City Of Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers' Statement On OIG Report

Colorado Springs CO

12 May, 2022

11:34 PM

Description

Press release from the City of Colorado Springs: May 11, 2022 Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers today released the below statement. "The OIG report confirms what we have been saying all along; that keeping USSPACECOM in Colorado Springs is in the best interest of national security. It important to note that our nation's senior military leaders made these recommendations even before Russian actions in Ukraine—a protracted conflict that is estimated, according to the Director of National Intelligence, to be more unpredictable and potentially escalatory in the coming months. Qualifying the document as 'reasonable' is simply not good enough, especially when the recommendation is starkly at odds with our national security advisors. The report highlights a lack of critical documentation and policy and most concerningly, shows that the former president ignored senior military leaders' recommendations to keep USSPACECOM in Colorado Springs. We cannot afford to put politics over national security and delay our ability to reach full operational capability, especially given the current international climate. USSPACECOM needs to stay in Colorado Springs for the foreseeable future and we look forward to continued discussion on the matter." This press release was produced by the City of Colorado Springs. The views expressed here are the author's own.