During the next two weeks, the American people will go to the polls in an extraordinary opportunity to decide the future for our country. “We the People” will determine which political party will lead the 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the 100 members of the U.S. Senate.

Understandably, “pain at the pump,” record-setting inflation, horrific violent crime on our streets, a catastrophic invasion across our southern border and parental rights for how our children are educated are the most important issues for American voters.

But there is another vital matter, widely ignored by the so-called mainstream media in this political season: U.S. national security. It is a topic rarely raised by “debate moderators” or hundreds of polls, yet it is arguably the most important factor in protecting the American people in a very dangerous world.

Article II of the U.S. Constitution clearly states, “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America …” and he or she “shall be the Commander in Chief” of our armed forces. But in our constitutional republic, the president is also constrained by Congress on diplomatic and military matters. Congress has the power to appropriate (or not) our tax dollars and confirm (or not) the appointments of executive branch officials.

The outcome of congressional elections in two weeks will have a profound effect on whether President Joe Biden’s stumbling, bumbling foreign policy will continue to flummox friends, allies and adversaries. The makeup of the House and Senate Armed Services and Foreign Affairs and Relations committees will be crucial in deterring war — and winning if we must fight.

The 118th Congress must arrive in January prepared to fix the disastrous strategic blunders Old Joe has made since coming into office. The five-sided wastebasket at the Pentagon must be swept clean of the incompetent, self-serving military officers and civilian “leaders” who gave us a catastrophic defeat in Afghanistan.

The Biden Regime’s effort to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — the so-called nuclear weapons deal with Iran — must be stopped dead in its tracks. The president apparently naively believes lifting sanctions on Iranian oil will somehow make the Iranian theocracy a responsible partner. Iranian “kamikaze drones” now helping Vladimir Putin kill innocent Ukrainian civilians is evidence to the contrary. Congress should resolve support for the human rights of Iranian women who are being brutally repressed by the ayatollahs in Tehran.

A conservative majority in Congress can’t prevent our severely compromised president from making inane comments. Stupid statements, like Biden’s threat to punish Saudi Arabia and OPEC+ for reducing oil production by 2 million barrels of crude oil per day, should have been immediately quashed by congressional leaders.

Biden’s claim that the Saudis are backing Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is simply loopy. The Saudis have been warning for months that Iran is their No. 1 adversary and are increasingly alarmed by secret U.S. efforts to lift JCPOA sanctions on Iran.

We now know the purpose of the Biden trip to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was to delay OPEC+ production cuts — and our “pain at the pump” — until after the Nov. 8 midterm election. Such a blatant and egregiously partisan act should be beneath any chief executive.

Congressional leaders should remind the American people and our European allies the shortage of winter heating fuel and the astronomical global spike in fossil fuel costs began on Biden’s first day in office when he eliminated America’s energy independence.

If we elect a conservative majority in Congress, we can stop the Biden-Pelosi-Schumer Troika from wrecking the land of the free and home of the brave.

COPYRIGHT 2022 OLIVER L. NORTH AND DAVID GOETSCH