Monday, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) took to the Senate floor to take President Joe Biden to task over what he perceived to be his administration’s foreign policy blunders.
As U.S. intelligence has indicated that Russia could soon invade Ukraine, Tuberville made his position clear on the United States’ involvement in a potential conflict.
The senator outlined a meeting he had with the Ukrainian president last year with an American congressional delegation and said that the Eastern European nation stood ready to defend itself absent American ground involvement.
“Putin’s goal is to deter Ukraine from joining NATO. He wants their pro-democracy government to collapse, Ukrainians to abandon their resolve, [and] to take over the country that largely despises him,” said Tuberville. “He wants a buffer between him and the West. And he wants the United States to step aside and let him do this. To be clear, we do not want American bloodshed in Ukraine. But neither do the Ukrainians.”
He added, “Late last year, I traveled to Ukraine with several other Members of Congress to meet with President Zelensky. The Ukrainian President told me: Ukrainians don’t want American boots on the ground. Ukrainians are willing and ready to fight their own fight. All they ask for is support. Not blankets and helmets. But small arms, anti-tank missiles, and other weapons.”
Tuberville suggested that the Biden administration’s priorities had been misplaced due to its focus on advocating for a progressive domestic agenda rather than honing in on the threats posed by foreign adversaries.
“When Russia was amassing troops along the Ukraine border, President Biden was giving a blistering speech about voting rights – saying that everyone who disagrees with him wants to destroy our country,” continued Tuberville. “Instead of studying war plans on Afghanistan or addressing the growing threats from Russia and China, our service members were forced to spend hours upon hours on ‘woke’ training – not on readiness… But the missed opportunities don’t stop at the administration.”
Alabama’s junior senator then took aim at his Democratic colleagues by slamming them for not supporting Republicans’ sanctions offering against the Russian regime. He questioned if Senate Democrats were more fearful of Biden than they were of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The Senate already missed a chance to hit Putin where it hurts,” advised Tuberville. “A few weeks ago, Senate Republicans voted in support of sanctions on Russia’s pipeline through Europe – the Nord Stream 2. Senate Democrats refused to support these sanctions – who are they more afraid of, President Biden or Putin?”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
