Georgia in Republican Study Committee’s National Security Strategy

On June 10, the Republican Study Committee (RSC) –a caucus of conservatives of the Republican Party in the U.S. House of Representatives – released a report on National Security Strategy titled “Strengthening America and Countering Global Threats,” in which it recommended  among others, to strengthen readiness and defense capabilities of Georgia, “a democratic U.S. ally”, by enacting the Georgia Support Act.

The RSC task force on national security and foreign affairs said the U.S. Congress should continue to work “to strengthen Georgia’s readiness and defense capabilities by approving arms sales to Georgia in support of its efforts against Russian aggression, offering military assistance, and improving Georgia’s interoperability with NATO.”

The document was compiled by RSC Chairman Mike Johnson (R-LA), Task Force Chairman Joe Wilson (R-SC), and 11 other republican congressmen – Rob Wittman (R-VA), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Alex Mooney (WV), Don Bacon (R-NE), Jack Bergman (R-MI), Neal Dunn (R-FL), Clay Higgins (R-LA), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Bryan Steil (R-WI), and Michael Waltz (R-FL).

Speaking of the need to support NATO and U.S. allies in a bid to improve “Russian containment” measures, the RSC task force said it has presented a number of measures “to support NATO, strengthen our alliances, and support democratic partners, such as Ukraine and Georgia that have been victims of Russian aggression.”

In this context, it added that “in countering Russian aggression, working with our allies and partners is essential.”

Mapping Russian aggression in its neighborhood. Screengrab from the document.

The RSC task force also said the Congress should mandate regular public “financial exercises” that demonstrates the U.S. and its allies would freeze Russian assets in the case of Russian aggression against its neighbors. “They would ensure that such measures could be imposed quickly in the event of a further Russian invasion of Ukraine or Russian aggression in the Baltics or Georgia,” the report stressed.

Noting that current sanctions on Russia have not sufficiently addressed “Putin’s foreign cronies,” it said “Bidzina Ivanishvili, the richest man in Georgia, is a close ally of Putin and involved in destabilizing Georgia on Russia’s behalf.”

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