2023-10-20 03:50:45
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, announced this Thursday that on Friday he will send Congress an “urgent” budget request to finance “the national security needs” of the United States and support Israel and Ukraine.
“It is a smart investment that will pay dividends for American security for generations,” Biden said in a speech from the Oval Office of the White House, which was broadcast live on the country’s main television networks.
“American leadership,” the president said, “is what keeps the world united” and “walking away from Ukraine” or “turning our backs on Israel.” is “putting all this at risk” and “it’s not worth it”.
According to the American press, Biden will request, among other amounts, $60 billion for the war in Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel and $14 billion for the United States border.
“Help us keep American troops out of harm’s way. Help us build a safer, more peaceful and more prosperous world for our children and grandchildren,” Biden said, showing his clear objective of mobilizing public opinion to put pressure on Congress, which is united in the need to support Israel, but divided in support for Ukraine.
In Israel, the president continued, “We must ensure that they have what they need to protect their people today and always” and therefore this Friday’s request will represent “an unprecedented commitment” to its security “that will sharpen the qualitative military advantage” of the country.
“We will ensure that the Iron Dome continues to protect Israel’s skies. We will ensure that other hostile actors in the region know that Israel is stronger than ever and we will prevent this conflict from spreading,” he said.
Biden also asked Congress to continue providing aid to Ukraine, to “stop Putin’s brutality.” The United States is “the essential nation” for the country’s defense, said Biden, who recalled that he will not send American troops to fight in Ukraine.
In the US Congress, both Democrats and Republicans support Israel and have expressed willingness to provide it with more military aid.
However, as far as Ukraine is concerned, The political scenario is different: the majority of Democrats are united in their support for kyiv, while Republicans are divided.
Specifically, the majority of Republicans in the Senate, especially their leader, Mitch McConnell, support continued support for Ukraine in the face of Russia.
However, the most radical wing of the Republican Party, similar to former President Donald Trump (2017-2021), opposes this idea and, at the end of September, already used its influence in the United States Lower House to block the approval of more aid to Ukraine.
“I know we have our divisions at home. We have to overcome them. We cannot allow petty politics and angry partisanship to get in the way of our responsibility as a great nation,” he said.
The United States cannot, he added, allow “terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin” to advance.
In this context, the Republicans continue without a leader in the House of Representatives, where they have a majority after winning that chamber in the November 2022 elections. There is no clear option to replace Paul McCarthy after the radical wing of the Republican Party removed him on October 3, in an unprecedented event in the history of the United States.
Faced with this situation, Biden has decided to link aid to Israel, which has broad support in both parties, with aid to Ukraine, in an attempt to overcome the blockade that it has encountered until now due to the opposition of the pro-Trump House Republicans.
A study by the European Consortium for Political Research last February estimated that in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine more than 76 thousand have died on the Russian side and more than 17 thousand on the Ukrainian side.
While in the Israel-Palestine conflict it is estimated that on the Hebrew side there are 1,403 dead and on the Palestinian side 3,478 in Gaza and 69 in the West Bank.
#Biden #Congress #resources #Israel #Ukraine