TEXANS TALK FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Each year I ask Texans to gather around my "listening post" and give me their opinions. Hearing from you enables me to learn firsthand what's affecting you and your families throughout our great state. Not surprisingly, I hear from a great number of you on issues ranging from homeland security to tax relief. This year, our survey hit the information superhighway and was for the first time available online. An overwhelming number of you responded to the survey via e-mail, and this is the first of several Capitol Comments devoted to your answers.
The topic of foreign affairs garnered a host of strong opinions. Many of you feel very passionately about our place in the world, and I received a huge response to the following question: "Civil unrest is plaguing many regions of our world. Often, the United States is called upon to help restore peace and meet the humanitarian needs of civilian populations. But our involvement in regional conflicts comes at a high price, both in dollars and by putting our uniformed men and women in harm's way. As our troops are stretched thinner and thinner, how do you think we should respond?"
A whopping 90 percent of you felt we should eliminate any involvement where no clear U.S. security interest is at stake. On the question of working through NATO or the United Nations to deal with regional conflicts, Texans had a variety of opinions. Below is a sampling of your thoughtful contributions:
- We are spreading ourselves too thin. It is important to protect ourselves from terrorists, but not get involved in areas where the U.N. and NATO can manage. Jane, Boerne
- Stop sending troops and giving money to countries that do not support free and open democracy. Stop giving money to countries that take our money and vilify us for being Americans. Anna, Fort Worth
- I definitely do not want our troops under the direction of NATO or the U.N. Shannon, Friendswood
- Get the U.N. out of the U.S. and the U.S. out of the U.N. James, San Antonio
- We need to increase the size of the U.S. military. Natalie, Whitehouse
- The U.N. has been successful. It is wrong to downgrade their accomplishments. Don, Sugarland
- We can't do anything right in the eyes of the world so we must do what we feel is right for America. If that is helping to secure another nation's peace and freedom from tyrannical dictators or seeing that human rights violations do not occur in any nation then we must ... Chelsea, Austin
- I feel the rest of the world needs to step up to the plate and take more responsibility. Johnny, Odessa
- Every nation needs to fulfill their responsibilities to the extent of their resources. We have been mightily blessed. To whom much is given much is required. Gladys, Conroe
- For Heaven's sake let's get out of the nation-building business. Richard, Pennington
I share the opinion that our involvement with NATO and the United Nations must be continually reviewed. Fifty-four years ago, the United States pledged to protect Europe from the Warsaw Pact. Clearly, our commitment played a vital role in NATO's victory in the Cold War. Now is the time to ask: What is the mission of NATO today? Is NATO going to protect the future or defend the past? For NATO to remain relevant, we must agree on the fundamental mission that common threats to our security outside of NATO member countries must be addressed together. Our alliance should recognize that terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction have replaced the threat of Soviet imperialism. NATO has always been unified around a common purpose, but if it becomes nothing more than a patchwork quilt, we will be wasting our money and endangering our own national security by continuing to pay its bills and diverting our attention.
I also agree we must not stretch our troops too thin, but unfortunately, that is what's currently happening. They are doing a magnificent job in Iraq and around the world, but we simply don't have enough of them. It takes boots on the ground to win. Unfortunately, we are pushing them to a breaking point, taxing their readiness and putting undue strain on service members (both active duty and reserves), their families and their communities. I continue to make that point to officials at the Department of Defense and will keep asking the tough questions about military readiness and the size of our Armed Forces.
With nearly 22 million people in our great state, our ideas are as bold and diverse as our heritage. Thank you for taking the time to send in your thoughts on these pressing issues and providing me with a snapshot of Texan's opinions. Look for future columns devoted to your comments on homeland security, tax relief, education and much more.
December 12, 2003