By Patrick MacFarlan
October 22, 2022:
Information Clearing House
-- As it pertains to the
American public, Ukraine’s response to the
Russian invasion can be summed up with two
words: "Zelensky
demands."
To date, Washington elites and their
politicians have been happy to provide – at
public expense – lining their own pockets in the
process.
As of this writing, U.S. aid for Ukraine has
reached approximately $67.5 billion, a figure
greater than Russia’s
entire 2021 military budget. According to
the State Department, this support
includes $15.2 billion in direct military
assistance. The support comes although 60-70% of
lethal aid never reaches the front lines,
according to a
now-redacted CBS interview with
on-the-ground activists.
Not only is the American taxpayer supporting
much of the Ukrainian military, it is also
supporting the Ukrainian government. The same
working class Americans who were deemed
"nonessential" in 2020 – who saw their
businesses shuttered and burned down – now have
to pay entitlement programs both at home and
in Ukraine.
As of September 30, 2022, the US has
provided $13 billion in "direct budget
support," which is ostensibly used;
…to pay government salaries, meet pension
obligations, maintain hospitals and schools, and
protect critical infrastructure[,] support
continuity operations at the national, regional,
and local levels, support for [sic] the health
sector, agricultural production, civil society,
[and enable] programs to hold Russia and its
forces accountable for their actions in Ukraine.
Although American taxpayers have already
matched Russia’s 2021 military budget, Ukrainian
president Volodomyr Zelensky only demands more.
During an October 4 phone call, President Biden
reviewed Washington’s latest $625 million dole
to Zelensky. It
includes, inter alia, 4 additional
High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS),
16 155mm Howitzers, 75,000 155 mm artillery
rounds, 500 precision-guided 155mm artillery
rounds, 16 105mm Howitzers, 30,000 120 mm mortar
rounds, and 200 MaxxPro Mine Resistant Ambush
Protected Vehicles.
This latest boon notwithstanding, in the same
phone call, Zelensky
urged Biden to provide Ukraine with air
defense systems that will be used to shoot down
Russian planes. Par for the course, Washington
elites
will provide the weapons systems and have
even expedited their shipment per Zelensky’s
demand.
Much like Washington’s response to COVID-19,
a no-holds-barred approach to Ukraine is so
widely supported, it is a foregone conclusion.
Despite this, some Republicans have valiantly
opposed this rampant and provocative spending.
Notable dissenters are: Sen. Rand Paul
(R-KY), Sen.
Josh Hawley (R-MS), Rep. Thomas Massie
(R-KY), Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-GA), and
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
Republicans like Taylor-Greene, Gaetz, and
Hawley understand the cost of empire: endless
warfare, a decaying home front, and a beclowned
international reputation. They understand that a
war between the U.S. and Russia will be unlike
anything Americans have ever experienced.
Although they cloak their condemnation of war
with Russia in criticism of "weak Joe Biden,"
they understand it is the West that provoked
this conflict and seeks to prolong it "to
the last Ukrainian." They know that the
conflict – even if it remains by-proxy – is a
cost war-weary working class Americans do not
want and cannot afford.
They must, then, realize that the same
Washington elites waxing American fat off the
Ukraine conflict are cultivating Taiwanese
President Tsai Ing-wen as a Zelensky in-waiting.
Although US military aid to Taiwan
traditionally comes by way of arms sales, that
may soon change. Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ)
and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have introduced the
Taiwan Policy Act – a piece of legislation that
would radically overhaul Sino-American
relations.
In short, "the Taiwan Policy Act would give
Taiwan $6.5 billion in military aid, give the
island the benefits of being a ‘major non-NATO
ally,’ expedite arms sales to Taipei, and
require sanction in the event of Chinese
aggression." The bill would also authorize up to
$2 billion in loans to Taiwan.
On September 14, the bill passed the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee. Rather than passing
it as a standalone piece of legislation, the
bill’s supporters
currently seek to incorporate "much" of the
bill into the $817 billion 2023 National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA).
Thankfully, on Monday, it was revealed that
the diplomatic language applying sanctions
against China and designating Taiwan as a "major
non-NATO ally," was removed from the NDAA
version of the Taiwan Policy Act. However, this
latest NDAA version would
almost double the $6.5 billion in direct
military aid originally proposed, bringing the
grand total to $10 billion.
A final vote on the modified NDAA is expected
after the November midterm elections.
As above noted, the Taiwan Policy Act was
introduced in the Senate on June 16, 2022 by
Senators Bob Menendez and Lindsey Graham. Both
Menendez and
Graham are ardent supporters of Ukraine and
Zelensky.
Graham
met with Zelensky in July to hand deliver a
plaque of his proposed Senate resolution to
designate Russia as a State Sponsor of
Terrorism. Since the Russian invasion, Graham
has made regular appearances on Fox News
whipping up lethal aid for Ukraine while
calling for regime change in Moscow.
Menendez, as Chair of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, has spearheaded
Washington’s Ukraine support. In January, he
began and
continues to lead the comprehensive US
sanctions campaign against Russia. In March,
Menendez
lambasted Congressional Republicans, mainly
Senator Rick Scott (R-FL), for undermining
Ukraine aid. In May, Menendez, among others,
introduced a Senate resolution approving the
bids of Finland and Sweden to join NATO
(something Josh Hawley
correctly opposed).
On June 23 Menendez specifically invoked the
75th anniversary of the Marshall Plan to stoke
support for Ukraine. The problem with this
comparison is that the Marshall Plan came after
WWII, not during it. At this point in time, a
similar plan would only further involve the US
in a conflict with Russia.
Republicans opposing US support for Ukraine
should take note that both Menendez and Graham
have
repeatedly met with Taiwanese President Tsai
Ing-wen to pledge American support for Taiwan.
In their latest visit on April 15, 2022,
president Ing-wen called Lindsey Graham a
"pillar of strength for Taiwan in the US
Congress" and dubbed Menendez one of Taiwan’s
"staunchest friends."
In his meeting remarks, Graham likened US
support for Ukraine to its support for Taiwan,
saying:
[a]s we’re here today to show our support
for Taiwan, all of us have our hearts broken
regarding the people of Ukraine…I just want to
let you know that, while we’ve been watching the
Ukraine on television, while it has broken our
hearts, the American people understand how
important you are to us…So here’s my promise to
the Taiwanese people: We’re going to start
making China pay a greater price for what
they’re doing all over the world. The support
for Putin must come with a price. The
never-ending cyberattacks on your economy and
your people by the Communist Chinese need to
come with a price.
Menendez echoed Graham’s sentiment in his own
remarks, shedding light on Washington’s
Ukrainian plans for Taiwan:
…I am proud to be back to reaffirm our
rock-solid relationship with Taiwan…So you have
a high-level delegation whose attention could be
brought any place in the world – and for which
many of our colleagues are right now in Europe,
dealing with the challenges of Ukraine – but we
understand that here in Taiwan, here in this
region – this is where the future is.
[Emphasis added].
Menendez followed up these remarks with an
op-ed in The New York Times,
stating:
Vladimir Putin’s brutal attack on his
Ukrainian neighbors has sparked global outrage –
and forged unprecedented unity – among the
democratic nations of the world. Not so with Xi
Jinping, the hypernationalist president of the
People’s Republic of China. Rather, he is no
doubt taking notes and learning lessons from
Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine to apply
to his plans for Taiwan. The United States and
our partners in the international community need
to do the same to develop and put in place a new
and more resilient strategy for Taiwan while
there is still time.
These remarks should terrify working class
Americans. Essentially, Menendez is proposing a
redoubling of military support for Taiwan – the
same "preventive policy" which
played a large role in provoking Putin to
invade Ukraine. We simply cannot afford it.
The above-named Congressional Republicans
were right to oppose aid to Ukraine. For those
same reasons, they should oppose adding Tsai
Ing-wen to the same dole as the entitled and
ungrateful Zelensky.
Like Rand Paul, they should oppose the
Taiwan Policy Act in all its forms.
This originally appeared at the
Libertarian Institute
Patrick MacFarlane is the Justin Raimondo
Fellow at the
Libertarian Institute where he advocates a
noninterventionist foreign policy. He is a
Wisconsin attorney in private practice. He is
the host of the Vital Dissent at
www.vitaldissent.com, where he seeks to
oppose calamitous escalation in US foreign
policy by exposing establishment narratives with
well-researched documentary content and
insightful guest interviews. His work has
appeared on antiwar.com, GlobalResearch.ca, and
Zerohedge. He may be reached at
patrick@libertarianinstitute.org.
Views expressed in this article are
solely those of the author and do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
in this article are
solely those of the author and do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
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