Philip Sparn | ClarksvilleNow.com
psparn@ClarksvilleNow.com
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – U.S. Sen. Bob Corker visited local leaders in Clarksville Wednesday afternoon to discuss issues impacting the local and national economy, military spending and foreign relations, during the Clarksville Rotary Club’s weekly meeting at the Clarksville Country Club.
Corker spoke mainly about the tensions in Russia and Ukraine and emphasized the importance of the United States putting swift and strong pressure on Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
“If you don’t nip these things in the beginning and if you don’t show some strength, sanctions wise, against somebody like Putin. Ultimately, over time, it puts more pressure on us to be involved in some other way,” said Corker. “I am really concerned that the sanctions we are putting in place to try to isolate Russia from this bad behavior have not been near strong enough to affect his (Putin’s) behavior.”
Corker, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said it is important to get involved in conflicts like these to have a more secure and stable world and to protect the standard of living and quality of life in America.
“If you don’t stop a person like Putin, the geo-political balance is destroyed,” said Corker. “And, it directly affects our standard of living,”
Corker also emphasized the need for swift and strong action against Russia.
“I just want to make sure we don’t wait … I want us to go ahead and show strength.”
Corker said he believes strong and swift sanctions by the United States will set the tone for what type of sanctions the European Union will implement going forward.
“If our sanctions on Russia are weak today, the European Unions’ are going to be weak tomorrow,” said Corker. “Their sanctions have the ability to impact Russian behavior more than our’s do because of their larger economic relationship.”
Corker also answered questions from local leaders regarding the United States’ involvement in foreign conflicts and military spending.
Corker mentioned the proposed cuts that reduce military spending to pre-World War II levels and said he didn’t believe those cuts would actually be implemented “when it was all was said and done.”
“I believe we are not going to go down to those spending levels … But, I will say that the Pentagon has to a better job of accounting for the way they do their purchasing,” said Corker. “We need to keep the pressure there but we don’t need to reduce the military to a size that threatens us and puts us in jeopardizing situations.”
Corker emphasized that the best way to keep the men and women at Fort Campbell from being in harm’s way, is to “speak softly and carry a really, really big stick.”
The former Chattanooga mayor also touched on many other topics and spoke about his concerns involving the local economy, including the United Auto Workers interest in unionizing the Volkswagen manufacturing plant in Chattanooga.
Corker also discussed the importance of cutting the national deficit and reducing spending.
“One of the biggest threats our nation is facing is not getting our fiscal house in order,” said Corker.
Corker had to abruptly end the town-hall style meeting to answer a phone call from President Barack Obama to discuss the conflict in Russia.
Photos by Philip Sparn | ClarksvilleNow.com