The administration, which claims to be “saving the soul of democracy,” has once again ignored the legislature.
Ukraine's new law gives new rights $61 billion When the bill passed in April, lawmakers made the funding subject to certain conditions. One big one was that: invoiceThe bill required the administration to present a war strategy within 45 days. The deadline for submitting that strategy was June 4, but the Biden administration's agenda is two months late.
You'd be forgiven for thinking we had a strategy in place before sending more than $175 billion of American taxpayer money to the plains of Eastern Europe. Two years into a war that has claimed a million lives, Congress wanted a plan that sets out “specific and achievable objectives” and prioritizes “the national security interests of the United States.” Congress also rightly asked for our best guess as to how our actions in Ukraine would be perceived by Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.
When the plan finally reaches lawmakers' desks, it will likely be a thousand pages of shoddy government writing. Gone are the days when American leaders could clearly and concisely state their reasons for going to war and American representatives could vote to either get the country into a conflict or not.
The United States has not declared war since 1942. The Roosevelt administration's war plans were known to all Americans from the first day in office.Old Parliament On December 8, 1941, President Roosevelt declared that the United States would “win an absolute victory” and ensure that “such treachery would never again endanger us.” Though it seems hard to believe now, Roosevelt's demand for “absolute victory” was controversial in that it meant the United States needed to conquer, not just defeat, Imperial Japan and the Third Reich.
Today, our leaders have stopped seeking the approval of the American people regarding conflict. Since we renamed the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense has become much more combative.
The war in Ukraine is the latest example. The American public has not been adequately briefed on the risks of fighting in this faraway place, or the implications of U.S. involvement. Our lame-duck president, in a speech about Ukraine, referred to Russian President Putin as ” “War criminal” and”We know Putin won't stop in UkraineThis is the basis of his argument, and he expects the American people to accept it without debate.
But blaming the president is not a sound strategy.
First, the risk. The US is fighting a proxy war with Russia. The Russian people belief It is clear that NATO is at war with the US and the Western powers. NATO's expansion towards Moscow is a major red line for Russia. It is also a breach of the US's promise that it would not “move NATO's borders one inch eastwards” towards Moscow. Vladimir Putin drew the red line in 2007 after NATO moved 1,000 miles east. He said that NATO's expansion is “a serious provocation that reduces the level of mutual trust. And we have the right to ask against whom this expansion is intended.”
This concern has dogged Russian leaders for centuries: Poland invaded Russia in 1605, Sweden in 1707, France in 1812, and Germany in 1914 and 1941. In World War II alone, the Soviet Union suffered 24 million deaths, an incomprehensible figure that far exceeds American casualties of 418,000.
Whatever you think of the Russian political system or Vladimir Putin, it is true that Russia has often been a target of Western aggression over the past 500 years. The threat of nuclear war The issues surrounding Ukraine are worth taking seriously.
Another risk is to our own significant weapons stockpiles: Ukraine is consuming American missiles and ammunition at an unsustainable rate. Congressional Research ServiceWe gave Ukraine “more than 10,000” Javelins and “more than 2,000” Stingers. The “+” is a secrecy cover to hide the exact number, but it is safe to assume that there is a shortage of these weapons for the country's defense. Until 2022, the United States has not purchased any Stingers since 2003, and the missile line was completely closed in 2020. Even in the most optimistic scenario, it is unlikely that the Stingers provided to Ukraine will be replenished until 2028.
Finally, the massive taxpayer spending going to Ukraine amounts to enough money to double the U.S. Navy fleet. And what’s worse, it’s debt. $175 billion is money we don’t have, and that doesn’t include interest on the debt.
Given the danger and the money at stake, Congress should demand that the Biden administration follow the law. The American people deserve a full accounting.
Morgan Murphy is a former Pentagon spokesman, National Security Advisor to the U.S. Senate, and Afghanistan veteran.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
As an independent, nonpartisan news service, all content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation is available free of charge to any legitimate news publisher with a large readership. All republished articles must include our logo, reporter byline, and affiliation with the DCNF. If you have any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact us at licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
