On Monday, North Korea conducted its third nuclear test in six years—another reminder that we live in a dangerous world. In response, Pete Hegseth, CEO of Concerned Veterans for America (CVA), issued the following statement:
“The events that took place yesterday in North Korea should alarm all Americans; but North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and hostile actions are hardly a new threat. And yet, after years of sanctions, talks, and standoffs, no effective strategy has emerged to address their obstinate ways. Our policymakers say they don’t want North Korea to develop and deploy nuclear weapons, yet seem unable to find a path that leads to that outcome. “While rogue nations like North Korea and Iran pursue dangerous nuclear weapons, the United States is poised to cut our military budget in a way that undercuts our military strength and readiness; yet the dirty little secret about the nature of those cuts is that they do next-to-nothing to address the insidious internal threat facing this generation—a skyrocketing national debt. This is the unfortunate irony playing out while North Korea detonates bombs and Iraq spins centrifuges. Washington is paralyzed by repeated political crises of its own making—to include a completely dysfunctional budget process, a dearth of government reform, and a spending addiction—that are crippling our economy with uncertainty, and undercut America’s ability to plan—and act—on the world stage. “It’s no wonder we’re incapable of effectively impacting the actions of rogue nations that threaten global stability, trade, and prosperity—when we can’t even remotely get our own political and fiscal house in order.”