I hope you saw my latest weekly column.

 

ROGER WICKER: President Trump has promoted peace through strength
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Congress took an important step for national security this past week by
passing the National Defense Authorization Act, a bipartisan bill that will
unlock critical funding for our military. This milestone provides a good
opportunity to assess international challenges and reflect on America’s recent
foreign policy achievements.

 

Putting America first

 

As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I have seen firsthand that
our nation is facing new military threats around the world. Over the past four
years, I have helped write legislation to strengthen our Armed Forces. We have
grown each branch of the military, equipped the Navy with more ships to counter
global threats, and created the Space Force to protect American space assets.
At the same time, we have successfully persuaded our allies to shoulder more of
the financial burden of our mutual defense.

 

President Trump has made important decisions to protect American workers. I
supported the order to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, a job-killing
agreement that would have severely hurt America’s energy sector and done little
to help prevent global warming. I also supported the negotiation of a new trade
deal with Canada and Mexico, which will help save American jobs.

 

For many years, our southern border was porous and insufficiently protected.
Over the last four years, Congress has boosted resources for border security,
and more than 400 miles of new border wall have been built. President Trump
also convinced Mexico to deploy 27,000 of their own troops south of our border,
helping bring migration under control at no cost to American taxpayers.

 

Peace advances in Middle East

 

President Trump made the right call to withdraw from President Obama’s
disastrous Iran nuclear deal, which Congress never approved. That agreement
would not have stopped Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and the missiles
necessary to launch them. We have now imposed heavy sanctions on Iran, which
are pressuring that radical regime to behave responsibly. And the U.S. military
took out Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, who was responsible for the deaths of
hundreds of American troops and attacks on our Embassy in Iraq.

 

Our position in the Middle East has been further strengthened by the decisions
to move the American Embassy to Jerusalem and to recognize the Golan Heights as
Israeli territory. These bold steps have encouraged Arab countries to make
peace with the Jewish state. This year, three Middle Eastern nations have
signed historic peace agreements with Israel.

 

In 2017, the U.S. military stepped up its campaign to destroy ISIS and roundly
succeeded. We should now be vigilant to prevent any resurgence of this
terrorist group, which has threatened America and our allies.

 

Holding China accountable

 

For decades, China has broken international trade rules and stolen
intellectual property from U.S. companies. President Trump imposed huge tariffs
on Chinese products and issued an executive order to block Huawei, a telecom
giant loyal to Beijing, from doing business in America. I led the effort in
Congress to pass legislation helping American companies replace Huawei
equipment with secure alternatives.

 

It is clearer than ever that China is a long-term adversary. We need to hold
the Chinese Communist Party accountable for failing to contain the spread of
COVID-19. I am also concerned about China’s persecution of Uighurs and Falun
Gong practitioners, and the loss of freedom in Hong Kong. We cannot afford to
weaken our stance toward Beijing. Curbing China’s influence should remain a top
national security priority as we enter 2021.

 

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Thank you for your support,

Senator Roger Wicker

 

 

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