Biden administration officials are arguing that the US needs to fund the wars in Ukraine and Gaza to send a message to China in their pitch for Congress to authorize a massive $105 billion spending package that includes military aid for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan.
“What happens in Ukraine, what happens in the Middle East, also matters for the Indo-Pacific. Beyond Europe, we know that our allies, as well as our adversaries, as well as our competitors, are watching that conflict. They’re watching our response,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday, according to The South China Morning Post.
“So the funding request … is vital to secure a free and open Indo-Pacific in the face of mounting challenges in that region,” Blinken added. The hearing came after Republicans in both the House and the Senate introduced bills to separate military aid for Israel from other issues.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin made the same argument at the hearing. “China would like to see the United States be unsuccessful,” Austin said. “They would like to see Russia continue to challenge us and keep us focused on that area so that we have less time, energy, and resources” to focus on the Asia Pacific.
The $105 billion request made by the White House includes $7.4 billion to advance the administration’s strategy against China in the Asia Pacific, including over $3 billion to finance submarine construction, $2 billion in assistance for regional countries, and $2 billion in military aid. It’s not clear if the $2 billion in military aid is exclusively for Taiwan.
The request also includes $61.4 billion to fund the proxy war in Ukraine for another year, $14.3 billion for Israel, $13.6 billion for border security, and $9.15 billion for humanitarian aid. The stand-alone Israel bills introduced by Republicans would also provide Israel with $14.3 billion, although the House version pays for it by cutting money from the Internal Revenue Service, which the White House is not happy about.
The MIC is going into overdrive……..!
“War, good god y’all, what is it good for?! Absolutely nothing! Say it again!”……
Whoah!
“Blinken Says US Needs to Fund Wars in Ukraine, Gaza Because of China”
Beta Boy Blinken needs to get a fair trial before he is hung as a war criminal.
He would be let off the hook for being certifiably nuts.
Wishful thinking on the war crimes in a “rules based” dictatorship.
What even is this logic? Let’s fund a bunch of proxy wars because China doesn’t want these wars and wants peace? China hasn’t been at war with anyone for 40 years, despite all of its unresolved territorial claims. They always sit down and talk. I wish we can say the same for us… But it’s always “bombs away!” before the negotiating table for our foreign policy blob…
Let’s also notice here how pathetic the border funding is compared to the war funding. Apparently securing Ukraine’s borders is so much more important than securing our own while thousands continue to walk in everyday with fradulent refugee claims.
NATO in Ukraine has already lost; 518 Aircraft, 254 helicopters, 8464 UAV’s, 441 Anti Aircraft systems, 13044 tanks inc. APC’s, 1172 multiple rocket launchers, 6929 field artillery and 14797 military automotive equipment. Approx. $1 Trillion of NATO hardware.
WW3 started in Ukraine in 2014 according to Jens Stoltenberg NATO Secretary General. The combined Western NATO nations overthrew the government in a violent bloody coup and installed Nazi’s in power.
These people are monsters, parasites on humanity, total psychopaths.
Who starter it? The United States of Atrocity. Its people; amnesiacs.
Blinken is using the same argument as Bill Kristol and others used for staying in Afghanistan: otherwise “we look weak” before other nations.
But staying in a bad position doesn’t make you look strong, Blinken knows that’s false. You look foolish. You also look like an aggressor who must be fought – with China and India drawing closer to Russia as a result. “If they can use this economic and military warfare against Russia, we can be next.”
Did anyone think the Soviet Union looked strong for being mired in a long war in Afghanistan?
That new Speaker of the House, is a Bible thumping maniac. Not original, though. His “Axis” is straight from W.
I would respectfully question your assertion that Blinken “knows” anything about the position he infests.
When it comes to competence on the job, Blinken and Trump are indistinguishable.
“our response.”. Garbage in, garbage out. When you start with the dogmatic assumption that the US government only ever responds to the aggressive actions of others and we never act aggressively ourselves, you end up with conclusions that are total BS.
Indeed, let us do for Taiwan what we’ve done for Ukraine.
Actually, the message China is getting seems to be that there’s a major opportunity to engage in diplomacy in the Middle East region, since the West is fully committed to pressure, intimidation, threats and violence.
Blinken is an idiot, China is focused on economics not warfare. They are the worlds most vociferous Capitalists, no warriors.
Yes they are and amazing they share the money with their citizens unlike Amerika.
Blinken should just shut up and do himself the favor of maintaining the illusion of knowing something about his job.
Not easy to pull off.