VIRGINIA BEACH, VA — Candidate for Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District Missy Cotter Smasal released a statement condemning Jen Kiggans’ failure to stand up to former President Donald Trump, who is endangering U.S. national security and global stability by encouraging Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” in attacking a NATO country that didn’t pay enough for defense.
With NATO’s North American Headquarters based in Norfolk, Virginia, local representatives have a responsibility to condemn this rhetoric. Jen Kiggans’ latest refusal to condemn Trump only adds to her long track record of putting partisan party politics ahead of the men and women who have served our country. Kiggans voted to cut veterans’ health benefits and then lied about it, and is now abandoning our community of servicemembers once again by silently standing by Donald Trump as he threatens global and local security.
“Jen Kiggans fails to stand up for our national security and NATO allies as the leader of her party threatens both. Coastal Virginia is NATO’s home in North America, and NATO allies are stationed here in the 2nd district. Their kids go to our schools, they contribute to our local economy, and they are part of our neighborhoods. Our residents and military families value our NATO allies and will not accept this vacuum of leadership from Kiggans, who meekly stands silently while Trump attacks both our own security and NATO,” said Missy Cotter Smasal. “National security issues are local issues in Coastal Virginia.I support our strategic alliances and will defend our friends and neighbors from MAGA attacks.”
“Once again Jen Kiggans proves that she can’t be trusted to defend the servicemembers she was elected to Represent,” said U.S. Marine Corps Veteran Travis Tazelaar, Political Director, VoteVets PAC. “Her failure to stand up in the face of Donald Trump’s extremism is unacceptable, and the service men and women of Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District deserve better. Missy Cotter Smasal is the only candidate who has what it takes to defeat extremist Jen Kiggans at the ballot box in November, and we are proud to support her.”
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More political posturing and scaremongering from another demonrat. NATO was not established for our “national security”. It was established to protect Europe from the communists et al. NTO has been riding on the American taxpayer’s backs for far too long and they all need to step up and provide their share of their own protection. President Trump made them step up before and he will make them step up again.
So, the purpose of NATO is to fill the tax coffers of local govt?
Aside from the questionable necessity for NATO’s existence after the cold war ended, the Euro members have long crawfished on their defense contributions. The reason was easy. The Clinton-Bush-Obama admins used NATO as a means to spread the “rules-based order,” far beyond NATO’s original geographic defense permiter (see eastern and northern Europe), and operations seemingly more offensive than defensive. (see the Balkans, Afganistan after 2002, Lybia, and now UKR). NATO members were more than happy to be the pawn of US neoconservative ambitions, because the US picked up most of the NATO tab.
One quick example. The US picked up around 90% of the cost for recruiting, training, and supplying the Afghan Army and Police forces. That amount (more than $1Bil/month in 2011) included paying soldier, police, and ministerial staff salaries. Now, NATO did kick in a little to pay for police development. But only about 25%. And that doesn’t take into consideration that 70% of KIAs in AFG were US. Add the Brits (who should be commended for their contribution to the coalition) to the total, and the rest of NATO suffered little.
So, how do you stimulate NATO members to begin paying their fair share, when for decades “diplomacy” didn’t work? You scare the daylights out of them. That’s what Trump did in his customary fashion. And, if Smasal has been following the reporting, NATO members began increasing their defense contributions. And the purported next general secretary is publicly saying it’s time for NATO to quit whining about Trump.
Smasal’s criticisms are either progressive talking points, or born of lack of historical understanding, or she is a globalist true believer. If just talking points, she is unserious on national security issues. If unclear on the history, she ought to spend some time reading, or at least spekaing with knowledgeable persons outside her bublle. If she is a true believer, however, and neocons in both parties continue to hold sway inside the beltway, Americans run the risk of boots on the ground in the near future.