Sen. Wicker urges U.S. and Europe to unite against rising authoritarian aggression

Sen. Roger Wicker told European officials during a February trip that the United States and its allies must stand united against aggression from China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, and that America needs strong, reliable friends, Wicker said.

Wicker said he spoke at a security conference in Munich on a panel with the heads of Ukraine, NATO and the European Parliament, and urged the West to increase support for Ukraine. He said Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered an address at the gathering that, Wicker quoted, described America’s “destiny” as intertwined with Europe’s.

Wicker said the United States and Europe share culture and history and that past generations fought together in World War II, against communism and in the War on Terror. He said adversaries expanded their militaries in recent decades while U.S. forces shrank, and called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a wake-up call that has prompted higher defense investment on the continent, a development he attributed in part to President Trump’s emphasis on burden sharing.

Wicker said he also visited Italy, Austria and the Vatican, where he and his wife, Gayle, met Pope Leo. He said he participated in official meetings as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and chaired the U.S. delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which he described as promoting security, human rights and economic cooperation.

Wicker said European officials he spoke with view Russian President Vladimir Putin as untrustworthy and that current negotiations are a contest of good versus evil. He said the West must “drain Putin’s bank account” and equip Ukraine with offensive and defensive systems, and that renewed defense manufacturing and munitions production will help. Wicker wrote these remarks in a post on Magnolia Tribune, where the piece first appeared, according to the posting.

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