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| Photo Credit: AP. |
The U.S. Senate voted to approve membership request by Sweden and Finland to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization following Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.
The measure
passed 95-1, with one voting Present, up from the 67 votes needed in the 100-member
Senate, Washington Examiner reported.
"Our
NATO alliance is the bedrock that has guaranteed democracy in the Western world
since the end of World War II," Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said
on the Senate floor Tuesday, according to Washington Examiner. "This
strengthens NATO even further and is particularly needed in light of recent
Russian aggression."
According to
Washington Examiner, some of the Republican Senators who voted against the measure
argued that the U.S. would be called on to defend the two new, vulnerable NATO
members at a time when it should be confronting a more resurgent China.
How can the US deal with a resurgent China?
China continues
to lay claim to territories in the South China Sea and has increased its
military presence in the area. China has also threatened the use of force to
prevent its breakaway region Taiwan from declaring official independence.
"I'm
not arguing for retreat and I'm not arguing for isolation. What i am arguing
for is an end to the globalist foreign policy that has led our nation from one
disaster for another for decades now. What I am arguing for is a return to the
classic, nationalist approach to American foreign policy that made our country
great," no-vote Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said on the Senate floor
Wednesday, adding, "In years past NATO was a bulwark against an imperial
Soviet Union. Today the world's greatest imperial threat is in China,"
Washington Examiner reported.
Admitting Finland and Sweden would be a "slam dunk" for national security - McConnell
Senate
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said admitting Finland and Sweden would
be a "slam dunk for national security that deserves unanimous bipartisan
support," and wished any senators looking for a "defensible"
excuse to vote against the bill "good luck," according to Washington
Examiner.
All 30
members of the security alliance must vote to clear Sweden and Finland. Turkey
which previously opposed their membership has since dropped its objections
after striking a deal.