Rand Paul Calls Out Sec. Antony Blinken Over Efficacy Of Sanctions On Russia And china

3 months ago

At the 125th VFW National Convention on Monday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) spoke about Sec. Antony Blinken.

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Transcript

00:00Through our interventionist strategy, we have lost the ability to critically think about

00:05our foreign and national security policy.

00:08Many in Congress seem to have forgotten that to achieve peace through strength requires

00:13diplomacy.

00:14Instead, both parties have tried to solve all of our international problems with sanctions,

00:20threats of violence, and the actual use of force.

00:23Yet American sanctions have not changed the actions of our adversaries.

00:28I've repeatedly asked the Secretary of State to identify what, if any, changes Russia or

00:33China has initiated because of sanctions.

00:36I'm still waiting for an answer.

00:40What American sanctions do accomplish, though, is to isolate large portions of the world

00:44from our trade.

00:46This form of trade isolationism threatens to make war more imminent.

00:52Whilst we must be prepared to defend our country and our interests without hesitation,

00:57we cannot forget that war must always be a last resort.

01:09The bayonet cannot be our first choice of diplomatic engagement.

01:14The potential cost of war today is simply too high.

01:18Today, our chief adversaries have the capability to destroy our way of life as we do theirs.

01:25The consequences of a great power conflict between a Western alliance and Russia or China

01:31would be devastating.

01:33We would feel those effects in all aspects of our life.

01:36Our commerce, our freedoms, our day-to-day existence would be impacted more than at any

01:42time in our history.

01:45As a measure of last resort, war must be squarely centered on a vital national interest

01:51that is clear to the American people.

01:54Once that vital national interest is identified, we must craft a viable strategy to reach an

02:00achievable goal that is materially and economically sustainable with a clearly defined end state.

02:07The purpose of war is to make a better peace, not to perpetuate further war.

02:21Most importantly, we must hold sacred the principles of our Founding Fathers, which

02:25espouse that no one leader may take our country to war.

02:29Rather, for the nation to be willing to risk its sons and daughters, its blood, its treasure,

02:35war can only be waged with the consent of the people.

02:39That required consent is derived from acts of Congress, from the Constitution.

02:46Only Congress has the power to declare war.

02:50My pledge to use this to continue to push to return the traditional American form of

02:58restrained realism that these principles, war as a last resort, used only to defend

03:05a clearly identified national interest, through a viable strategy to achieve a sustained end

03:11state, and even then, only with the consent of the people.

03:16If and when we must fight, we must fight.

Rand Paul Calls Out Sec. Antony Blinken Over Efficacy Of Sanctions On Russia And china

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