This is John Batcher speaking with Cleopascal, the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy,

about a success in Congress passing the legislation that permits the money to flow to three

independent states in the Central Pacific, the Marshals, Micronesia, and

Palau that depend upon the U.S. for security, for defense.

It's a compact of free associations and the money also goes to

securing the a possibility that the US can use these three sovereign states in the

event of war with China.

China, of course, at the same time is pressing very hard, influence peddling and

bribery and bullying throughout the Pacific and these three states particularly because they are

stepping stones from Hawaii to the Philippines, Marshall Islands,

my Carnesia, Palau, and then the Philippines onto Japan.

Cleo describes the success in Congress was bipartisan, and it's a celebration at the same time a

commemoration of the men and women who sacrificed in the Pacific War of the

1940s to free these states from the Japanese Empire

where they'd been obtained and militarized after after the German Empire lost

them in the first war and the Soviet Empire tried to get back in but in any event this is

This is Cleo celebrating Congress's success

This is not something that would get members of Congress votes.

Most American voters have never heard of these countries, but there was a degree of bipartisanship and camaraderie to get this thing through.

That was really heartening.

The staffers worked incredibly hard there was no opposition from

any any corner of Congress and you know Taiwan didn't go through Ukraine didn't go

...