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Last week, I joined ten of my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives
at the Spring Session of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Parliamentary
Assembly (NATO PA) in Ljubjlana, Slovenia where we discussed global terrorism
with NATO allies. I am honored to have been appointed by Speaker
Dennis Hastert last March to be a United States delegate to the NATO PA
and to have been a part of the small congressional delegation representing
the United States at Spring Assembly in Slovenia.
NATO PA is an inter-parliamentary organization of legislators from the
twenty-six member countries of NATO and twenty-two associate countries.
NATO PA has been meeting since 1955 to build support for the NATO Alliance
within the national legislatures and to provide recommendations to the
Secretary General of NATO and the North Atlantic Council. Many of
the reforms in NATO have first come from the Assembly. It also provides
a way for legislators in member countries to stay informed about changes
in NATO and about military reforms in the twenty-two associate countries.
In this post 9-11 era, our world has changed, our enemy has changed,
and our approach must also change. Prevention is the key tactic in
protecting the United States and the world against future terrorist attacks.
The essential element to the atomic bomb, highly enriched uranium, is used
and stored at civilian research reactors around the world, including 50
sites in and around Europe, many of which are poorly secured. The
United States and Europe must recommit themselves to confronting security
challenges in the spirit of international cooperation to keep the world
safe from nuclear terrorism.
After attending the NATO meetings in Slovenia, we traveled to visit
U.S. troops at Landstuhl Military Hospital and four U.S. military bases
in Germany. These brave men and women have sacrificed so much to
serve our country in the name of freedom, and it was important for me to
visit with them, discuss their concerns and express my appreciation for
their valiant efforts.
I am truly humbled to represent the United States in the NATO PA.
The bottom line is that America needs our European allies, and the European
allies need America more than ever before. Through NATO, the
United States, Europe, the Palestinian Legislative Council, and the Mediterranean
Countries can join together and work towards preventing future terrorist
attacks at home and around the world. |
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