
Scott Taylor (Regnery)
Right now in America, our nation is at its tipping point. From the horrifying rise of global terrorism through ISIS, to the looming threat of another government shutdown, Americans are looking for leadership they can count on.
That’s why, as a former Navy SEAL sniper and Iraq War veteran, I am going on the record with my new book, "Trust Betrayed: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and the Selling Out of America’s National Security."
I refuse to be part of a generation that went abroad to defeat the evils of terrorism, only to come home and see Washington lose that fight through misguided national security and foreign policies.
I served this country for eight years, watched brave comrades die, and I would do anything that is humanly possible to defend her defend her from threats both foreign and domestic. I only wish the leader in White House would do the same.
I refuse to be part of a generation that went abroad to defeat the evils of terrorism, only to come home and see Washington lose that fight through misguided national security and foreign policies.
That’s not complicated. It’s certainly not flashy. But I believe that now, more than ever, it needs to be said.
My experiences serving in defense of our country have taught me a lot, and have motivated me to stand up at this pivotal moment in history to challenge Americans. It’s time to change the way we view ourselves, how we interact with the world, and how we lead our fellow freedom-based, democratic nations in the decades ahead.
During my time as a Navy SEAL sniper in Iraq, I learned more than I ever have before -- and more than I ever have since. But I probably learned the most on a dark night in Ramadi.
From what I remember, I was with a group of Navy SEAL snipers in a house on the corner of a base along the Euphrates River. Our mission: to go into the city in the middle of the night, make our way to what was supposed to be a vacant building, and stay there for a few days observing an intersection where insurgents were launching attacks on coalition forces.
We wore our night vision goggles and had our heads on a swivel, because in Iraq, you never knew where the bullets might come from. And while the building was supposed to be vacant, we had to take it down as though an enemy might be lurking somewhere inside.
We entered the building quietly, because we didn’t want anyone to know we were there. We cleared it, room by room. As we moved up to the second floor, my foot hit air. I fell through a cutout and plunged twenty feet to the concrete below.
I was instantly unconscious. I had a concussion, a torn PCL tendon, a pneumothorax, bruised lung, and six broken ribs down my spine. My teammates continued to clear the building—which is exactly what you’re supposed to do in that situation—you have to win the fight before you tend to the wounded.
Our medic, Petty Officer Stout, worked with Marine Humvees and the helicopter to extract me, but it was no ordinary drive.
Between the helicopter and us was a long dark road, filled with improvised explosive devices. I believe we had lost eleven Marines on that stretch in that year alone. Stout didn’t care about the risk. He would make sure I made it back safely before rejoining the team and the mission.
Stout put his life on the line to make sure mine was saved.
I am alive today because I stand upon the shoulders of the brave men with whom I served; better men then me. Men like Petty Officer Stout.
I learned so much from my fellow SEALs. I learned about bravery, courage, dedication and character. I learned that a nation that produces such noble, humane warriors is indispensable.
America is the greatest nation the world has ever known. That truth is reflected in the actions of the men and women of our Armed Forces, and we cannot let them down.
That is why I wrote my book—to expose the policies in our country that are taking us in the wrong direction.
I refuse to be part of a generation that went abroad to defeat the evils of terrorism, only to come home and see Washington lose that fight through misguided national security and foreign policies.
I cannot remain silent as our leaders fail to speak openly and truthfully about the spreading cancer of Islamic extremism. I will not simply sit back and watch as we turn our backs on our allies and appease those who are not our friends.
Too much of both our foreign and national security policies in recent years have been made by a desire to produce short term political accomplishments, and they’re informed by an unrealistic view of the world.
In this dangerous, fast changing, and seemingly chaotic world in which we live, we need more individuals with real life experience in some of the most dangerous and sensitive regions of our globe. In making national security decisions, understanding local cultures matters.
After my time in the Navy I went on to serve in a private capacity as a security consultant and manager for a US oil company in Yemen. I ultimately deployed there 10 times over 4 years. Nothing I could have been taught on these shores would have prepared me for the lessons I learned on those sands.
In the tribal world, it is practically suicidal to make unilateral concessions, to appear weak, or to weaken the position of one’s allies. The only way to keep or establish peace or command any respect or retain any influence is to demonstrate one’s power.
Now, as a nation confronting threats emanating from that part of the world, or from Russia, or from North Korea, we need leaders who deal in strength. We need leaders who understand that the world is not a classroom on a college campus; the world is a very dangerous place, filled with people who respect only strength and power.
Today, we are increasingly risking our leadership position. And we’re all paying the price—but no one more so than the men and women currently in harm’s way.
With senseless cuts to our military through sequestration, we’re sending folks overseas to fight with one arm behind their backs. And it’s leading to debilitating consequences.
We can’t win the War on Terror with tactics alone; we must win it with a strategy of overpowering strength -- physically, mentally, and virtually. America needs leadership with the courage to call Islamic terrorism what it is: pure evil.
Leadership matters. We must be clear, principled, and consistent; this will embolden our allies to do the same, including our Islamic allies, who have been burned by the flames of terrorism.
We need leaders who understand that our interests align with other common-minded nations, and not with those that fund terrorism, create regional unrest, or seek nuclear weapons.
Of course, we haven’t had that kind of leadership in the last six to seven years, and that fact has helped remind Americans -- war-weary as we may be -- that these qualities matter.
In this new reality, we cannot afford another president—whatever his or her party, and whatever his or her view of world affairs—who plays politics with our national security and foreign policy for personal gain the way President Obama and Hillary Clinton have.
These are challenging times, but the thing about America is this: we are never out of the fight. We fall down, but we always rise again, we dust ourselves off, and we press ahead. This is who we are. This is how we started, and this will be how we move forward.
Now it is time for us to demand the leadership we deserve. Optimistic leadership that, no matter what the challenge, will stand shoulder to shoulder with us as Americans, advancing our interests first, proving to our allies that they have no greater friend than us, and convincing all others that they can make no worse enemy.
We can use both soft and hard power to achieve this, in a push-pull balancing act orchestrated by robust leadership.
Our foreign aid we give to countries should form part of our soft power—and I’m sad to say that right now, we are not taking advantage of what we already give.
I find this fact amazing. The U.S. is home to the best marketers on the planet -- people wear Michael Jordan T-shirts in the Congo, drink Pepsi in Paraguay, and dance hip hop in Haiti -- yet none of these professionals’ efforts seem to be employed in demonstrating to people abroad how we are helping them. It seems absurd that we give foreign aid packages to so many --without making sure they know whom to thank.
Let’s use the talents of what is arguably the most American industry ever to let the world know where the help is coming from and to combat the brand of ISIS. That’s probably a better strategy for winning hearts and minds than broadcasting to them, through self-aggrandizing leaks to the New York Times, that our president is personally approving every single drone strike in their country.
When it comes to hard power, we should immediately rescind sequestration—the draconian and untargeted cuts made to our military in 2013 because Congress failed to reach an agreement on cutting the budget in a more rational and sustainable way.
If you’re a runner you know it is much easier to keep up than to catch up. The same is true in our defense spending. We can definitely find savings in the Pentagon budget, but the sequestration cuts are indiscriminate.
Leaders need to roll up their sleeves and find the savings, not take the easy way out and place the burden on the already loaded backs of our brave men and women. Our way of life, and our currently reluctant role in the world, ultimately rest upon them. We owe them the very best.
I’ve served on both the battlefield and in elected office. I’ve learned a lot in both places. What I’ve primarily learned is this: It is time again for an America that sees the world as it truly is.
There are evil people in the world that want to erase the advances of the last centuries and subjugate men and women to the ignorance of their misguided and wrong beliefs. They present us with the greatest challenge of our lifetimes.
That challenge calls for an America that knows its place as the ultimate defender of liberty and freedom for all. That backs away from no threat. That is prepared, clear-eyed, and always vigilant. And that, like my old friend Petty Officer Stout back in Ramadi, leaves no friend behind on the field of battle.