LONDON -- At the inaugural Ronald Reagan Lecture at the Margaret Thatcher Center in London tonight former California Republican Party Chairman and Lt. Governor nominee Ron Nehring said a new generation of leaders must learn the lessons of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher in developing a blueprint to restore international security and stability in the post-Obama era.
"Thank you very much for the opportunity to join you here today for this inaugural Ronald Reagan Lecture at the Margaret Thatcher Centre. It is truly an honor to join you for an event that unites the spirit of two great leaders, each of whom had a profound effect in shaping my own views.
My parents were not born in America -- they emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1961. Growing up in America and with close relatives in Germany I took an interest in the Cold War and the division of the country where my parents were born into East and West. Ronald Reagan, to me, was a leader who called out the Soviet Union and Communism for the absurdities that they were, and the confidence and pride in America that he so powerfully conveyed drew me to the Republican Party from a young age. I joined the party of Ronald Reagan on my 18th birthday, 8 months before he would leave office.
Watching news of the Falklands War and later studying it as history similarly shaped my view of Margaret Thatcher as a powerful, determined leader who was, like Reagan, confident that western democracies would ultimately prevail in any conflict with tyranny.
Growing up in New York and later working in Washington DC, my life took a turn that ultimately brought me to California, the state that gave us Ronald Reagan, where my fellow Republicans in 2007 elected me the leader of the California Republican Party. What an honor to be chosen to lead the party of Reagan in his home state and in a post once held by Caspar Weinberger years before he became the President's Secretary of Defense.
Today, with the Soviet Union relegated to that ash heap of history, perhaps over the objection of some of today's Kremlin leaders, we face new threats to our individual liberty, national security, and economic freedom.
In facing these threats a new generation must learn the lessons of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, who, together with many others, ultimately prevailed in the conflict that defined international affairs for nearly half a century.
We have heard a lot in recent years about "leading from behind" and "soft power." I can't imagine either Reagan or Thatcher believing in such concepts, for each is rooted in a lack of both confidence and realism in world affairs. For all of the characterizations of Reagan and Thatcher as ideologues, each was, in reality, deeply pragmatic. It's just that their pragmatism conflicted with how liberal commentators and academics wished the world worked back then.
For all of the high-mindedness we find coming from our liberal friends, we have seen the devastating effects of liberal foreign and defense policy in action:
The so-called "reset button" in US-Russian relations did little to stop Russia's aggression in the Ukraine and its aggressive military posture toward Europe.
The clumsy withdrawal from Iraq without a Status of Forces Agreement that would have allowed for a continued American security presence in Iraq contributed to creating a powerful vacuum that allowed ISIS to rise to now control a slice of the Middle East larger than the island of Great Britain itself and now possessing far more resources than Al Qaeda ever did.
The disdain that the Obama Administration has shown Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu while at the same time negotiating with the terror sponsoring nation of Iran sends the wrong messages to jihadist groups are opposed to not only Israel, but America, the UK and the rest of the west.
Weakness, appeasement, and failing to sufficiently distinguish between friends and enemies contribute to making the world a more dangerous place. Weakness is provocative.
Victory over determined adversaries requires courage, resolve, and confidence in one's self and the righteousness of one's cause.
When Margaret Thatcher authorized the sinking of the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano, it was an act of courage and conviction taken over the objection of political advisers whose thinking had become so clouded that they worried the action would make Britain look like an aggressor -- never mind the fact that sovereign British territory had been invaded and taken over by a hostile force that Britain was now seeking to repel.
The west must now demonstrate that same level of Thatcherite resolve when confronting ISIS.
One leader who is doing so today is Jordan's King Abdullah II.
The burning alive of Jordanian pilot First Lt. Moaz al-Kasabeh at the hands of ISIS terrorists was intended to intimidate Jordan and other Arab nations out of continued military action against them. Instead of being intimidated, King Abdullah responded by immediately and sharply increasing air strikes against Islamic State targets and executing two convicted terrorists that Islamic State leaders wanted turned over.
Such bold action at a moment of crisis goes beyond mere revenge. It teaches the adversary that audacity will not be rewarded.
Egyptian President al-Sisi and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu deserve recognition for directly confronting, rather than appeasing, the jihadist threats to their own countries.
As conservatives, we must look ahead to creating the structures that will restore international security in the rapidly approaching post-Obama era.
While some in Europe wish for the EU to provide a new security structure, we should instead plan to reinvigorate NATO through a new round of expansion that includes strong democratic allies from outside of the North Atlantic region. The addition of Australia, New Zealand, and Japan would transform NATO into an even more formidable alliance of democracies.
Deterring aggression requires NATO members to provide for sufficient military capability to meet any challenge, large or small. Russian aggression in Ukraine should serve as a warning that European governments can no longer allow their military capabilities to atrophy. While the Russian flag may not again fly in conquest over Germany, a NATO devoid of sufficient capability or willpower may result in the same bloodshed and chaos we see in Ukraine today spreading to NATO's Baltic member states. In comments reported today, a former NATO leader warns against this very real possibility.
Bold, creative thinking rooted in a solid understanding of world affairs is needed for conservatives to lay a 21st century blueprint for a world where freedom and liberty are once again on the rise. To this end, Reagan and Thatcher can inspire a new generation to meet the challenges of a new century.
"Thank you very much for the opportunity to join you here today for this inaugural Ronald Reagan Lecture at the Margaret Thatcher Centre. It is truly an honor to join you for an event that unites the spirit of two great leaders, each of whom had a profound effect in shaping my own views.
My parents were not born in America -- they emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1961. Growing up in America and with close relatives in Germany I took an interest in the Cold War and the division of the country where my parents were born into East and West. Ronald Reagan, to me, was a leader who called out the Soviet Union and Communism for the absurdities that they were, and the confidence and pride in America that he so powerfully conveyed drew me to the Republican Party from a young age. I joined the party of Ronald Reagan on my 18th birthday, 8 months before he would leave office.
Watching news of the Falklands War and later studying it as history similarly shaped my view of Margaret Thatcher as a powerful, determined leader who was, like Reagan, confident that western democracies would ultimately prevail in any conflict with tyranny.
Growing up in New York and later working in Washington DC, my life took a turn that ultimately brought me to California, the state that gave us Ronald Reagan, where my fellow Republicans in 2007 elected me the leader of the California Republican Party. What an honor to be chosen to lead the party of Reagan in his home state and in a post once held by Caspar Weinberger years before he became the President's Secretary of Defense.
Today, with the Soviet Union relegated to that ash heap of history, perhaps over the objection of some of today's Kremlin leaders, we face new threats to our individual liberty, national security, and economic freedom.
In facing these threats a new generation must learn the lessons of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, who, together with many others, ultimately prevailed in the conflict that defined international affairs for nearly half a century.
We have heard a lot in recent years about "leading from behind" and "soft power." I can't imagine either Reagan or Thatcher believing in such concepts, for each is rooted in a lack of both confidence and realism in world affairs. For all of the characterizations of Reagan and Thatcher as ideologues, each was, in reality, deeply pragmatic. It's just that their pragmatism conflicted with how liberal commentators and academics wished the world worked back then.
For all of the high-mindedness we find coming from our liberal friends, we have seen the devastating effects of liberal foreign and defense policy in action:
The so-called "reset button" in US-Russian relations did little to stop Russia's aggression in the Ukraine and its aggressive military posture toward Europe.
The clumsy withdrawal from Iraq without a Status of Forces Agreement that would have allowed for a continued American security presence in Iraq contributed to creating a powerful vacuum that allowed ISIS to rise to now control a slice of the Middle East larger than the island of Great Britain itself and now possessing far more resources than Al Qaeda ever did.
The disdain that the Obama Administration has shown Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu while at the same time negotiating with the terror sponsoring nation of Iran sends the wrong messages to jihadist groups are opposed to not only Israel, but America, the UK and the rest of the west.
Weakness, appeasement, and failing to sufficiently distinguish between friends and enemies contribute to making the world a more dangerous place. Weakness is provocative.
Victory over determined adversaries requires courage, resolve, and confidence in one's self and the righteousness of one's cause.
When Margaret Thatcher authorized the sinking of the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano, it was an act of courage and conviction taken over the objection of political advisers whose thinking had become so clouded that they worried the action would make Britain look like an aggressor -- never mind the fact that sovereign British territory had been invaded and taken over by a hostile force that Britain was now seeking to repel.
The west must now demonstrate that same level of Thatcherite resolve when confronting ISIS.
One leader who is doing so today is Jordan's King Abdullah II.
The burning alive of Jordanian pilot First Lt. Moaz al-Kasabeh at the hands of ISIS terrorists was intended to intimidate Jordan and other Arab nations out of continued military action against them. Instead of being intimidated, King Abdullah responded by immediately and sharply increasing air strikes against Islamic State targets and executing two convicted terrorists that Islamic State leaders wanted turned over.
Such bold action at a moment of crisis goes beyond mere revenge. It teaches the adversary that audacity will not be rewarded.
Egyptian President al-Sisi and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu deserve recognition for directly confronting, rather than appeasing, the jihadist threats to their own countries.
As conservatives, we must look ahead to creating the structures that will restore international security in the rapidly approaching post-Obama era.
While some in Europe wish for the EU to provide a new security structure, we should instead plan to reinvigorate NATO through a new round of expansion that includes strong democratic allies from outside of the North Atlantic region. The addition of Australia, New Zealand, and Japan would transform NATO into an even more formidable alliance of democracies.
Deterring aggression requires NATO members to provide for sufficient military capability to meet any challenge, large or small. Russian aggression in Ukraine should serve as a warning that European governments can no longer allow their military capabilities to atrophy. While the Russian flag may not again fly in conquest over Germany, a NATO devoid of sufficient capability or willpower may result in the same bloodshed and chaos we see in Ukraine today spreading to NATO's Baltic member states. In comments reported today, a former NATO leader warns against this very real possibility.
Bold, creative thinking rooted in a solid understanding of world affairs is needed for conservatives to lay a 21st century blueprint for a world where freedom and liberty are once again on the rise. To this end, Reagan and Thatcher can inspire a new generation to meet the challenges of a new century.
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