FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday January 13, 2015
CONTACT: Jon Conradi
PHONE: 202-225-2711
Email: jon.conradi@mail.house.gov
Congressman Alex Mooney (WV-2) Blasts President Obama’s Continued Foreign Policy Collapse
WASHINGTON, DC – Republican Congressman Alex Mooney (WV-2) strongly condemned President Obama’s handling of foreign affairs in the aftermath of his unilateral action on Cuba and the failure to show solidarity with the French people in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack.
“Following the President’s conspicuous absence in Paris and a long track record of bowing to our enemies, I think it is clear the President is more interested in pleasing our enemies than standing strong with our allies.”
In a speech during a Special Session of Congress last night, Congressman Mooney joined a bipartisan group of colleagues in expressing opposition to the President’s efforts to normalize relations with the Communist Cuban government:
“Mr. Speaker, President Obama has senselessly yielded ground, with no stipulations for reform, to the Cuban regime with the announcement of a secret deal, going around Congress, to “normalize” relations. This misguided grab for a legacy item has cost our country and the Cuban people a valuable bargaining chip for their freedom.
“Of course this is yet another foreign policy failure or, more accurately, unilateral surrender from this administration; from the bright red line in Syria, which was crossed with impunity, to sending a secret message to President Putin that “after the election I will be more flexible”, to now rewarding tyrants in Cuba who continue to deny basic human rights to their oppressed citizens; President Obama had chosen bad policy.”
“The despotic government the President would normalize relations with has for decades sought to subjugate the Cuban people’s appetite for freedom. The many realized American dreams of Cuban refugees, including my mother, are a great testament to the greatness of the United States and our constitutional rights. As the beacon of freedom in the world, we must continue to use sensible policy to protect those values around the world and in our own backyard.”
Congressman Mooney’s mother, Eulalia Mooney, was born and raised in Cuba where, at the age of 21, she was thrown in jail for seven weeks for speaking out against the Communist Regime of Fidel Castro. After her release, she fled to the United States as a political refugee.