Washington, DC: Congressman Ron Paul today denounced the loss of U.S. sovereignty demonstrated by the use of NATO surveillance planes to patrol American skies.

"For the first time in American history, we are unable to defend our own borders and skies," Paul stated. "National security is the most basic sovereign duty of the federal government in our constitutional republic. Neither Congress nor the President can cede that duty to a foreign nation or body. We cannot allow the security of our own borders to become the responsibility of any coalition or international organization, whether it's NATO or the United Nations. The national security of the U.S. is the province of the American people- and the American people only."

"It is tragic that our interventionist foreign policy has spread our military forces so thin," Paul continued. "As a result, we find ourselves unable to deal with the legitimate military crisis posed by the September 11th attacks. How much longer can we continue to defend so many other nations, but not our own? The United States has sufficient military might to provide for national defense and conduct the war on terrorism in the Middle East, but only if our forces are not deployed in hundreds of countries around the globe."

"The stunning delegation of our national air defense to foreign forces marks a sad day for America," Paul concluded. "The war on terrorism provides us with an opportunity to strengthen national unity, but we must begin by reaffirming American sovereignty and defending our own borders."