- Sputnik International, 1920
Analysis
Enjoy in-depth, acute analysis of the most pressing local, regional and global trends at Sputnik!

Why US Funding May be Diverted From Ukraine to Israel

© AFP 2023 / JIM WATSONUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky listens during a meeting with US President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 21, 2023.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky listens during a meeting with US President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 21, 2023. - Sputnik International, 1920, 10.10.2023
Subscribe
The White House is seeking to attach Ukraine funding to the urgent package for Israel, in a hope that it will help circumvent House Republicans' opposition to further assistance to Kiev, according to the US mainstream press.
House Republicans have signaled strong support to Israel and speeded up efforts to elect a new House speaker. For its part, the White House has reportedly decided to capitalize on the momentum and pair urgent funds to Tel Aviv with a Ukraine military package.
Biden officials are said to have held talks with top House and Senate figures to secure additional military supplies for Israel. Per the US press, the request could come to the US Congress as early as next week.
"The funding is probably going to be diverted more to Israel," Michael Maloof, a former senior security policy analyst in the Office of the US Secretary of Defense, told Sputnik. "And I think the American people see that the Ukrainians just were not able to muster a counteroffensive and billions of dollars were expended and nothing to show for it. So Europeans are thinking the same way. And as we approach a winter which promises to be much more severe than in previous years, they're going to be looking more inward in the European countries to their needs that are critical needs to survive. So I think in terms of US funding, first of all, nothing is going to get passed because we can't get a House speaker and the House cannot take up anything unless and until it has a permanent House speaker."
An Israeli soldier takes cover as an Iron Dome air defence system launches to intercept a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel - Sputnik International, 1920, 09.10.2023
World
Will US Put Ukraine on Back Burner While Aiding Israel?
It is unclear how big the Israeli package would be. However, per Maloof, Israel's lobby in DC appears to be much stronger than the Ukrainian one. Prior to the Israeli-Hamas war, the Biden administration was considering seeking a $100 billion package for Ukraine. However, some Freedom Caucus Republicans have already signaled they are against merging Israel and Ukraine aid in one bill. "They shouldn’t be tied together. I will not vote to fund Ukraine," GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia told the US press.
"I think the White House proposal will be D.O.A. or dead on arrival unless the House and the Senate are in some kind of a mood whereby they give a bulk of stuff to funding to Israel and maybe a very small token portion to Ukraine. But I don't know that. The Republicans especially and the American people, frankly, have had enough of Ukraine," Maloof said.
The US Capitol is seen at dusk as the House meets to vote on a rules package for the 118th Congress, in Washington, DC, on January 9, 2023.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 10.10.2023
Russia's Special Operation in Ukraine
White House Says May Ask Congress for More Funding to Support Israel, Ukraine
Earlier, the National Security Council coordinator for Strategic Communication, John Kirby, said that the US is perfectly capable of supporting both Ukraine and Israel. Even though Biden administration officials have put on brave faces claiming that Washington could fund both, it's not actually the case, according to the US military expert.
Maloof suspects that the Israel-Hamas conflict could "explode into something much, much larger than just between Israel and the Palestinians." "So we may be dealing with at least two conflicts at once," he said, adding that the US is concurrently poking China over the Taiwan Island. It appears the US could easily outstretch itself.
"We're hearing complaints from the people who actually manage that stuff, manage those logistics, and they're saying they're short. Already we're hearing reports that the US military is being delayed in receiving its own armaments because of the shipments to Ukraine.
"And if the United States decides to go and defend Taiwan and provide assistance there too, potentially looking at a three front war. I don't know how we do it. And we and if the United States is goaded by Israel to bomb Iran. Oh, it's the world will be in flames. Unfortunately, in the past, when I look at worst case scenarios, they generally turn out to be true," Maloof concluded.
IDF Soldiers in Nablus during operation Defense Shield  - Sputnik International, 1920, 10.10.2023
World
Israel's Gaza Land Op May Turn Into Urban 'Meat Grinder'
Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала