U.S. needs to keep its friends closer, Pence says - Harvard Gazette

"I think we're living in a very perilous time where America needs to be strong, we need to be ready, we need to stand with our allies, and we need to make it clear to enemies of freedom that - as President Kennedy said - we will bear any burden, pay any price to ensure the survival of liberty,"

"We stay strong, we stay unwavering, make it clear to people that we're going to defend our interests and our allies in the world, and we got a shot at a peaceful future. Failing that, I think the second half of the 21st century could look a whole lot more like the first half of the 20th century."

"If America isn't leading the free world, the free world is not being led. There is no B team, no backup country that steps into that gap."

Diminished U.S. support for longtime allies raises the risk of large-scale conflict and strife comparable to the early 20th century. Strong American readiness and unwavering defense of allies and interests are presented as necessary to preserve liberty and secure a peaceful future. U.S. leadership is characterized as irreplaceable because no other allied nation would assume its role. Perceived departures from core ideals within a major party motivated a 2023 presidential campaign. Emphasis is placed on reaffirming commitments to allies, demonstrating resolve to adversaries, and maintaining global leadership to prevent greater instability later this century.

Read at Harvard Gazette