Souder Sees Links Between Narcotics, Immigration, Trade
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
WINONA LAKE - The American Lyceum Lecture Series opened Friday night with everyone singing "God Bless America."
The song took guest speaker U.S. Rep. Mark Souder back to Sept. 11, 2001, when he was joined by others on the Capitol steps who sang the same patriotic song in honor of the people killed by the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center Towers in New York and at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
"That day changed our world," Souder said. "President Bush and conservative senators not known as internationalists suddenly became just that."
Souder was first elected to Congress in 1994 after working for U.S. Senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.) for 10 years during Coats' tenure in the House and Senate. He is Chairman of the Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources.
His topic, presented in Westminster Hall, was American Foreign Policy and It's Effect on Kosciusko County.
Souder painted a complex picture of what he said is becoming a small, interconnected world by illustrating his speech with stories about government takeovers in Venezuela, the huge amount of commerce arriving across the Canadian border and the complex U.S. relationships with countries in the Middle East and Europe.
When the U.S. began its current military operation in Afghanistan the first thing the U.S. had to do was establish bases for support and supplies. Thousands of men had to be transported and stationed in friendly countries.
"Iran and Iraq have used chemical weapons against each other. The only thing that unites the Middle East is their hatred of Israel," he said.
"What does standing up to Israel mean? Where will we station troops? Which countries can we fly over? If we don't stand up to Israel will gasoline go up to $2, $2.50 or $4.50 like it is in Europe? What does that mean for the RV and automotive industry in northeastern Indiana?"
Souder said 25 percent of our oil comes from the Middle East and 25 percent comes from South America.
He called Friday's military ouster of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez a temporary fix. Under Chavez' presidency oil production has dropped.
A leading businessman, Pedro Caroma, has been named to replace Chavez.
Souder said Citgo stations in the U.S. are owned by the Venezuelan government.
The country of Columbia produces the most heroin, cocaine and marijuana brought into the U.S. That industry thrives "because we can't lick our drug problem."
While the U.S. would like Columbia to plant agricultural crops other than coca the farmers will be shot if their crops are changed.
"We have a direct trade problem in our own hemisphere," Souder said. "Columbia is our largest provider of flowers, emeralds and until recently - oil."
Narcotics, immigration and trade are all linked.
"On September 11 when we shut down commerce by grounding airplanes, many were set down in Newfoundland. While the planes were being searched the largest haul of the drug ecstacy, manufactured in Holland, was discovered."
Holland, with its liberal, practically nonexistent drug laws, has no interest in changing its ways.
"In Indiana I hear a lot about jobs lost by companies moving to Mexico," Souder said. "What people don't realize is the number of Canadian-owned companies in the U.S. They speak our language and they look like us.
"Slater Steel is Canadian, do we view Canada in the same class as other countries exporting cheap steel?"
The highway leading from Windsor, Canada, to Detroit, Mich., carries more trade products than our entire trade agreement with Japan.
Ford Automotive Co. manufacturing plants don't warehouse parts, the Congressman said. Inventory and warehousing costs are high, so parts are trucked in daily. A 15-minute delay on the Windsor-Detroit route is one thing, but when there is a two to four hour delay entire production lines are shut down for the rest of the working shift.
Detroit is home to more than 220,000 Arab-Americans. The Canadian border is not well guarded and a terrorist could easily fade into any one of those homes, Souder said.
But there is danger in stereotyping everyone, too, he said. Where there used to be a direct ethnic line, officials are seeing several ethnic groups involved.
"We lose our moral authority when we crank up rhetoric. Other governments can say they're after terrorists, too.
"Terrorism is old. It's common in the Balkans, in Ireland, in India. It's just new to us.
"We thought we were special. They've seen our vulnerability. Its not going to stop." [[In-content Ad]]
WINONA LAKE - The American Lyceum Lecture Series opened Friday night with everyone singing "God Bless America."
The song took guest speaker U.S. Rep. Mark Souder back to Sept. 11, 2001, when he was joined by others on the Capitol steps who sang the same patriotic song in honor of the people killed by the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center Towers in New York and at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
"That day changed our world," Souder said. "President Bush and conservative senators not known as internationalists suddenly became just that."
Souder was first elected to Congress in 1994 after working for U.S. Senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.) for 10 years during Coats' tenure in the House and Senate. He is Chairman of the Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources.
His topic, presented in Westminster Hall, was American Foreign Policy and It's Effect on Kosciusko County.
Souder painted a complex picture of what he said is becoming a small, interconnected world by illustrating his speech with stories about government takeovers in Venezuela, the huge amount of commerce arriving across the Canadian border and the complex U.S. relationships with countries in the Middle East and Europe.
When the U.S. began its current military operation in Afghanistan the first thing the U.S. had to do was establish bases for support and supplies. Thousands of men had to be transported and stationed in friendly countries.
"Iran and Iraq have used chemical weapons against each other. The only thing that unites the Middle East is their hatred of Israel," he said.
"What does standing up to Israel mean? Where will we station troops? Which countries can we fly over? If we don't stand up to Israel will gasoline go up to $2, $2.50 or $4.50 like it is in Europe? What does that mean for the RV and automotive industry in northeastern Indiana?"
Souder said 25 percent of our oil comes from the Middle East and 25 percent comes from South America.
He called Friday's military ouster of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez a temporary fix. Under Chavez' presidency oil production has dropped.
A leading businessman, Pedro Caroma, has been named to replace Chavez.
Souder said Citgo stations in the U.S. are owned by the Venezuelan government.
The country of Columbia produces the most heroin, cocaine and marijuana brought into the U.S. That industry thrives "because we can't lick our drug problem."
While the U.S. would like Columbia to plant agricultural crops other than coca the farmers will be shot if their crops are changed.
"We have a direct trade problem in our own hemisphere," Souder said. "Columbia is our largest provider of flowers, emeralds and until recently - oil."
Narcotics, immigration and trade are all linked.
"On September 11 when we shut down commerce by grounding airplanes, many were set down in Newfoundland. While the planes were being searched the largest haul of the drug ecstacy, manufactured in Holland, was discovered."
Holland, with its liberal, practically nonexistent drug laws, has no interest in changing its ways.
"In Indiana I hear a lot about jobs lost by companies moving to Mexico," Souder said. "What people don't realize is the number of Canadian-owned companies in the U.S. They speak our language and they look like us.
"Slater Steel is Canadian, do we view Canada in the same class as other countries exporting cheap steel?"
The highway leading from Windsor, Canada, to Detroit, Mich., carries more trade products than our entire trade agreement with Japan.
Ford Automotive Co. manufacturing plants don't warehouse parts, the Congressman said. Inventory and warehousing costs are high, so parts are trucked in daily. A 15-minute delay on the Windsor-Detroit route is one thing, but when there is a two to four hour delay entire production lines are shut down for the rest of the working shift.
Detroit is home to more than 220,000 Arab-Americans. The Canadian border is not well guarded and a terrorist could easily fade into any one of those homes, Souder said.
But there is danger in stereotyping everyone, too, he said. Where there used to be a direct ethnic line, officials are seeing several ethnic groups involved.
"We lose our moral authority when we crank up rhetoric. Other governments can say they're after terrorists, too.
"Terrorism is old. It's common in the Balkans, in Ireland, in India. It's just new to us.
"We thought we were special. They've seen our vulnerability. Its not going to stop." [[In-content Ad]]