Rep. Gaetz: Playing Chicken with Nuclear-Armed Russia? As Insane as Arming Neo-Nazis in Ukraine
Madam Speaker, I rise to warn of a dangerous bipartisan consensus that is walking us into war with Russia. In the days following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, Senator Rob Portman said, "I haven’t seen this kind of unity since 9/11." It’s a nice statement, but what does it really mean? Unity always seems to come before the worst decisions we make. Our drive to unity often overruns our reason and discernment. The post 9/11 consensus gave us the Iraq War, the Patriot Act. The COVID lockdown and mandates came from unity bundled by fear. Defund the police took off because dissent wasn’t allowed, you were shouted down as a racist, just as now questioning our actions in Ukraine makes you a traitor. Do we have amnesia in this House? Is memory loss a consequence of the gerontocracy of Congress?
Just a year ago we lost a war against goat herders waving rifles. Now we’re rushing to fight a nation that possesses 6,000 nuclear warheads? Representatives now recklessly assert that we are at war. Congressman Moulton said last week, quote, "We’re not just at war to support the Ukrainians, we are fundamentally at war, although somewhat through a proxy, with Russia." The clandestine services are supposed to be the quiet professionals. Seems now they can’t stop bragging to news outlets about how America helps Ukraine assassinate Russian generals and sink Russia’s flag ship.
How exactly is this supposed to end? It’s as if the Administration is probing Putin’s nuclear Red Line. A game of chicken between nuclear powers is insane, and this from Joe Biden, who campaigned to be America’s calming sedative. From Russia, I worry about nuclear weapons, not broken tanks.
Last night this House approved 40 billion dollars for Ukraine as American families go without baby formula. To put that in context, Biden’s budget calls for $15.3 billion for Customs and Border Patrol. So, apparently Ukraine is more than twice as important as our homeland. Two weeks ago, we voted on the Ukraine Lend-Lease Act. I was one of just 10 representatives to vote no, and here was the response from MSNBC: "GOP’s Putin wing balks at supplying weapons to Ukraine." So, you’re a supporter of Putin if you think it’s a bad idea to get the White House blanket permission to send, quote, "any weapon, weapon system, munition aircraft vessels, or other implement of war, to Ukraine," while surrendering our rights to repayment.
We are sending so many weapons to Ukraine that we’re depleting our own stockpiles, and we aren’t just sending bullets and rifles; now we’re sending howitzers. They can fire up to 15 miles. This means weapons we supply, and train Ukrainians to use, could potentially strike Russian territory. And these weapons aren’t just ending up in the hands of the Ukrainian military either. One official said weapons, quote, "drop into a big black hole."
Many of these are ending up in the hands of the Azov Battalion. Forty House Democrats called them a Neo-Nazi, foreign terrorist organization just three years ago! Now they’re killing Russians, are these avowed ethno-nationalists apparently not so bad? Democrats go on a daily snipe hunt for white supremacy here in America, and yet they’re fine giving rockets to actual white supremacists in Ukraine! Taking the position that we arm anyone to the teeth who will shoot at Russians has actually not always worked for America.
It’s javelins to neo-Nazis today, Stinger missiles to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan yesterday. In Syria, another conflict that Washington had consensus on, we supplied jihadist terrorists in their fight against Assad. Assad, like Putin, is an evil man, but does that mean the American taxpayer must arm his enemies without any further inquiry? I don’t think so, and I would imagine most Americans don’t think so. But that’s why we never have real debate on these issues. The swamp would rather talk about `saving democracy’ than our actual dangerous reality. And if we are at war like Congressman Moulton says, then why not vote on an authorization to use military force? Or are we just going to operate in Ukraine, like we have in Yemen, and throughout the world: forever undeclared wars.
I suspect many in this body won’t want a vote or a debate, because regime change in Russia is their actual objective, not defending Ukraine. And to achieve this goal they’re willing to send billions to Kiev that will line the pockets of corrupt officials, just like we did in Afghanistan.
We are sleepwalking into a war, and the American people are left in the dark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFRm-dprhGg&t=56s