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‘Believe in the US!’ Biden's Aide Asks Ukraine to Wait for $60 bn That May Never Come
‘Believe in the US!’ Biden's Aide Asks Ukraine to Wait for $60 bn That May Never Come
Sputnik International
Visiting Kiev on Wednesday, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan called on his Ukrainian hosts “not to give up on the US”. He promised the US Congress would eventually unblock the $60-billion package of military aid for Kiev
2024-03-21T19:24+0000
2024-03-21T19:24+0000
2024-03-21T19:36+0000
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That pledge added little to Sullivan’s statement during his joint visit with Biden to Kiev thirteen months ago – when he promised the House of Representatives would unblock the package “eventually” – and definitely not worth a wait of more than a year.Sullivan was much more generous with words than with money.That statement of ‘everyday help’ was at odds with Mr. Sullivan’s own comments during the same visit to Kiev that “Ukrainian troops are now forced to ration their ammunition under pressure on many fronts.”According to Defense News, “US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) is asking Congress for $11 billion more than the White House’s fiscal 2025 defense budget request.”Besides construction works, Aquilino added to the bill — to be footed by a US taxpayer — a $1.4-billion “classified space program” and $1 billion-worth of development for INDOPACOM’s own maritime Strike Tomahawk cruise missile. Another $396.9 million would be spent on Hammerhead sea mines “designed to be delivered by unmanned underwater vehicles and surface vessels.”Admiral Aquilino has a very strong argument to support his financial appetites. “China is becoming the most serious threat to the United States now,” he was quoted by Asia Times as testifying on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC.Such a great threat justifies requests for more money. According to Asia Times, “Aquilino is asking for an extra $27 billion over five years for the so-called Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI). The admiral says this will allow him to get weapons and forces in place with the needed capabilities to take on China’s Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA).”Isn’t that too much for just one US admiral? The local experts see nothing impossible here.In the meantime, the German media increasingly speculates that president Biden may dispose of his allies in Ukraine pretty much the same way he disposed of America’s friends in Afghanistan.The newspaper suggests that, most likely, America is tired of financing the Ukrainian government and arming its military. After all, besides $60 billion for Ukraine, the US budget next year is expected to foot the bill for Israel ($14 billion), not to mention Yemen, Egypt and Ethiopia ($1-2 billion each). All those countries are more or less at war. Such is the price of alliance with the US.
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‘Believe in the US!’ Biden's Aide Asks Ukraine to Wait for $60 bn That May Never Come
19:24 GMT 21.03.2024 (Updated: 19:36 GMT 21.03.2024) Visiting Kiev on Wednesday, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan called on his Ukrainian hosts “not to give up on the US”. He promised the US Congress would eventually unblock the $60-billion package of military aid for Kiev in a "bipartisan" Congress funding bill.
That pledge added little to Sullivan’s statement during his joint visit with Biden to Kiev thirteen months ago – when he promised the House of Representatives would unblock the package “eventually” – and definitely not worth a wait of more than a year.
Sullivan was much more generous with words than with money.
“You should believe in the United States,” he told his hosts in Kiev. “We have provided enormous support and we continue to do so every day and every way we know how.”
That statement of ‘everyday help’ was at odds with Mr. Sullivan’s own comments during the same visit to Kiev that “Ukrainian troops are now forced to ration their ammunition under pressure on many fronts.”
“It is interesting that the same Jake Sullivan made equally pompous promises, visiting Indo-Pacific Military Command. And there too people wanted more money and weapons from him,” Scott Bennett, a former State Department counterterrorism officer now turned an opposition activist, told Sputnik. “The Indo-Pacific Command of US armed forces is saying they too, just like Ukrainians, can’t do with what we give them. Our soldiers and proxies want more both in Europe and on Fiji. May be, they are just using these resources in an inefficient, corrupt way?”
According to Defense News, “US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) is asking Congress for $11 billion more than the White House’s fiscal 2025 defense budget request.”
“An amount three times greater than the wish list INDOPACOM submitted last year,” Defense news writes, adding that most of the additional money is required for “military construction.” US Admiral John Aquilino, now the commander of US forces in the Indo-Pacific, wants “better infrastructure to host US forces in the region.”
Besides construction works, Aquilino added to the bill — to be footed by a US taxpayer — a $1.4-billion “classified space program” and $1 billion-worth of development for INDOPACOM’s own maritime Strike Tomahawk cruise missile. Another $396.9 million would be spent on Hammerhead sea mines “designed to be delivered by unmanned underwater vehicles and surface vessels.”
Admiral Aquilino has a very strong argument to support his financial appetites. “China is becoming the most serious threat to the United States now,” he was quoted by Asia Times as testifying on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC.
Such a great threat justifies requests for more money. According to Asia Times, “Aquilino is asking for an extra $27 billion over five years for the so-called Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI). The admiral says this will allow him to get weapons and forces in place with the needed capabilities to take on China’s Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA).”
Isn’t that too much for just one US admiral? The local experts see nothing impossible here.
“Consider the hundreds of billions in aid that Washington forked out over the last 20 years in hopes of creating what has turned out to be an elusive liberal democracy in Afghanistan,” Asia Times comments ironically.
In the meantime, the German media increasingly speculates that president Biden may dispose of his allies in Ukraine pretty much the same way he disposed of America’s friends in Afghanistan.
“Even inside the anti-Trump establishment in the US, there is a certain vision of the Ukrainian conflict that is becoming predominant,” writes Berliner Zeitung. “According to that vision, Ukraine can’t win this war and it needs to be ended only through some kind of negotiation – without preliminary conditions – with Russia.”
The newspaper suggests that, most likely, America is tired of financing the Ukrainian government and arming its military. After all, besides $60 billion for Ukraine, the US budget next year is expected to foot the bill for Israel ($14 billion), not to mention Yemen, Egypt and Ethiopia ($1-2 billion each). All those countries are more or less at war. Such is the price of alliance with the US.
