Gen. Dempsey: US Should Send Arms to Ukraine

Insists Putin Trying to 'Fracture NATO'

Speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Martin Dempsey expressed support for providing “lethal aid” to the Ukrainian military for the ongoing civil war.

“It ought to be in the context of NATO allies because Putin’s ultimate objective is to fracture NATO,” Dempsey insisted. The Obama Administration has been “considering” such arms for weeks.

Dempsey’s call for new arms shipments is in spite of a ceasefire that was reached weeks ago in Minsk, but reflects Pentagon desires to insinuate themselves more directly in the Ukrainian Civil War, even if that means restarting it.

The US Army is planning to send 300 troops to western Ukraine on a “training” mission, and appears to intend to keep that many troops there through the end of October.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.