Assessing U.S. Security Relations: Egypt, Cyprus, Ukraine, UK

Iran Occupies Iraq

Assessing U.S. Security Relations: Egypt, Cyprus, Ukraine, UK

At this writing, I am preparing to return to the United States after leading a bipartisan fact-finding Congressional delegation to several key nations.  I was accompanied by both the Ranking Democrat, Rep. Peter Visclosky of Indiana and the Vice-Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, and five Subcommittee members as we met with civilian and military leaders in Egypt, Cyprus, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. 

As we begin to prepare the Fiscal Year 2016 Defense Appropriations bill, we focused on the U.S. security relationship with these nations. We were honored to meet with President Fattah el-Sisi in Egypt and President Petro Poroshenko in Ukraine. 

Members of the delegation also visited the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) - an independent international organization, with peacekeeping responsibilities in the Sinai Peninsula.  The origins of the MFO can be found in the 1979 Treaty of Peace between Egypt and Israel, the “Camp David Accords". 

Nearly 700 U.S. soldiers participate in the MFO. Once again, I was humbled and honored to meet the young men and women who are serving our country so far from home. They perform with a great sense of pride in their mission.

In Cyprus, the delegation met with the Cypriot Minister of Defense, Christoforos Fokaides and visited key sites along the United Nation’s buffer zone.

In Kiev, the delegation met with President Petro Poroshenko and members of his cabinet.  Discussions centered on the ongoing conflict with Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

The people and the government of Ukraine deserve praise for their courageous defense of their independence and sovereignty in the face of brutal attacks by Russian-armed separatists and Russian soldiers.  This violence continues even after the Minsk ‘ceasefire’ went into effect.  In anticipation of further Russian efforts to destabilize Ukraine and seize additional territory, I believe the United States should approve additional measures to help Ukraine defend its sovereign territory, including the transfer of lethal, defensive weapons systems to the Ukrainian military.

I was accompanied on the trip by Subcommittee Vice-Chair Rep. Kay Granger (TX), Subcommittee Ranking Democratic Member, Rep. Pete Visclosky (IN), Rep. John Carter (TX), Rep. Marcy Kaptur (OH), Rep. Ken Calvert (CA), Rep. Steve Womack (AR), Rep. Steve Israel, (NY).

Iran Occupies Iraq

“While Washington focuses on Iran-U.S. nuclear talks, the Islamic Republic is making a major but little-noticed strategic advance. Iran’s forces are quietly occupying more of Iraq in a way that could soon make its neighbor a de facto Shiite satellite of Tehran.” Read the excellent editorial in the Wednesday Wall Street Journal, “Iran Occupies Iraq”here: