading. We cannot afford for him to sit on the sidelines any longer.

I yield the floor.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source