"For the first time in American history, we are unable to defend our own borders and skies," Paul stated. "National security is the most basic sovereign duty of the federal government in our constitutional republic. Neither Congress nor the president can cede that duty to a foreign nation or body.
European pilots began patrolling U.S. skies today as part of a historic NATO deployment. Five Airborne Warning and Control Systems aircraft from a NATO base in Germany arrived at Tinker Air Force Base last week along with 180 crewmembers and support personnel from 13 different countries. This is the first time that NATO airplanes have ever conducted patrols over the United States. They are helping replace U.S. airplanes supporting the military action in Afghanistan.
"We cannot allow the security of our own borders to become the responsibility of any coalition or international organization, whether it's NATO or the United Nations," said Paul. "The national security of the U.S. is the province of the American people -- and the American people only. It is tragic that our interventionist foreign policy has spread our military forces so thin. As a result, we find ourselves unable to deal with the legitimate military crisis posed by the September 11th attacks."
The NATO flight crews can all speak English. The five airplanes look like U.S. AWACS planes except they carry NATO markings instead of U.S. Air Force insignias. While most of the NATO forces in Oklahoma are military, there are some civilians attached to the group. The NATO planes are helping with NORAD patrols that were instituted after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, and are also working in conjunction with the Federal Aviation Administration. The airplanes, which are crammed with sophisticated electrical equipment for surveillance, are able to monitor battles on the ground or threats in the air.
"How much longer can we continue to defend so many other nations, but not our own?" Paul asked. "The United States has sufficient military might to provide for national defense and conduct the war on terrorism in the Middle East, but only if our forces are not deployed in hundreds of countries around the globe. The stunning delegation of our national air defense to foreign forces marks a sad day for America," Paul concluded. "The war on terrorism provides us with an opportunity to strengthen national unity, but we must begin by reaffirming American sovereignty and defending our own borders."
© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com