Statesman - Legislator speaks on recent overseas delegation

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In the end, it didn't matter that President Jimmy Carter never used the word "malaise" in his 1979 televised speech about American morale and the energy crisis. The word stuck and became shorthand for all the perceived problems of Carter's presidency.

So too it might be 36 years later, for "leading from behind." President Barack Obama didn't actually utter that phrase. The words came from the mouth of an Obama aide and were quoted in a 2011 magazine article.

But "leading from behind" has become shorthand for the Obama administration's foreign policy doctrine. As was the case with Carter's 1979 speech, the concept that America should not always take the lead in every world crisis was initially well-received by many.

Criticism has been mounting, fueled by last year's Russian incursion into Ukraine and more recently the Islamic State's reign of terror in the Middle East.

District 31 U.S. Rep. John Carter -- a frequent Obama critic -- recently returned from a congressional fact-finding mission abroad. He said the United States must portray strength, in its words and deeds, if it is to keep friends secure and foes at bay.

"This leading from the sidelines: nobody knows where you are, your friends or your enemies," Carter said.

The Round Rock Republican said he reached that conclusion by the end of a 10-day fact-finding trip he took with other members of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, which is a part of the House Appropriations Committee.

The bipartisan delegation traveled to Ukraine, plus the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus, the demilitarized Sinai area between Israel and Egypt and -- on the way back home -- London.

Republican Kay Granger of Fort Worth was the other Texan in the congressional delegation, led by U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.). Other participating members of Congress included Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.), Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), Steve Womack (R-Ark.) and Steve Israel (D-N.Y.)

"We were united in everything we did," Carter said. "We learned a lot."

Russia menaces Ukraine

Ukraine is, geographically, the largest country entirely within Europe. It is home to about 45 million people and is one of the world's leading grain exporters.

In 1990, Ukraine was one of 13 republics (out of 15) that seceded from the Soviet Union, one year before the Soviet empire's complete breakup. About 90 percent of those voting in a 1990 Ukrainian referendum cast their ballot for independence.

But Ukrainians have trod a difficult path, with the transition from the Soviet-style planned economy to a free-market economy marked by crime and corruption. Inflation is high and birth rates declining.

In February 2014 the Ukrainian Parliament removed President Viktor Yanukovych, who was friendly with Moscow. He was eventually replaced by the current president, Petro Poroshenko, but the ouster of Yanukovych led Russian President Vladimir Putin to deploy Russian troops.

Russia took control of the Crimea region and many suspect Putin is biding his time until Russia can take over all of Ukraine. About 17 percent of Ukraine's population is ethnic Russian, with that -- and a request from the exiled Yanukovych -- being Putin's pretext for the Crimean invasion.

When asked why Americans should care about any of that, Carter recalled Adolph Hitler used the excuse of protecting ethnic Germans, in Czechoslovakia, when he invaded that country in 1939.

Carter said he thinks Putin, whetting his appetite on Ukraine, might later menace the Baltic Sea nations of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

Putin's ultimate goal, Carter said, is to re-establish an empire -- not as the Soviet Union but under the Russian Federation's rule.

Carter said he thinks Putin has been emboldened because he perceives Obama as being weak.

"I think this guy [Putin] if unchecked, has got an Army nobody can match on that side [of Eastern Europe]," Carter said.

Turkey -- a NATO ally -- is across the Black Sea from Ukraine. Lithuania borders Poland, another NATO ally. The U.S. is among NATO's founding members. The NATO treaty states that any attack on one member would be considered an attack on all.

Texas Guard in Sinai

Carter said most people don't realize the U.S. has troops stationed in the Sinai.

As reported by Texas Insider: "On Dec. 19, 2014 the Texas Army National Guard bid goodbye and good luck to more than 450 members of the 1st squadron, 112th Cavalry Regiment as they mobilize to the Sinai Peninsula. The deployment ceremony was held at Bastrop Memorial Stadium … The Bryan-based regiment is aligned under the 72nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 36th Infantry Division, headquartered in Austin."

Carter said the Texas Guard soldiers -- as well as troops from Colombia and Fiji -- are also stationed in the Sinai. They represent a multinational force but are not under United Nations control.

Texas Guard soldiers are stationed in Shar-Mel Shek, a coastal area along the Red Sea.

Carter said the visit was of particular interest to Rep. Womack of Arkansas. After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks Womack was stationed with the multinational force in Sinai, during his 30 years of service with the Arkansas Army National Guard.

The U.S military has participated as part of an observation team in the region ever since 1981, following the Camp David peace accords of 1978, when President Jimmy Carter negotiated a settlement between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.

On Egypt and Iran

Carter went on to say the United States is falling short of its agreements with Egypt for military support.

"It's not the fact we're saying no … [but] the U.S. has refused to release the F-16s to Egypt, as part of the commitment."

According to published reports, since 1980 (after the Egypt-Israel peace agreement was signed) Egypt has received a total of 240 F-16 Fighting Falcons, valued at $8 billion.

According to National Public Radio, every year the U.S. Congress appropriates more than $1 billion in military aid to Egypt, via U.S. military contractors who make the fighter jets and tanks.

An NPR report also states: "The U.S. started sending M1A1 Abrams tanks to Egypt in the late "80s. In all, the U.S. sent more than 1,000 tanks to Egypt since then -- valued at some $3.9 billion -- which Egypt maintains along with several thousand Soviet-era tanks."

Critics of the arrangement say it's more about U.S. defense contractors providing jobs, than it is about Egyptian security.

But last month Egypt joined Jordan in the military fight against the Islamic State (also known as ISIS), prompting Rep. Carter to argue the U.S. needs to transfer the F-16s that have already been built and appropriated.

"Egypt faces ISIS to the west in Libya," Carter said. "They are in the middle of this mess."

Meanwhile, the Obama administration's ongoing negotiations aimed at controlling Iran's nuclear ambitions are another sore spot for Carter.

Speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Secretary of State John Kerry recently said whatever deal might be made with Iran would be "executive to executive," one not involving the U.S. Congress and not legally binding.

"We've been clear from the beginning we're not negotiating a legally binding plan," Kerry said. "We're negotiating a plan that will have a capacity for enforcement."

Carter remains skeptical about enforcement with Iran, stating this week: "We can come look if they want us to look."

Carter said the United States and its allies will not be secure if the U.S. does not project decisiveness and strength abroad.

"Whether we like it or not, we have to be the strongest," he said.

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