“What are the potential unintended consequences of arming Ukraine? I don’t know the answer,” O’Rourke told Sputnik, stating his concern that potential consequences do exist. “I don’t know what those potential threats are in Ukraine, and I would like to hear from our military leadership and also from our policy leadership about how they are approaching those potential consequences.”
The congressman argued that at time the United States has initiated interventions “that make a lot of sense at the time,” including supporting the Mujahadeen in the Soviet-Afghan war, he said, adding that however “we didn’t look at…the second or third order consequences.”
During a Tuesday House Armed Services Committee hearing, O’Rourke asked Director of Operations for the US Joint Staff, Lieutenant General William Mayville to explain the consequences of military aid involvement in Ukraine. Mayville expressed the need for the US to uphold its NATO commitments, but did not elaborate potential consequences.
The US Congress has already passed legislation authorizing $350 million in possible defensive aid to Ukraine, but according to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee press release, the funds have not yet been appropriated.
US President Barack Obama has been reluctant to provide military assistance to Kiev, a position his administration is continuously assessing, according to a Monday statement by the White House.
