Republican representatives seek clarity on ground-based missiles strategy

A group of Republican legislators recently forwarded correspondence to President Joe Biden, seeking clarity on re-imposing limits on ground-based missiles in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.

U.S. Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Mike Rogers (R-AL), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Michael Turner (R-OH), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Doug Lamborn (R-CA), Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Liz Cheney (R-WY), Mark Green (R-TN), Scott Franklin (R-FL), and Pat Fallon (R-TX) inquired about the strategic position.

Additionally, the correspondence stemmed from China and Russia recently issuing a joint statement advocating America abandon plans to deploy intermediate-range and shorter-range ground-based missiles in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe and after Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman recently acknowledged placing restrictions on ground-based fires was worth considering.

“In light of this broad and bipartisan support for ground-based missiles, it is unconscionable that your administration may be considering re-imposing limits on American ground-based missiles,” the legislators wrote. “Given Russia’s extensive track record of cheating on its INF Treaty commitments, there is zero—repeat zero—reason to expect Russia would comply with a new agreement. As a result, any future bilateral limitations would in practice represent unilateral disarmament.”

Indo-Pacific ground-based missile limitations would render the Marine Corps’ new Force Design inoperable while canceling the Army’s top modernization priority.

“The consequences would be deadly,” the legislators concluded. “Without the ability to amass large numbers of distributed and affordable missiles, a future war in the Indo-Pacific would be over before it began. It is not an exaggeration to say peace in the Indo-Pacific—not to mention the lives of countless American service members—hangs in the balance.”