McConnell Addresses U.S. Global Leadership Coalition
U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) addressed the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) during USGLC’s South Summit in Louisville, Kentucky.
McConnell was Tuesday’s KVML “Newsmaker of the Day”. Here are his remarks:
“Next month will mark 85 years since Germany’s invasion of Poland triggered the largest and bloodiest conflict in human history. But years before American G.I.s would set foot on European soil, we faced a moment of national reckoning here at home over America’s role in that conflict – and, as it turns out, over our leadership in the world.
Large shares of the American people had bought into a narrow view of our interests beyond our shores. The dark days of the Depression and the First World War weighed heavy on them. They had elected representatives to Congress who voted consistently against investment in our own defense.
The isolationist fervor gripping the nation was so strong, in fact, that President Roosevelt had been compelled to sign a series of ‘Neutrality Acts’ limiting our ability to come to the aid of friends and allies facing the specter of Nazi and Japanese aggression. But no ocean could isolate America from the winds of war. And with the benefit of hindsight, we all know how abruptly this holiday from history came to an end.
By the late spring of 1940, as the Nazis invaded France, polls reported that after years of hesitance and skepticism the vast majority of Americans were suddenly willing to spend whatever was necessary on the national defense!
By the time Japan attacked Pearl Harbor the following year, even one of the most prominent opponents of American engagement, Senator Arthur Vandenberg, declared, ‘that day ended isolationism for any realist. But years of resistance to investments in our military had already taken their toll.’
Even as Congress raced to pass massive appropriations – above and beyond what FDR requested – America’s industrial base couldn’t keep up. Years of neglect had left us short of raw materials, machinery, and manpower. As the Navy’s top Admiral at the time put it, ‘Dollars cannot buy yesterday.’
America faced a world on fire, but we were not yet prepared to put it out. War revealed the truly dire consequences of investing in defense too late. These consequences can be measured in dollars, such as the 37% of our gross domestic product we spent on the military during World War II. But we must not forget the costs are measured in lives as well.
Over 400,000 servicemembers gave their lives to defend our country and way of life during that war, and countless civilians across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The American homeland was largely spared, but technology has shrunk the globe, and future conflict could very well bring such terrible costs to our own shores.
World War II’s end ushered in a new era for American foreign policy. Though great debates over America’s role in the world would chug on, the century was marked for the most part by a strong, bipartisan commitment to global leadership – leadership that has ensured our peace, prosperity, and security ever since.
America became a guarantor of stability provided by an American-established international order. Our global role continues to preserve our peace and prosperity to this day, sometimes in ways not so obvious.
Here in Kentucky, supply chains are living, breathing proof of American leadership in the world. Rural bourbon producers reach buyers from Madrid to Melbourne. Steel mills supply manufacturers of surgical tools, skyscrapers, and spacecrafts. And Ford and Toyota rely on imported parts at production plants in Louisville and Georgetown. We often forget that Toyota itself is a Japanese company that has invested billions of dollars into our economy, providing nearly 10,000 jobs in central Kentucky.
All of this runs on the premise of a set of rules – rules underpinned by American leadership that guarantee secure and sustained access to global markets and freedom of navigation of strategic sea lanes and trade routes.
We don’t have to look back far to understand the importance of the free flow of goods and people. COVID-19 ground production to a halt all across the South. Among many things, it dislodged our supply chains, causing years-long backlogs for the parts, supplies, and raw materials that feed our economy and create jobs.
As costly and painful as the pandemic was, global war would strain our world, our economy, and the American household in much worse ways. But here’s the big difference, these risks are within our means to control.
That’s because when America upholds the rules, we set the table for our own prosperity. President Reagan saw this plainly. He understood what it took to defend our interests. What it took was ‘peace through strength’ – the idea that hard power is what actually preserves peace and prevents war. When Reagan sat down across from Gorbachev, American strength helped his hand diplomatically and strategically. Credible hard power gave soft power its weight.
Now, for the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall, we ourselves face an era of great power competition. A new axis of evil has formed. We’re seeing Iran and North Korea arming Russia’s war in Ukraine. China helping Iran skirt international sanctions to fund its assault on Israel. We’re seeing a ‘friendship without limits’ between Moscow and Beijing. And China arming itself at an alarming rate.
Our enemies are surely working to undercut our influence around the world, but here at home we’re undercutting American strength just the same.
For four straight years, President Biden has put forward a budget that amounts to a net cut in defense after inflation. In the 1940s, the belated defense spending I discussed earlier spiked to 37% of GDP. During the Reagan buildup that helped end the Cold War it hit only 6% of GDP. Today, defense spending sits at 2.7% of GDP. And even maintaining this level is like pulling teeth with too many of my colleagues in Washington. But the bottom line is clear: we cannot expect China, Russia, and Iran to play by the rules if we’re not willing to lead with strength.
In fact, our adversaries are determined to undermine American leadership, to re-write these rules. And there is no question that if they succeed it will be to America’s disadvantage.
Some in Congress are waking up to the importance of a strong defense. Earlier this year, a bipartisan majority passed supplemental funding to rebuild the arsenal of democracy and assist our friends on the frontlines in Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific. But, as I have said before, strength is not a one-time injection. It’s the product of sustained, serious investment. And this moment requires a renaissance of investment in American hard power.
If we would like for military force to remain an option of last resort, as I do, then we must invest seriously in our strength today. Now, I know it’s a difficult time to ask for greater spending as Americans carry the burden of inflation. But putting off this investment any longer will expose Americans to an even greater burden, the burden of funding an unwelcome war.
The fact remains that it’s a lot cheaper to prevent a war than to be in one. It can be easy to turn inwards, to ignore the responsibilities of leadership that have underpinned our peace, prosperity, and security.
To those who criticize greater investment in our defense, I would pose the following question: Which of these interests are you willing to abandon? We can’t afford to wait for another attack before we get serious about defending our interests. We must do what we can today, to keep the peace tomorrow.”
The “Newsmaker of the Day” is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.
