Americans Are Paying The Bill For Our Government’s ‘Unwavering Support’ Of UkraineIs there an amount of military aid for Ukraine the U.S. won’t approve? Within the past two weeks alone, the Biden administration has committed nearly $4 billion in security assistance by allocating $3 billion and $775 million in separate packages. The grand total of military aid delivered to Ukraine since President Biden took office in January 2021 is a whopping $13.5 billion, and that number is only set to increase.
What is particularly pernicious about the weapons gravy train is the lack of a clear endgame in the conflict itself, an ugly feature of U.S. engagement in proxy wars. When asked how long the war in Ukraine and, by extension, military aid will last, variations of “indefinitely” seem to be the going answers from U.S. leaders.
Such a position is amorphous and unrestrained, plunging the United States into deeper subsidization of European security and repeating the same mistakes made in arming proxies.
The latest round of military aid announcements underscores the absence of restraint on the part of U.S. leaders. In the aid announcement on Ukrainian Independence Day, the Department of Defense said the weapons package demonstrates “U.S. commitment to supporting Ukraine over the long term — representing a multi-year investment to build the enduring strength of Ukraine’s Armed Forces.”
Further, $3.5 billion in weapons from the nearly $4 billion pot will be made by the U.S. defense industry rather than come from existing U.S. stockpiles — a nice payday and additional job security for the military-industrial complex.
In the fast and furious arming of Ukraine, it seems both Congress and the White House forgot to ensure billions of dollars worth of weapons actually reach Ukrainian forces and don’t fall into the black market.
At a July press briefing, a senior DOD official was quoted saying, “We are not tracking weapons … And quite honestly, I mean, we feel pretty good that the Ukrainians are using the weapons that we’ve provided to them and have not seen any indications that those weapons have gone anywhere else other than to fight against the Russians.” This is quite the assertion to make if weapons aren’t being tracked.
The rapid delivery of weapons, entrenching the U.S. in years of new weapons contracts, and the complete lack of oversight in arms delivery is setting up U.S. involvement in Ukraine to become the latest in a string of U.S. proxy war failures that produce no tangible gains for U.S. security interests.
What is an acceptable end to the conflict that would bring U.S. support to a close? The large-scale arming of Ukraine is taking place with no clear mission or operational objectives. Buzzwords like “long-term gains,” “enduring strength,” and “defending democracy” communicate nothing practical. .............
https://www.conservativereview.com/americans-are-paying-the-bill-for-our-governments-unwavering-support-of-ukraine-2658112104.html
