Rep. Mike Rogers warns that China and Russia are working together to weaponize space
On Wednesday, Congressman Mike Rogers (R-AL03) released a statement following reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for greater cooperation between Russia and China on the development and deployment of military space weapons. “Our adversaries are working to rapidly weaponize space,” said Rep. Rogers. “The possibility of Russia and China joining forces against us in space is only the latest example of why we must continue our efforts to strengthen and expand our space capabilities. We must ensure freedom of action in space and counter efforts by those like China and Russia who seek to attack our forces in and through space.” Mike Rogers is the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. On Wednesday, Putin met with Chinese General Zhang Youxia, China’s second-ranking military official and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission. In his televised remarks, Putin emphasized the importance of developing closer military links, noting that cooperation in high-tech spheres now takes priority. “I mean space, including high-orbit assets, and new prospective types of weapons that will ensure strategic security of both Russia and the People’s Republic of China,” Putin said without elaboration. Putin emphasized that while “Russia and China aren’t building any military alliances based on Cold War patterns,” their cooperation is a “serious factor in stabilizing the international situation.” Space weapons have the potential to greatly impact the next major war. Communications, weather forecasting, navigation, global surveillance, early warning systems, and even weapons guidance all rely on a sophisticated network of satellites. An adversary who was capable of killing their opponent’s satellite network would quickly make their enemy blind and with limited command and control of their forces – particularly those forces on other continents. It could prove to be a decisive advantage in a major conflict. China has already tested an antisatellite weapon, and all major powers are rushing to gain mastery of the space battlefield. A bipartisan commission on the strategic posture of the United States recently prepared a report warning that the U.S. must be prepared to deter a future nuclear war against both China and Russia at the same time. “For the first time in history, the United States must deter two near-peer nuclear adversaries at the same time,” Rogers said in a statement on Thursday. “The goal of the Strategic Posture Commission was to examine the long-term strategic posture of the United States. The results of their report detailed the gravity of the situation we face and emphasized that the current trajectory of the U.S. nuclear deterrent is insufficient to deter the looming Chinese and Russian threat. I want to thank the commission for producing a clear-eyed, sobering consensus report. The details of this report should serve as a wakeup call for our strategic posture – we need to rapidly make changes now if we want to deter tomorrow.” Rogers is in his 11th term representing Alabama’s Third Congressional District and has qualified with the Alabama Republican Party to run for a twelfth term. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Republicans hold first presidential debate – minus Donald Trump
The Republican Presidential Debate was held on Wednesday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The debate revealed some major policy differences between the candidates. Over 80 members of the combined Shelby County, St. Clair County, and Greater Birmingham Young Republicans were present at Hoover Tactical Firearms to watch the event and eat barbecue. Former President Donald Trump was conspicuous by his absence. Former Vice President Mike Pence said that Trump asked him to violate his oath to the Constitution by invalidating the Electoral College results on January 6, 2021. Pence said that he will always follow the Constitution. Trump claimed then, and still does, that the election was “stolen.” His efforts to overturn the 2020 election results have resulted in his being indicted. The other candidates said that Pence did the right thing that day. Both former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchison and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said President Trump violated his oath of office and likely cannot run again. Hutchison cited the 14th Amendment, which prevents anyone who has led an insurgency against the United States from serving. Christie said that Trump has been indicted 99 times and that lawlessness cannot be allowed. Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy said that Trump was the greatest president of the twenty-first century. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Republicans should move on from this issue as it only benefits Democrats. U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) said that he was raised in poverty by a single mother and that his success shows that the American dream is alive and well. The candidates all seemed to agree that President Joe Biden’s economic policies have led to inflation, homelessness, and a significant reduction in the quality of life of most Americans. They blamed government spending. They also agreed that Biden is in mental decline. Ramaswamy, who is 38, said that America needs a new generation of leadership to lead a new American Revolution. Pence disagreed, saying that he has been in the halls of power as a member of Congress, Governor of Indiana, and Vice President, making him the most qualified to serve as President. The United States has spent $77 billion in aid for Ukraine, and President Biden has asked for $24 billion more as it appears that Ukraine’s summer offensive has stalled. Ramaswamy objected to giving any money to Ukraine, saying he wanted to move those resources to the U.S.’s southern border. “Ukraine is not a priority for the U.S.” “We can do both at the same time,” Pence said, objecting to Ramaswamy’s isolationist foreign policy. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley slammed Ramaswamy, saying, “You have no foreign policy experience, and it shows.” Haley said that Ramaswamy’s policies would lead to a world war. Pence agreed, saying that if Russian President Vladimir Putin is allowed to win in Ukraine, eventually, he will cross a NATO border, and the U.S. will have to send American troops to stop him. Haley said that Republicans need to tell Americans the truth and acknowledge that the GOP does not have the 60 votes required for the U.S. Senate to pass a nationwide abortion ban. Pence strongly disagreed and advocated for the passage of a nationwide abortion ban, saying that he would be a staunch defender of life as President. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum said that he represents a very pro-Life state but agreed with Haley that abortion policy should be left to the states and there should be no nationwide ban. Christie condemned the lawlessness on the U.S. southern border. Since Biden has been president, six million migrants have entered this country. Ramaswamy wanted to put troops and military forces on the border. DeSantis said that the U.S. should use deadly force and kill migrants crossing the border illegally. Pence said in his (and Trump’s) administration, illegal border crossing decreased by 90% (and they didn’t gun anyone down). Hutchison said that his tenure as the head of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) taught him how to interdict dangerous drugs like fentanyl. Hutchison noted that there also needs to be an education component to combat fentanyl. DeSantis said that the COVID lockdowns “should never have happened.” Ramaswamy said that if he had been President during the COVID-19 pandemic, he would have fired Dr. Anthony Fauci. Scott said his mother taught him to work hard, have faith, and “if God made you a man, you compete in sports against men.” Ramaswamy called the concept of manmade global warming a “hoax” and called on the U.S. to mine for coal, drill for oil and natural gas, and adopt nuclear energy. Haley said that climate change “is real” but noted that the U.S. should be focused on getting India and China to reduce their carbon emissions rather than mandating that Americans buy electric cars where half the batteries are made in China, While the other contenders for the Presidency were on Fox News debating, Trump gave a lengthy interview to Tucker Carlson. Trump will surrender to Georgia authorities on Thursday. The Alabama presidential primary will be held on Tuesday, March 5. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Rep. Mike Rogers says that the U.S. will not be intimidated by China and Russia
Congressman Mike Rogers (R-AL03) released a statement on China and Russia’s continued cooperation – including a recent joint naval patrol near Alaska. “Continued cooperation between China and Russia is a stark reminder of the challenge we face: for the first time in history, the United States must deter two near-peer nuclear adversaries simultaneously,” Rogers said. “It’s clear that China and Russia’s recent naval patrol was meant to intimidate the United States. By investing in the modernization of our nuclear deterrent, the bedrock of U.S. national security, the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act sends a strong message to both China and Russia: The United States cannot be intimidated.” The 2024 NDAA increases the amount of money the United States spends on nuclear weapons by 110% over FY2023 to $32 billion. China has passed the United States as the largest Navy in the world. “While this administration dithers, the CCP is rapidly growing and modernizing its navy,” Rogers said. “It already controls the largest Navy in the world. Our fleet of 296 ships was eclipsed years ago by a Chinese fleet of over 350 ships. In two short years, the DoD predicts the CCP will control over 400 battle force ships. I don’t understand how this administration can conclude reducing the size of our fleet will somehow deter China.” China has also passed the U.S. in the number of ICBM launchers deployed – though the U.S. has a larger total number of warheads. “The head of U.S. Strategic Command has informed us that China has surpassed the U.S. in the number of ICBM launchers – this should serve as a wake-up call for the United States,” Rogers and other congressional leaders wrote. “It is not an understatement to say that the Chinese nuclear modernization program is advancing faster than most believed possible. We have no time to waste in adjusting our nuclear force posture to deter both Russia and China. This will have to mean higher numbers and new capabilities.” Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s increased belligerence has effectively ended the three decades of peaceful relations between Russia and the West following the collapse of the USSR. “Putin’s unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine has lasted a year too long,” Reps. Rogers, Michael McCaul, and Mike Turner wrote. “The people of Ukraine have shown unmatched strength and courage, and with the aid of Western weaponry, they have decimated Russia’s war machine. In supporting Ukraine’s fight, House Republicans have also continued to conduct robust oversight of U.S. assistance – protecting the American taxpayer while ensuring these weapons continue to make an impact on the battlefield.” China President Xi Jinping meanwhile has been open about his own territorial ambitions toward Taiwan. President Joe Biden has said that the U.S. would intervene militarily if China were to invade Taiwan, saying the burden to protect Taiwan is “even stronger’ after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It was one of the most forceful presidential statements in support of self-governing in decades. Mike Rogers is the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee that is tasked with writing the House version of the NDAA. Rogers is in his eleventh term representing Alabama’s Third Congressional District. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Mike Rogers urges Biden administration to stop sending nuclear information to Russia
Russia has stopped complying with the essentially defunct New START arms reduction treaty. Even though Russia appears to be in breach of the treaty, the Biden Administration has decided to continue with the U.S. continuing to report on its nuclear weapons to Russia. In response, Congressman Mike Rogers declared that decision “foolish.” “It’s foolish to believe that continuing to send data to Russia on U.S. nuclear forces will somehow convince Putin to comply with a treaty he effectively abandoned,” Rogers said in the statement. “All the Biden administration is doing is sharing sensitive U.S. national security data with an adversary – while receiving nothing in return. Why would Putin return to compliance when he’s being rewarded for his non-compliance? As President [Barack] Obama stated in 2009, ‘Rules must be binding. Violations must be punished. Words must mean something.’” “Sharing data on our nuclear forces with Russia is idiotic and puts our national security at risk,” Rogers said. “The administration must impose costs on Russia for its non-compliance and take prudent steps to prepare for the possibility of continued Russian arms control violations.” Mike Rogers is the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. The START Treaty (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) limits the number of weapons of mass destruction that the United States and the Russian Federation can deploy. The new START Treaty limits the United States to just 659 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles, deployed submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and deployed heavy bombers (the B52, B1, B2, and the new B21 bombers). Russia is limited to just 540 heavy bombers. Since each launch system can launch multiple warheads on their deployed ICBMs, SLBMs, and heavy bombers, START also limits the number of nuclear warheads the superpowers can have. START limits the U.S. to 1420 warheads, while Russia can have 1549. The treaty also strictly limits the number of missile launchers, ballistic missile submarines, and heavy bombers the two nations can have – both deployed and non-deployed. The U.S. is limited to only 800, while Russia is limited to only 759. If the two nations break out of the new START Treaty, that could potentially lead to a renewed nuclear arms race. If so, that puts the U.S. at a disadvantage as much of the Cold War era nuclear weapons-producing capacity of the United States has been allowed to lapse. The treaty requires Russia and the United States to allow inspection of their nuclear facilities to ensure that both sides comply with the limits. President Vladimir Putin has not allowed the inspections to occur for months. Putin’s decision to suspend Russia’s participation in the treaty simply makes official what has been the de facto Russian policy for a while. It is unknown whether or not suspending the treaty means that Russia will break out of the weapons limits set in the treaty. Following the announcement, the Russian foreign ministry said the decision is “reversible.” Rogers is serving in his eleventh term representing Alabama’s Third Congressional District. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com
Gary Palmer warns, “China is the existential threat”
On Saturday, Congressman Gary Palmer spoke with the Mid-Alabama Republican Club (MARC) at their monthly meeting in the Vestavia Hills Public Library. Palmer spoke to the gathering of greater Birmingham area Republicans about several topics, including foreign policy. Palmer supports aiding Ukraine in its war with Russia but warned that “China is the existential threat” we face. “China is the existential threat,” Palmer warned. Palmer said that anything the economy needs for defense or to keep the U.S. economy functioning should not be made in a country that is an enemy. Anything essential that is produced in China cannot stay in China. “No nation should be dependent on an enemy nation for something they need,” Palmer said. “Frankly, we can’t bring back everything.” “What I have been proposing is that we form a western hemisphere prosperity act,” with willing nations in Central and South America as well as Canada, Palmer said. Palmer said that our European allies made a mistake by investing so heavily in renewable energy and then relying on Russia to provide most of their energy needs because now that Russia is causing problems, shutting off the flow of Russian gas and oil is problematic for those nations. Palmer said that while the U.S. and Western European Countries have limited their domestic energy options, “China is building a coal-fired plant every two weeks, but they are building 14 outside of China, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South America.” Palmer said he had been asked to discuss his ideas in Brussels, Belgium, and would probably accept that invitation. “We cannot stop helping Ukraine,” Palmer said. “The consequences would be worse than pulling out of Afghanistan.” Palmer said the unilateral U.S. decision to pull out of Afghanistan has severely weakened U.S. credibility worldwide. “World leaders don’t trust us,” Palmer warned. “Our allies don’t trust us, and our enemies don’t fear us. That is the consequence of pulling out of Afghanistan.” Palmer said that if we had not supported Ukraine, the Russians would have taken it and that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not have stopped there. “They would have taken Moldova, they would have taken the Republic of Georgia, and they would have taken the Baltics, and we would be in another Cold War,” Palmer said. Palmer said that it is a mistake for the U.S. to transition off of oil and natural gas and said that renewables would never be able to produce all of the energy that we need. One alternative is nuclear power. “One nuclear power plant takes up about 640 acres,” Palmer said. “To produce the generating capacity of one nuclear power plant would take 67,000 acres of wind turbines.” “We will have to pass a debt limit bill,” Palmer said. “We cannot default on the debt.” Palmer assured the Republicans that in order to address the debt ceiling, President Joe Biden would have to negotiate with Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and make concessions to the Republicans. Palmer announced when questioned by Terry Richmond that he would run for office again in 2024, breaking a pledge not to serve over ten years that he made when he first ran for office in 2014. “We all have a mission,” Palmer said. “I don’t think my mission is complete.” “There is no way we can be bound by any agreement that the Biden Administration makes unless it is ratified by the Senate,” Palmer said when asked about foreign agreements made by President Biden. “We are still committed to getting the Northern Beltline built,” Palmer said, referring to the beltway around Northern Jefferson County. “We have got $469 million in funding for that. We had a meeting with ALDOT in my office on that. They committed $120 million for that, but there is no seed money for it. It is frustrating.” The MARC meets monthly on the second Saturday of each month at 8:30 a.m. At this point, Gary Palmer is the only formally announced candidate for the Sixth Congressional District seat. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Tommy Tuberville: “We don’t need the war in Ukraine to turn into Vietnam”
On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville told Alabama reporters that he supports the Ukrainians in their fight against Russian aggression. However, he believes that NATO and Europe must shoulder more of the load. “We are already over $32 billion in debt. Whatever it takes is going to run out. We don’t need this war, and we don’t need this war to turn into Vietnam,” Tuberville stated. “I have been for Ukraine ever since it started,” Tuberville told Alabama reporters on Wednesday. “[Vladimir] Putin is a murderer. He should never should have done this. There have been hundreds of thousands of people killed – on both sides.” “I am really disappointed how this thing really got started,” Tuberville said. “I was in Ukraine a few months before it started. We were told – I was told by President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy himself they are coming. They are going to come across the border. They are going to try to take more land. Even may try to take the whole country, but we couldn’t get the Biden administration to gear up and to start putting things in place on the border to help the Ukrainians. We were behind, stay behind. This administration was behind. We stay behind,” Tuberville said. “They (the Ukrainians) are holding their own, but they are playing against a major, a big major country that is right on their border,” Tuberville said. “We have to have more support from NATO.” “I voted against a lot of the funding,” Tuberville said. “None of us are sure if the proper oversight is going on. There are a lot of Republicans, where all – including me, who are getting antsy about continuing to fund what is going on over there. We need Europe and NATO to step up and do their part. We are carrying the load. The American taxpayers are carrying the load. Europe needs to be carrying the load also.” “President [Joe] Biden says ‘whatever it takes.’ Well, we are already over $32 billion in debt. Whatever it takes is going to run out,” Tuberville told the Alabama Press. “We don’t need this war, and we don’t need this war to turn into Vietnam that is going to last forever and ever. We can’t afford it. We need to get our focus on China – really our number one adversary around the world.” During a Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) hearing Tuesday covering Russia’s war in Ukraine, Sen Tuberville spoke with Lieutenant General (Ret.) Keith Kellogg and foreign policy experts from Georgetown University and RAND Corporation about the dangers of China’s potential entry into the conflict. Senator Tuberville and his SASC colleagues also discussed the threat of Russian escalation, the possible use of nuclear weapons, and the necessary course of action for the United States. “I was in Ukraine six months before this war started and talked to President Zelensky, and he knew this was coming,” Sen. Tuberville said. “They were putting troops on the border of Belarus, all over the place, building up, knowing it was coming. We didn’t do one thing. We said it was going to be a small incursion. That’s what President Biden said. We’re coming off Afghanistan, where we didn’t look very smart. What would we do different now, General, in your eyes? Now, we are doing it, though it seems like we are one step behind in everything that we are doing. What should we have done different at the beginning? Because it looked like we were going to be the defender of the free world. We need to learn from our mistakes, and we made huge mistakes at the beginning of this.” “Yes, Senator, thanks for your question. As a former and retired military officer, I’m a little bit disappointed in the military and the intelligence community that either didn’t relay this or didn’t believe it as well,” Gen. Kellogg said. “You know, recall, we had very senior officers say, one, Ukraine would fall in three days of the invasion and try to get President Zelensky a ride out of town. And that’s when he made the comment; I don’t need a ride. I need ammunition. You know, the fact is, we just didn’t really believe it, and we didn’t look at it hard. I would really question our intelligence communities, all of them, and also the military, why their decision-making was so poor in foreseeing this. Most of us saw it. We saw the indicators. I’m a big believer in indicators and patterns, and patterns and indicators were there. So, I think it was a fault somewhere in our systems that we didn’t convince ourselves that it was really going to happen. Part of it may have been a misunderstanding of President Putin himself, and they just didn’t believe he would do it. I’ve actually heard commentators saying up until the day before the invasion, he wasn’t going to do it. Yes, he was. And if you read Putin, and I had a fortune when I was in the National Security Council, I brought Dr. Fiona Hill in on the NSC team. She came out of Brookings, and she’s a very well-read person on Putin. And she says when he says something, believe it, he’s going to do it. We didn’t believe it.” “General Kellogg, do you have a clear sense of the overall U.S. strategy in Ukraine? And what does victory look like for Ukraine?” Tuberville asked. “I do not have an overall view of what the current strategy in Ukraine is,” Kellogg said. “I believe we should have one. And I think you have to put, in-state, you have to put Russia’s army at risk in Ukraine. Putin has to understand he’s got two options, lose his army or leave. If his army loses and is defeated, he falls.” “Can Ukrainians win it on their own?” Tuberville asked. “No. Let me rephrase, they can win it on their own if we give them the equipment to do it,” Kellogg answered. “Okay. What’s the most dangerous course of action for the United States when it comes to this conflict?” Tuberville asked. “What puts us in harm’s way?” “By
Mike Rogers comments on the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Friday marked the one-year anniversary of the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Congressman Mike Rogers, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Michael McCaul, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Mike Turner, the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, released a joint statement to mark the one-year anniversary of the war. “[Vladimir] Putin’s unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine has lasted a year too long,” Rogers, McCaul, and Turner wrote. “The people of Ukraine have shown unmatched strength and courage, and with the aid of western weaponry, they have decimated Russia’s war machine. In supporting Ukraine’s fight, House Republicans have also continued to conduct robust oversight of U.S. assistance – protecting the American taxpayer while ensuring these weapons continue to make an impact on the battlefield.” “The gruesome Russian war crimes and atrocities must end,” the three Congressmen wrote. “President [Joe] Biden needs to stop dragging his feet on providing the lethal aid necessary to end this war. Continued half-measures by the Biden administration will only drive up the cost of this war in lives and dollars.” Most international and military observers had expected the vaunted Russian army to roll over undermanned Ukraine. Instead of folding to the onslaught, the Ukrainians stopped an assault on their capitol at Kiev, sunk the Russian Navy’s flagship on the Black Sea, and thwarted a Russian advance on Kherson and Mariupol intended to cut the Ukrainians. The Ukrainians followed that with a late summer and fall offensive that pushed the Russians back to the heavily contested Donbas region and recaptured the cities of Kharkiv and Bakhmut. Now Russia appears poised to launch a major spring offensive. The U.S. and its western allies have committed tanks, combat vehicles, rocket launchers, Lancer antitank missiles, artillery, and money to help Ukraine defend its territorial integrity. The war has seen massive battles with tanks versus tanks and artillery versus artillery. This is the most intense combat that has taken place in Europe since World War II. The Pentagon estimates that over 200,000 people have died on both sides. Thousands of Ukrainian civilians have been killed, and 8 million persons have been displaced. The Biden administration has announced another round of aid for Ukraine. “Today, in Kyiv, I am meeting with President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy and his team for an extended discussion on our support for Ukraine.” President Biden said in a statement. “I will announce another delivery of critical equipment, including artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems, and air surveillance radars to help protect the Ukrainian people from aerial bombardments. And I will share that later this week, we will announce additional sanctions against elites and companies that are trying to evade or backfill Russia’s war machine. Over the last year, the United States has built a coalition of nations from the Atlantic to the Pacific to help defend Ukraine with unprecedented military, economic, and humanitarian support – and that support will endure.” Russia and Ukraine have a long-shared history that dates back to the Kievan Rus in the tenth century. Rogers is in his eleventh term representing Alabama’s Third Congressional District. He previously served in the Alabama House of Representatives and on the Calhoun County Commission. He and his family live in Saks. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Mike Rogers says Biden Administration should declare Russia in breach of nuclear arms treaty
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that Russia will not participate in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty. Congressman Mike Rogers, the Chairman of the powerful House Armed Services Committee, said that Putin’s decision to suspend Russia’s participation in New START should be declared a material breach of the treaty. “Vladimir Putin’s decision to suspend participation in the New START Treaty should come as no surprise,” Rogers said. “Over the last ten years, he has systematically dismantled nuclear arms treaties with the United States and pursued an arms race. Whether Russia has already broken the treaty’s warhead limitations is not clear, but hoping Russia returns to the fold is not wise, nor is it a strategy. The Biden administration should declare Russia to be in ‘material breach’ of the New START Treaty and direct the Joint Staff and U.S. Strategic Command to accelerate planning in the event Russia breaches New START caps. All options must be on the table, including deploying additional nuclear forces and increasing the readiness of our nuclear triad. We must also accelerate efforts to modernize our nuclear systems, and I again call on the President to abandon his plans to weaken our deterrent, such as canceling the Nuclear Sea Launched Cruise Missile.” The START Treaty (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) limits the number of weapons of mass destruction that the United States and the Russian Federation can deploy. The new START Treaty limits the United States to just 659 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles, deployed submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and deployed heavy bombers (the B52, B1, B2, and the new B21 bombers). Russia is limited to just 540 heavy bombers. Since each launch system can launch multiple warheads on their deployed ICBMs, SLBMs, and heavy bombers, START also limits the number of nuclear warheads the superpowers can have. START limits the U.S. to 1420 warheads, while Russia can have 1549. The treaty also strictly limits the number of missile launchers, ballistic missile submarines, and heavy bombers the two nations can have – both deployed and non-deployed. The U.S. is limited to only 800, while Russia is limited to only 759. If the two nations break out of the new START Treaty, that could potentially lead to a renewed nuclear arms race. If so, that puts the U.S. at a disadvantage as much of the Cold War era nuclear weapons-producing capacity of the United States has been allowed to lapse. The treaty requires Russia and the United States to allow inspection of their nuclear facilities to ensure that both sides comply with the limits. President Putin has not allowed the inspections to occur for months. Putin’s decision to suspend Russia’s participation in the treaty simply makes official what has been the de facto Russian policy for a while. It is not known whether or not suspending the treaty means that Russia is going to break out of the weapons limits set in the treaty or not. Following the announcement, the Russian foreign ministry said the decision is “reversible.” The Nuclear Sea-Launched Cruise Missile that Rogers referenced is a proposal to reequip many major U.S. cruisers, destroyers, and submarines with nuclear-equipped cruise missiles. During the Cold War, the United States deployed a nuclear SLCM (or SLCM-N) called the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile-Nuclear (TLAM-N). The old nuclear-equipped Tomahawks have since been retired. Proponents argue that the SLCM-N would provide a regionally present, sea-based, survivable option needed to fill a gap in U.S. nuclear deterrence capabilities. Fielding the SLCM-N would require significant costs for the Navy. Tensions between the United States and Russia have increased since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the American decision to arm the Ukrainians. Mike Rogers is in his eleventh term representing Alabama’s Third Congressional District. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Mike Rogers: Ukraine war and nuclear threats from Russia show “how valuable NATO cohesion is”
U.S. Representative Mike Rogers, the House Armed Services Committee Chairman, recently participated in a bipartisan briefing with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Following the briefing, Chairman Rogers said that “Stoltenberg assured me of NATO’s continued cooperation” to aid Ukraine in its efforts to thwart a Russian invasion. “NATO is the most successful alliance of modern times,” Rogers said. “The alliance stood together to defeat communism and win the Cold War, and our NATO allies stood with us after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Today, however, the alliance is being tested like never before. [Vladimir] Putin’s war in Ukraine and dangerous threats of nuclear first use against our allies and partners have proven how valuable NATO cohesion is,” Rogers stated. “Secretary General Stoltenberg assured me of NATO’s continued cooperation and support of our robust oversight efforts of aid for Ukraine. I thank the Secretary General for his leadership in supporting Ukraine, bringing Finland and Sweden into NATO, and increasing defense spending across the alliance. The Secretary General also highlighted the need for NATO to adapt to counter the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party. For too long, Europe tried to engage Russia and became economically dependent on Vladimir Putin for cheap energy. We need to ensure European mistakes with Russia are not repeated with China.” The Chinese balloon that drifted across the United States last week until it was shot down has drawn international attention to China. That balloon was one of several balloons that the Chinese have launched over five continents. The balloons are widely believed to be gathering intelligence for the Chinese military. China has denied that and said that the balloons are civilian weather balloons. “The balloon over the United States confirms a pattern of Chinese behavior where we see that China has invested heavily in new capabilities, including different types of surveillance and intelligence platforms,” Stoltenberg said during a press conference in Washington with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “We need to be aware of the constant risk of Chinese intelligence and step up what we do to protect ourselves and react in a prudent and responsible way.” “It is attempting to assert control over the South China Sea and threatening Taiwan, trying to take control of critical infrastructure, including in NATO countries, repressing its own citizens and trampling on human rights and deepening its strategic partnership with Moscow,” Stoltenberg continued. “So NATO allies have real concerns which we discuss today.” In the Russia v. Ukraine war, Putin has called up several hundred thousand reservists and is believed to be about to launch a massive offensive against the Ukrainians. Due to this threat, the U.S. and its NATO allies have pledged western tanks – including the M1A1 Abrams, Leopard 1s and 2s, and Challenger 2s – to aid the Ukrainians. “Ukrainians have proven extremely skilled and capable in operating the equipment, the weapons that NATO allies and partners has provided,” Stoltenberg told CNN. “I am absolutely certain that they will be able to do the same also with the main battle tanks from NATO allied countries, especially because many of them have a lot of experience already from the front lines operating Soviet-era armored vehicles and battle tanks. But, of course, that is a useful background when they start then training on modern NATO battle tanks. We have to remember that this is a war of aggression. President Putin invading another sovereign independent nation in Europe – Ukraine. Ukraine has a right of self-defense, and we have the right to support them in upholding that right; because if President Putin wins, it is challenging for Ukraine and dangerous for us.” Stoltenberg is the Prime Minister of Norway. Rogers was recently elected to his eleventh term representing Alabama’s Third Congressional District. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Will Sellers: A birthday no one celebrates
One hundred years ago this month, delegates from various parts of the old Russian Empire met in Moscow to create the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The world would never be the same. Prior to this declaration, an internal conflict pitted a variety of groups with differing political ideologies against each other. At the cost of more than 10 million dead, the communists emerged as the victor. Under Vladimir Lenin, they consolidated power to create the first communist state, an experiment that would fail almost 70 years later. The political theories of Marx and Engels, as interpreted by Lenin, were applied in ways that were never intended and created an economy devoid of practical experience. As pointy-headed intellectuals, Marx and Engels theorized an idea of history that saw capitalism losing steam as workers gained power and created a totally egalitarian society. These theories made for interesting discussion among academics and theorists but should never have been taken seriously as a basis for government. It would be akin to founding a new political system based on a combination of Aesop’s fables and Mother Goose. But Lenin, as an idealist, believed the doctrine, and it became, for him, a religion based on a binary concept of society as either capitalist or socialist. If the end of history was the decline of capitalism, why not accept the inevitable, skip a few steps, accelerate the process, and embrace a form of socialism that was bound to occur anyway? This belief set the stage for the most brutal concentration of power that left countless millions dead, all in the name of achieving a workers’ paradise. If you must break eggs to make an omelet, then to create a communist society, you had to murder upwards of 60 million people. But, thought Lenin and his successors, the achievement was worth the sacrifice…of someone else. As with many other utopian dreams, nothing was based on any rational experience. Lenin failed to consider human nature and that various groups might take exception to his goals and objectives. In a modern contorted version of the divine right of kings, Lenin’s anointed vision served as the basis of his ideas and could not be questioned. Anyone standing in the way was banished, if not summarily executed. Rather than advancing, history was retreating. Consider the sharp contrast with the founding of the United States. Here, the experience of colonists formed the basis of America. Rather than discard the English system of government, we embraced what worked, modified faulty systems, and exchanged only the King and Parliament for a President and Congress. Unlike the British experience as conveyed to the new world, Russia never really experienced an Enlightenment that supported liberty and freedom. Indeed, Russia is a sad history of a firm dictator issuing decrees without any thought of getting consent, much less considering the consequences to his subjects. Lenin and his ilk easily slid into this role, but initially, with peasants experiencing freedoms they’d never possessed, there was a certain euphoria about this new state. They subscribed and could see that their lives might be improved. And, with any change or conversion, the newness creates an excitement that something different is happening. Peasants previously under the yoke of their masters were liberated, and their labor marshaled to support the new system. But this did not last forever. Once they tasted a little freedom, they wanted more. But with all things being equal and scarce, freedom was apportioned and limited. Working for the common good was a great motivating factor and created an initial enthusiasm. But in the USSR, under communism, the common good was decided by others. Any sense of individuality, creativity, or ambition was subjected to state control, reducing liberty to the lowest common denominator. People from other countries flocked to see this new workers’ paradise where greed, profit, and selfishness were eliminated and subjugated to a new vision. But just like Russia under the Tsars, what people saw was filtered and limited; the reality was much different. The USSR would have its apologists who would celebrate the collective factories and farms and dream of a new world order. But under the surface, all dissent was barred, fear ruled the day, and any disagreements were met with severe punishment and, in many cases, disappearance and death. Once Lenin died, and Joseph Stalin muscled his way to the top, a killing machine that far surpassed anything seen before assassinated all rivals, banished dissidents to Siberia, and systematically starved untold millions. But elite intellectuals who knew no distinction between theory and practice praised Stalin’s achievements. The USSR was on the cusp of something great, and people across the world were invited to get on board. But then, Stalin allied himself with Adolf Hitler, which ended most optimism about the future of Stalin’s regime. And even when Stalin joined the Allied cause, the reports of the brutality of the Red Army, not only to the Nazis but to their own soldiers were unbelievable. After the war, the rest of the world knew something was wrong when Soviet prisoners of war committed suicide when faced with repatriation. During his concert in Moscow, Paul Robeson was shocked when he learned of Stalin’s elimination of intellectuals. Other activists also realized the workers’ paradise was a myth. After visiting the USSR, United Auto Workers union leader Walter Reuther saw clearly that the American labor movement needed to stay clear. To his credit, he disabused any labor leaders of any miracle in the USSR. He saw firsthand the exploitation of the Soviet workers and anchored labor to a democratic society. Ronald Reagan would be criticized for calling the USSR an “evil empire” and was deemed by detractors to have an inordinate fear of communism. As president, Reagan would pursue an aggressive policy of luring the USSR into a competition they could not win. The Berlin Wall fell soon after, the USSR dissolved, and Reagan’s critics were silenced when his assessment was vindicated. The birth 100 years ago of
Joe Biden to release 15M barrels from oil reserve, more possible
President Joe Biden will announce the release of 15 million barrels of oil from the U.S. strategic reserve Wednesday as part of a response to recent production cuts announced by OPEC+ nations, and he will say more oil sales are possible this winter, as his administration rushes to be seen as pulling out all the stops ahead of next month’s midterm elections. Biden will deliver remarks Wednesday to announce the drawdown from the strategic reserve, senior administration officials said Tuesday on the condition of anonymity to outline Biden’s plans. It completes the release of 180 million barrels authorized by Biden in March that was initially supposed to occur over six months. That has sent the strategic reserve to its lowest level since 1984 in what the administration called a “bridge” until domestic production could be increased. The reserve now contains roughly 400 million barrels of oil. Biden will also open the door to additional releases this winter in an effort to keep prices down. But administration officials would not detail how much the president would be willing to tap, nor how much they want domestic and production to increase by in order to end the drawdown. Biden will also say that the U.S. government will restock the strategic reserve when oil prices are at or lower than $67 to $72 a barrel, an offer that administration officials argue will increase domestic production by guaranteeing a baseline level of demand. Yet the president is also expected to renew his criticism of the profits reaped by oil companies — repeating a bet made this summer that public condemnation would matter more to these companies than shareholders’ focus on returns. It marks the continuation of an about-face by Biden, who has tried to move the U.S. past fossil fuels to identify additional sources of energy to satisfy U.S. and global supply as a result of disruptions from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and production cuts announced by the Saudi Arabia-led oil cartel. The prospective loss of 2 million barrels a day — 2% of global supply — has had the White House saying Saudi Arabia sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin and pledging there will be consequences for supply cuts that could prop up energy prices. The 15 million-barrel release would not cover even one full day’s use of oil in the U.S., according to the Energy Information Administration. The administration could make a decision on future releases a month from now, as it requires a month and a half for the government to notify would-be buyers. Biden still faces political headwinds because of gas prices. AAA reports that gas is averaging $3.87 a gallon. That’s down slightly over the past week, but it’s up from a month ago. The recent increase at prices stalled the momentum that the president and his fellow Democrats had been seeing in the polls ahead of the November elections. An analysis Monday by ClearView Energy Partners, an independent energy research firm based in Washington, suggested that two states that could decide control of the evenly split Senate — Nevada and Pennsylvania — are sensitive to energy prices. The analysis noted that gas prices over the past month rose above the national average in 18 states, which are home to 29 potentially “at risk” House seats. Even if voters want cheaper gasoline, expected gains in supply are not materializing because of a weaker global economy. The U.S. government last week revised downward its forecasts, saying that domestic firms would produce 270,000 fewer barrels a day in 2023 than was forecast in September. Global production would be 600,000 barrels a day lower than forecast in September. The hard math for Biden is that oil production has yet to return to its pre-pandemic level of roughly 13 million barrels a day. It’s about a million barrels a day shy of that level. The oil industry would like the administration to open up more federal lands for drilling, approve pipeline construction and reverse its recent changes to raise corporate taxes. The administration counters that the oil industry is sitting on thousands of unused federal leases and says new permits would take years to produce oil with no impact on current gas prices. Environmental groups, meanwhile, have asked Biden to keep a campaign promise to block new drilling on federal lands. Biden has resisted the policies favored by U.S. oil producers. Instead, he’s sought to reduce prices by releasing oil from the U.S. reserve, shaming oil companies for their profits, and calling on greater production from countries in OPEC+ that have different geopolitical interests, said Frank Macchiarola, senior vice president of policy, economics, and regulatory affairs at the American Petroleum Institute. “If they continue to offer the same old so-called solutions, they’ll continue to get the same old results,” Macchiarola said. Because fossil fuels lead to carbon emissions, Biden has sought to move away from them entirely with a commitment to zero emissions by 2050. When discussing that commitment nearly a year ago after the G-20 leading rich and developing nations met in Rome, the president said he still wanted to also lower gas prices because at “$3.35 a gallon, it has profound impact on working-class families just to get back and forth to work.” Since Biden spoke of the pain of gas at $3.35 a gallon and his hopes to reduce costs, the price has on balance risen another 15.5%. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
West works to deepen sanctions after Vladimir Putin heightens threats
How do American leaders and their allies intend to respond if President Vladimir Putin seeks to escalate his way out of a bad situation on Ukraine’s battlefields and makes good on renewed threats of annexing territory or even using nuclear weapons? At least to start with, by trying to double down on the same tactics that have helped put Russia in a corner in Ukraine, U.S. and European leaders have made clear: more financial penalties and international isolation for Russia, more arms, and other backing for Ukraine. That won’t necessarily be easy. It’s been tough enough staying the current course of persuading all of dozens of allies to stick with sanctions and isolation for Putin and persuading more ambivalent countries to join in. Global financial and energy disruptions from Russia’s war in Ukraine already promise to make the coming winter a tough one for countries that have depended on Russia for their energy needs. And there’s no sign of U.S. or NATO officials matching Putin’s renewed nuclear threats with the same nuclear bluster, which in itself might raise the risks of escalating the conflict to an unimaginable level. Even if Putin should act on his nuclear threat, President Joe Biden and others point, without details, to an ascending scale of carefully calibrated responses based on how far Russia goes. To start with, “they’ll become more of a pariah in the world than they ever have been,” Biden told CBS’ “60 Minutes” just before Putin’s new wartime measures and renewed nuclear threat. “What they do will determine what response would occur,” Biden said on the nuclear side, adding that the U.S. responses, in that case, would be “consequential.” “I do not believe the United States would take an escalatory step” in the event of a one-off, limited nuclear detonation by Russia aimed at trying to scare Ukraine and its supporters off, said Rose Gottemoeller, former deputy NATO secretary-general and former U.S. undersecretary of state for arms control. “Certainly, it would not respond with nuclear weapons.” Putin this week pledged to use “all available means” to stave off any challenges as Russia moves to summarily claim more Ukrainian territory despite heavy losses on the battlefield to NATO-armed Ukrainian forces. In case NATO missed the point, another senior Russian political figure specified the next day that included nuclear weapons. Putin also mobilized Russian fighters to throw into the seven-month invasion of Ukraine and announced votes in parts of Ukraine that the West says are meant to provide political cover for illegally absorbing those regions into Russia. U.S. and European Union officials say new sanctions are in the works in response to Putin’s latest moves. “Russia, its political leadership, and all those involved in organizing these ‘referenda’ as well as in other violations of international law and international humanitarian law in Ukraine will be held accountable,” E.U. foreign policy chief Josep Borrell pledged this week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. But political declarations are the easy part. It’s unclear what type of measures can be agreed upon, as the financial punishments against Russia are also increasingly inflicting pain on other European economies weighed down by high electricity and natural gas prices and spiraling inflation. Hungary has led resistance to sanctions that might hit supplies from Russia, but it isn’t alone in hesitating. New sanctions may come only after much debate and hand-wringing among the 27 E.U. member countries in the coming weeks, probably only after Russia has held its referendums. The last round of sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was announced on May 4 but only agreed on four weeks later, as concerns over oil divided member countries. Rather than a new set of sanctions, a “maintenance and alignment” package was sealed in July, mostly to close loopholes on measures already agreed upon. Pressed by reporters in New York for details about what might be coming, Borrell said the sanctions would target “new areas of the Russian economy, especially — if I can be a little more concrete — the technological ones.” ADVERTISEMENT Ursula von der Leyen, who heads the E.U.’s executive branch — the European Commission — which has been responsible for drawing up most of the sanctions, also appeared resolute, but she was hardly more forthcoming. “We stand ready to impose further economic costs on Russia and on individuals and entities inside and outside of Russia who support (the war), politically or economically. Plus, we will propose additional export controls on civilian technology as Russia moves to a full war economy,” she told CNN. Beyond the economic sanctions, the E.U., since Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine, has slapped asset freezes and travel bans on more than 1,200 Russians, including Putin, Russia’s foreign minister, and other senior officials. Militarily, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said this month that NATO is working with the defense industry to explore ways to boost arms production to better meet Ukraine’s needs and replenish the arsenals of allies who have been providing weapons and defense systems. “We saw that during the COVID crisis, the industry was able to ramp up production of vaccines, and now we need to have, to some extent, the same approach: ramp up quickly production of weapons and ammunition,” he told The Associated Press. The U.S., as a matter of policy maintains ambiguity about how it would respond to any use of nuclear weapons in the conflict. Such a use would return the world to nuclear war for the first time since the U.S. dropped bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, and risk escalation on a scale the world has never seen. But U.S. officials’ public comments on the matter this month are in line with expectations from arms experts that Washington’s response would be a graduated one based on the gravity of Russia’s nuclear use. A one-off and comparatively limited Russian nuclear use would deepen Russia’s isolation internationally, but might not necessarily draw an immediate Western nuclear use in kind. It’s difficult to fathom Putin launching any central strategic nuclear strike at
