WASHINGTON, DC – With the 75th anniversary of D-Day just around the corner, the latest edition of The Ripon Forum examines some of the institutions and agreements that have been established in the years since to promote international order and keep Americans secure around the globe.
Featured essays and authors include:
“We can’t fight for freedom alone” – by current U.S. Congressman and retired Brigadier General Don Bacon (NE-2), who writes: “Seventy years ago, the United States and 11 other countries formed an alliance to protect each other against the Soviet Union. Today, 29 members belong to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and operate under the agreement that if one member is attacked it is considered an attack on all … NATO remains pivotal to our nation’s security, and while it is good to advocate for more defense spending by our Allies, it is destabilizing and self-destructive public policy to threaten to leave NATO.”
“We are Safer with the INF Treaty” – by former U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), who writes: “Our relationship with Russia and our mutual interest in constraining the threat from weapons of mass destruction is a long game, not a short one. That being said, there can be no breaks in our determination each day to prevent disaster. I fear that President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the INF treaty is short-sighted and not in our long-term national interest.”
“The U.S. Must Stay Vigilant in Venezuela” – by U.S. Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, who writes: “The U.S. must support the pro-democracy opposition movement as it seeks a democratic transition. Democracy assistance to Venezuela increased to $17.5 million for fiscal year 2019. While a relatively small sum within the overall budget, assistance is especially crucial now to bolster Venezuela’s opposition leaders risking everything for freedom.”
Other interviews and essays in this latest edition of The Ripon Forum include:
“Promoting Stability Through Economic Growth” – featuring a Q&A interview with former Reagan Cabinet Secretary Ann McLaughlin Korologos on the efforts of the Middle East Investment Initiative.
“The New USMCA: Prospects for Passage & the Keys to the Debate” – by Scott McCandless & Caitlin MacKay of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
“A View from the Heartland on the Importance of Trade” – by Doug Goehring, who has served as Agriculture Commissioner of North Dakota since 2009.
“Time to Hit ‘Reset’ on Transatlantic Trade” – by Peter Chase, a Senior Fellow of the German Marshall Fund who previously served for 30 years as a U.S. diplomat.
“China’s New Silk Road: What America can do to Keep the Belt from Becoming a Noose” – by Bonnie Girard, the founder of the consultancy, China Channel Ltd.
As part of its recurring “Beyond the Beltway” series this year that focuses on the voices of Republican leaders around the country, the latest edition of the Forum also features an op-ed by Indiana State Senator Erin Houchin, who shares “A Lesson in Good Governance from the Hoosier State.”
And in the latest Ripon Profile, Congressman Brad Wenstrup (OH-2) discusses the issue facing America that no one is talking about and the historical figure he would most like to meet.
The Ripon Forum is published six times a year by The Ripon Society, a public policy organization that was founded in 1962 and takes its name from the town where the Republican Party was born in 1854 – Ripon, Wisconsin. One of the main goals of The Ripon Society is to promote the ideas and principles that have made America great and contributed to the GOP’s success. These ideas include keeping our nation secure, keeping taxes low and having a federal government that is smaller, smarter and more accountable to the people.