Biden says aid package 'continues America's leadership'; George Will on 'nation-defining congressional acts'; Noah Smith on 5 nat-sec priorities
Pres. Biden: “I just signed into law the national security package that was passed by the House of Representatives this weekend and by the Senate yesterday. It’s going to make America safer. It’s going to make the world safer. And it continues America’s leadership in the world, and everyone knows it.”
George Will: “Congress’s support for Ukraine ranks with two other nation-defining congressional acts. In March 1941, Congress approved Lend-Lease aid to Britain and others… This ‘most unsordid act in the history of nations’ (Winston Churchill) ended the facade of U.S. neutrality. By approving aid for Greece and Turkey in May 1947, Congress affirmed… the Truman Doctrine: The United States would assist democratic nations threatened by authoritarians. World War II’s end would not revive isolationism.”
Noah Smith: “What America needs to do now on national security. The Ukraine-and-TikTok bill is a good start. Here are five more things we need to work on:
Rebuild the U.S. defense-industrial base
Make Europe understand that they have to take the lead on Ukraine
Add active liberal messaging to the information ecosystem [ed. this is why American Lede exists!]
Solidify the alliance with India and make more effort to court Indonesia
Disengage from the Middle East as much as possible
Ben Carlson: “Read a history book or ten. The world has always been a mess. There have always been awful people. There have always been problems. The difference is now we are constantly reminded of them. We now get more news in a single day than most people ever saw in their lifetimes just a few short centuries ago.”