conflict
Once Again, Biden Doesn’t Have A Strategy For Ukraine. Where’s The Money Going?
From the Daily Caller News Foundation
The administration that claims to be “saving the soul of Democracy” has once again blown off the legislative branch of government.
When the law to give Ukraine another $61 billion made its way through Congress back in April, lawmakers appropriated the money with strings attached. One big string was section 504 of the bill, which stipulated that within 45 days, the administration had to present a strategy for the war. That strategy was due on June 4 — the Biden administration’s homework is now two months late.
You would be forgiven for thinking we formed a strategy before sending $175+ billion in American tax dollars to the plains of Eastern Europe. Two years into a war that has claimed a million lives, Congress asked for a plan that lays out “specific and achievable objectives” and prioritizes “United States national security interests.” Congress also reasonably requested a best guess on how our actions in Ukraine will be met by Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.
When the plan finally does arrive on lawmakers’ desks, expect a thousand pages of government pablum. Gone are the days when U.S. leaders clearly and concisely articulated reasons to go to war and our representatives voted on whether or not to commit the nation to conflict.
The United States hasn’t declared war since 1942. Every American knew the Roosevelt administration’s plans for the war on its first day — the president told Congress on December 8, 1941, that the U.S. would “win through to absolute victory” and make sure “this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.” Hard to believe now, but Roosevelt’s demanding “absolute victory” was controversial in that it meant the United States would need to conquer, not just defeat, the Empire of Japan and Third Reich.
Today, our leaders have stopped asking for the approval of the American people when it comes to conflict — ever since we rebranded the War Department, the Department of Defense has been much more war-like.
The war in Ukraine is the latest example. The American people have not been fully briefed on the risks of that far-away battle or the point of U.S. involvement. Our lame-duck president, when he addresses Ukraine at all, calls Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” and claims “we know Putin won’t stop at Ukraine.” That is the total depth of his argument, which he expects the American people to swallow without debate.
But the president’s invective does not make for sound strategy.
First, the risks. America is engaged in a proxy war with Russia, as evidenced by the Russian peoples’ belief that they are at war with the United States and the west. NATO’s expansion towards Moscow is a major red line for Russia. It is also a broken promise, as the United States pledged not to move NATO’s borders “one inch eastward” towards Moscow. After it moved 1,000 miles eastward, Vladimir Putin drew the line in 2007, saying NATO expansion “represents a serious provocation that reduces the level of mutual trust. And we have the right to ask: against whom is this expansion intended?”
The concern is one that has haunted Russian leaders for centuries. The Poles invaded Russia in 1605, the Swedes in 1707, the French in 1812, and the Germans in 1914 and 1941. In World War II alone, the Soviets lost 24 million people — an incomprehensible figure, dwarfing the 418,000 American casualties.
Regardless of what one thinks of Russia’s system of government or Vladimir Putin, it is a fact that in the past 500 years, Russia has often found itself the target of Western aggression. Perhaps when Putin threatens nuclear war over Ukraine, it is worth taking seriously.
Another risk is to our own vital stocks of armaments. Ukraine is blowing through American missiles and projectiles as an unsustainable rate. Consider that, according to the Congressional Research Service, we’ve given the Ukrainians “10,000+” Javelins and “2,000+” Stingers. That “+” is the classified fig leaf over the exact number, but it is safe to assume we are running low on these arms for our own defense. Until 2022, the United States had not purchased a Stinger since 2003 and the missile line was closed entirely in 2020. Even under the rosiest of scenarios, it is unlikely we will be able to replenish the Stingers we have given to Ukraine until 2028.
Lastly, the huge expenditure of taxpayer dollars going to Ukraine has totaled enough to double the U.S. Navy’s fleet. Worse, it is borrowed. The $175 billion is money we do not have, and that sum does not include interest on the debt.
Given the risks and money on the line, Congress should demand the Biden administration comply with the law. The American people deserve a full accounting.
Morgan Murphy is a former DoD press secretary, national security adviser in the U.S. Senate, a veteran of Afghanistan.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Featured Image Credit: Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz
From the Daily Caller News Foundation
By Jake Smith
A second wave of blasts swept through Lebanon on Wednesday as more communication devices used by Hezbollah suddenly exploded, according to several reports.
Hand-held radios used by Hezbollah terrorists abruptly exploded in southern Lebanon and the country’s capital of Beirut on Wednesday, according to Reuters. It marks yet another blow to Hezbollah, which the day prior had a large number of its terrorist fighters’ pager devices abruptly explode, causing thousands of injuries.
The devices that detonated on Wednesday appeared to be walkie-talkie devices rather than pagers, according to The Wall Street Journal. The exact size and scope of the attack are still unclear, but at least nine people have been killed and 300 have been injured, The Associated Press reported.
A #Hezbollah walkie talkie explodes at a funeral today in #Lebanon after yesterday’s exploding Hezbollah pagers. pic.twitter.com/b8TIfUUBKq
— Jason Brodsky (@JasonMBrodsky) September 18, 2024
Israel is believed to be behind the coordinated and remote attack on Tuesday, though that has not been confirmed by the Israeli or U.S. governments, according to multiple reports. Explosive devices were reportedly planted into the pagers before they made their way out of a supply and manufacturing chain — which initially was suspected to be in Taiwan — and were shipped to Hezbollah in recent months, according to American and other officials who spoke to The New York Times.
The Taiwanese company in question has denied that it produced the pagers, saying that they were manufactured under license by a company based in Hungary, according to Reuters.
The walkie-talkies that detonated on Wednesday were reportedly also shipped to Hezbollah in recent months, a security source told Reuters.
Significant damage appears to have been made to a motorcycle after a Hezbollah radio exploded. pic.twitter.com/57JfoWDmaQ
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) September 18, 2024
The official Lebanese news agency also reported that a number of home solar energy systems exploded in Beirut on Wednesday, though it’s unclear whether it was connected to the string of walkie-talkie detonations, according to multiple reports.
Hezbollah has frequently attacked Israel since Oct. 7, the date Hamas invaded Israel and killed roughly 1,200 people. The Hezbollah attacks have created a turbulent situation along the Israeli-Lebanese border and prompted Israeli forces to launch cross-border counterattacks.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reportedly told a U.S. envoy on Monday that the time for a diplomatic solution had “passed because Hezbollah continues to tie itself to Hamas and refuses to end the conflict,” according to Axios.
conflict
With Only Months Left In Term, Biden Is Starting To Run Out Of Options In Russia-Ukraine War
From the Daily Caller News Foundation
By Jake Smith
As the clock ticks down to January — the end of President Joe Biden’s sole term — the Biden-Harris administration is trying to figure out how to aid Ukraine against Russia with limited and dwindling options.
The Russia-Ukraine war has dragged on for more than two years, and though the Biden administration has devoted over $175 billion in economic and military aid to help Ukraine, it has done little to shift the tides in Kyiv’s favor. The Biden administration, unlikely to receive any more funding for aid from Congress, is looking at alternative choices including loosening weapons restrictions and allowing Ukraine to strike further inside of Russia, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The new policy would only apply to European and other Western weapons, not U.S. systems, according to multiple reports. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hinted on Wednesday that such a move was on the table and strongly being considered.
Lifting the restrictions would represent a major shift in approach from the Biden administration, which has been wary of allowing Ukraine to use Western-provided weapons for deep strikes inside Russia up to this point.
But Ukraine is likely to want more from the Biden administration than being allowed to use European weapons for long-range strikes. Specifically, Ukraine wants to use American-made Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to strike Russia, given the high quality and range of the system, though the administration may be more unlikely to grant that request.
Besides loosening weapons restrictions, the administration has few other options. Though Biden was able to sign off on a congressionally approved $60 billion aid package for Ukraine in April, Congress isn’t expected to grant any more funding for the war between now and January, limiting the amount of assistance the administration can provide.
The Russia-Ukraine war has largely stalled out, with neither side conceding substantial territory to the other, although Ukrainian forces have recently made a surprising incursion into southern Russia and captured hundreds of miles of territory.
“They see this as part of their strategy to defend themselves, to develop leverage,” the senior administration told the WSJ.
Behind closed doors, however, administration officials are worried that Ukraine is dedicating too many forces to the incursion and stretching thin its forces trying to hold the front line against Russia, according to the WSJ. Russian forces have also begun a counteroffensive against Ukrainians spearheading an incursion, risking further escalation in the war.
Biden’s top aides realize the odds that Ukraine can secure a military victory against Russia by January are near zero, according to the WSJ. The Biden administration is not pressuring Kyiv to negotiate a peace deal with Russia, even though some lawmakers and national security experts believe that is the only way to end the war.
Instead, the administration is choosing to let Kyiv dictate war plans and “improve Ukraine’s strategic position to the greatest extent possible between now and the end of the term,” one senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitive nature of the matter, told the WSJ.
The Biden administration has been under scrutiny for its handling of the Russia-Ukraine war, with critics fearing that there is no strategy to end the war or push Ukraine toward a military victory, which itself seems unlikely. The U.S. has slowly become more involved in the war but it has done little to move the needle while Ukraine’s manpower continues to be exhausted.
The administration’s strategy “sounds an awful lot like a recipe for another endless war [because it is] unable to send enough weapons to make a decisive difference on the battlefield, and they don’t have a clear sense of what the endgame should be,” Rachel Rizzo, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told the WSJ.
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