Aaron Schock

Foreign Affairs

I believe what is most vital is to communicate with the people of other countries as much as we do with their governments.  Governments come and go, but the people and their beliefs endure.

Aaron receives an update on the situation in Afghanistan

American foreign policy has had many incredible triumphs in past decades, notably winning the Cold War and the peaceful breakup of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact.  That was accomplished because America went the distance in enduring the vigilance required to win.  This admirably continued unabated through nine Presidents of both parties.  This success demonstrates the invaluable benefit of bi-partisan long-term commitment to our policy and principles.

Our foreign policy failures have occurred largely as a result of failure to communicate with the peoples of nations, and of a failure by our leaders to identify potential crises of the future and then develop a strategy to avert them.  We need to be proactive to position our country and the world in a peaceful and economically prosperous situation.   Many nations who are much older than we are take a very long view of world conditions and have very long term strategies to deal with them.  America must unite on a similar long term vision. 

Aaron meets with the Colombian Vice President and a delegation of members on the status of the Colombia FTA

America  needs a robust and assertive foreign policy with a long-term view to deal with problems before they become major crises.  We also need to be clear-headed about the nature of current threats and deal with them using a creative strategy based on smart power, respect, firmness, endurance, superior intelligence information, and an insightful knowledge of history and the thinking of other governments and their people.

I continue to see the need for American engagement in the world and I shudder to think what the world would be like without American leadership over the past several decades.