Appeasing Our Enemies Makes America Less Safe and the World More Dangerous

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, yesterday evening spoke with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer regarding the release of Alan Gross and the President’s announcement to change U.S. policy with Cuba, specifically plans to lift the United States’ economic embargo on the communist nation.
 
Regarding the failure of the Obama-Clinton-Kerry foreign policy:
 
“This action today continues a long pattern. It is the latest manifestation of the failures of the Obama-Clinton-Kerry foreign policy. What we’ve seen for six years is we’ve consistently been abandoning our friends and allies and at the same time appeasing and coddling our enemies.  First it was Russia, then it was Iran, today its Cuba. That only makes America and the world more dangerous. This was a mistake. This is throwing an economic lifeline to the Castros at a moment when their regime was vulnerable and it was a serious mistake.”
 
Regarding the danger of appeasing Cuba and the Castro regime:
 
“The Castro regime is an avowed enemy of America. They are allies of North Korea, of Iran, of Venezuela. In fact they were just caught recently doing an arms deal with North Korea and the idea that we would strengthen a regime that is a state sponsor of terrorism that is exporting communism throughout Latin America, and is working to undermine America, that only undermines our national security interest.”
 
“The relationship with Cuba, the Castros have demonstrated, manifest hostility and antagonism to America and it was striking watching President Obama's remarks today. He talked about the Bay of Pigs invasion and yet he utterly omitted the Cuban Missile Crisis, one of the greatest threats to our national security in modern times that almost resulted in nuclear weapons right on our shore and watching President Obama and John Kerry, it was yet again blaming America first. The condition of the relationship between Cuba and America is the direct result of the oppressive communist dictatorship that has demonstrated manifest hostility to the United States.”
 
Regarding the administration’s flawed negotiation tactics:
 
“All of us celebrate the release of Alan Gross. He has been wrongfully and unjustly imprisoned and mistreated and I've called repeatedly for his release… But you know, just like the Obama Administration's ill-advised deal concerning Bowe Bergdahl, where they released five senior Taliban terrorists, in this instance the Obama Administration released three Cuban spies who were guilty of murdering four U.S. Citizens, guilty of spying of Southern Command, on U.S. military installations, and that undermines our national security. We should be negotiating from a position of strength and the consistent failing of this Administration is that it believes the way to deal with dictators and tyrants is through appeasement. I think weakness is provocative and I believe in peace through strength. That's far more effective at protecting our country.”
 
Regarding the Senate’s ability to prevent lifting of economic sanctions on Cuba:
 
“It’s not clear at this point where the votes will be, but I expect in the Senate to see a far more vigorous voice defending our national security interests and I am hopeful that we will prevent a bad deal and a bad decision. The point I was making on this, there’s a reason why I expect to see bi-partisan cooperation to rein this in. In 2009, the appeasement of Putin didn’t work and Putin invaded Ukraine a sovereign nation.”

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