By U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin
In the absence of strong, decisive leadership from the United States, the world is again on fire, and Americans are less safe.
In the Middle East, Kamala Harris’ regular chants of “de-escalation” and “ceasefire” fall on deaf ears, and yield nothing but appeasement. In Afghanistan, Harris was the last in the room as President Joe Biden recklessly abandoned American citizens and trusted Afghan allies, leading to the execution of 13 American heroes at Abbey Gate.
Following the deadly and chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal, it should be no surprise that when he sensed American weakness, Russian President Vladimir Putin began testing our resolve and support for Ukraine as he pushed to destabilize Europe and assert Russia as a dominating force
Our allies around the world have been left to wonder: if American leadership is willing to abandon their own citizens, what’s the chance they’ll stand with us? That posture, now all too common among world leaders, is toxic for our international interests and sends the wrong message to those who wish America harm.
The contrast is clear. President Donald Trump delivered stability to the world with a very simple declaration: peace through strength. He had policies to back it up. Under the Trump administration, the Iranian regime was poor and significantly weakened thanks to crippling U.S. sanctions. That all changed when Kamala Harris and Joe Biden came to power.
When Trump left office, Iran was limited to just $4 billion in foreign oil reserves. Under Harris, Iran has quickly rebuilt their arsenal, generating at least $90 billion from illicit oil sales. Now, every dollar Iran takes in from oil sales is powering the war chest for Iranian attacks on U.S. forces abroad, foreign shipping vessels, and of course, Israel. So, what changed? In short, the Biden administration’s lax enforcement of U.S. oil sanctions on Tehran are to blame. To make things worse, the current administration also rescinded President Trump’s restoration of U.N. sanctions on Iran.
Oklahomans know that appeasement never works. This is especially true when handling Iran, the largest state sponsor of terrorism on Earth. It shouldn’t take much for an American president to declare that any terrorist who harms an American will pay a heavy price—yet Kamala Harris and her absent administration have avoided every opportunity to stand up to our most hostile adversaries. Our enemies have taken notice.
There’s a reason why under Donald Trump, we had no new wars, and America’s most hostile adversaries remained at bay. In the interest of U.S. national security now and in the future, we must return to peace through strength— before it’s too late.
