America is now like a shopper who has walked into a crowded porcelain doll store. The shopper dislodges, by accident, one expensive doll on a rack for it to break. The store’s policy, “You break it, you buy it,” applies. The shopper forks out the cash but has nothing to show for it in return except broken porcelain pieces.
To be sure, America has been a strong supporter of Ukraine even before Russia fired its first shots in February 2022. Having sent over $115 billion in weapons, logistical training, and humanitarian aid, the United States has been the largest benefactor of Ukraine to date. Put differently, every American household has borrowed and contributed $900 to Ukraine, and with the additional $61 billion, the total amount per household reaches $1,400.
When Speaker Johnson took the gavel nearly six months ago, and after Ukraine’s famed counter-offensive failed, America seemed to pause its support. The Beltway crowd – President Biden and his foreign policy team, Chuck Schumer, Mitch McConnell, and the Uniparty Neocons – were all for more aid for Ukraine. But Johnson refused to bring up the Senate bill for a vote, as was his prerogative as Speaker. The world waited, begged, persuaded, and cajoled Johnson – making trips to Washington to add pressure. A lack of American aid was coming in the way of Ukraine’s victory, so the appeal went. Johnson did not budge.
As Ukraine began failing on the battlefield, most recently surrendering Avdiivka, an embattled city in eastern Donetsk, the Russian advantage in troop strength, weapons, defensive systems, and strategy became clear. But Zelenskyy, the Beltway crowd, and the West again pushed Johnson to no avail, rather than seek peace. Military types, including commanders, testified in Congress about the urgency of aid. Johnson remained unmoved.
The drumbeat then changed. If the $61 billion aid package did not pass, Ukraine would face defeat by December 2024. It was no longer that Putin would not stop at Ukraine. It was no longer that China would become emboldened to harass Taiwan. Ukraine would face defeat, and by extension, that would mean the West would be defeated, too.
The chief proponent of this view was respected CIA Director Bill Burns, who, having served as ambassador to Russia from 2005 to 2008, had cut a profile as an adult who understood both sides of the Ukraine-Russia situation rather than the military-industrial complex propagandists within the Beltway. Burns, who speaks fluent Russian, had warned then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in 2008 about how Ukrainian entry into NATO would be a problem.
In more than two and a half years of conversations with key Russian players, from knuckle-draggers in the dark recesses of the Kremlin to Putin’s sharpest liberal critics, I have yet to find anyone who views Ukraine in NATO as anything other than a direct challenge to Russian interests.
Whether Burns was the influence that helped change Johnson’s mind, one will never know. Almost like turning on a light bulb, Johnson pulled a 180 and became an ardent supporter of Ukraine aid. We noted that the last holdout on Ukraine funding had caved. Johnson instantly declared himself a wartime speaker, although neither President Biden nor Congress had formally declared that America was at war. Johnson said that sending aid to Ukraine was “the right thing to do,” even if it meant asking Democrats for help to push through a vote in the Rules Committee. The maneuver helped him remain Speaker, a position that he covets.
Partisan Ukraine watchers, such as Alexander Vindman, who was a crucial player when former President Trump was impeached regarding Ukraine and now runs a business to help weaponize Ukraine and, therefore, directly benefit from the aid package, used a different justification. Vindman said the assistance would give Ukraine a “big boost of morale.”
Whatever the justification for the aid, America has gone so deep into the problem that, like our proverbial shopper in the doll store, it is forever intertwined with what will happen in Ukraine. If Ukraine wins or manages to avoid defeat by the end of the year, it would be because of America’s aid and Speaker Johnson, who would then be a hero. If Ukraine loses, that would be because Johnson did not act for six months, and the aid came too late. Other structural problems that Ukraine has – such as an inability to draft sufficient numbers of soldiers and a lack of training to operate sophisticated weapons, such as the F-16 – would all pale in comparison. America dilly-dallied, and Ukraine lost, will be the narrative.
America finds itself in a terrible position in Ukraine and Israel. Both countries are critically dependent upon America’s generosity, military support, and diplomatic influence. Still, neither is under any obligation to America to conduct their offensive or defensive operations per Washington’s wishes. It is a classic case of being responsible for an outcome but wielding no authority. America now owns the Ukraine problem, and it never had to. This one was utterly optional and a headache that could easily have been avoided.
Worse, it has become more obvious than ever before that America is driving a large-scale proxy war against Russia. It is unconscionable that our leaders have committed America so deeply to a conflict with a military superpower. Yet, not one leader has convinced Americans why the “as long as it takes” war 5,000 miles away between two countries is so crucial to America’s national interest. It also confirms that we failed to learn our lesson after spending trillions of dollars in Iraq. Kudos to our leaders for adding an additional $500 of debt on behalf of each American household, bringing the total debt to $272,808 per household.
Our previous prediction that the war would last until January 2025 now appears more certain. This reinforces the need for a change in America’s leadership.
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1. Israel Asks U.S. For More Ammunition As Tension With Iran Rises – Bloomberg
Israel is asking the U.S. for more tank ammunition and tactical vehicles, sources familiar with the matter said, as PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s government looks to replenish its stockpiles amid the war in Gaza and increasing tensions with Iran.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that the administration was weighing the request for $1 billion in 120mm tank ammunition, vehicles, and mortar rounds.
Any such request will again put the Biden administration in a delicate position. Although President Joe Biden has said U.S. support for Israel’s defense is “ironclad,” he’s also been criticized for failing to blunt the severity of Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza, which has killed at least 30,000 people.
2. Abbas Says Palestinian Authority Will ‘Reconsider’ Relations With U.S. – AFP
The Palestinian Authority will “reconsider” its relationship with the United States after Washington vetoed a Palestinian bid for full UN membership earlier this week, President Mahmoud Abbas said.
Thursday’s vote saw 12 countries on the UN Security Council back a resolution recommending full Palestinian membership and two – Britain and Switzerland – abstain. Only the United States, Israel’s staunchest ally, voted against it, using its veto to block the resolution.
3. Ending Israeli Occupation Of Palestinian Territories ‘First Priority,’ Turkey FM Says – Reuters
The tension between Israel and Iran should not distract from the situation in Gaza, and the priority of the international community should be ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said.
Fidan was speaking in Istanbul during a visit by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, who urged Iran and Israel to exercise restraint. “Our first priority should be ending Israel’s occupation in Palestine and a two-state solution,” Fidan said.
4. Ukraine: U.S. House Passes Crucial Aid Deal Worth $61bn – BBC
The much-delayed measure had vocal opponents in Congress, and it took a fragile bipartisan deal to get the $61bn package through. Now, the focus shifts from “whether” to “when” lethal aid arrives.
The foreign aid package passed on Saturday also includes $26.4bn in military support for Israel, with $9.1bn of that allocated to humanitarian aid for Gaza and $8.1bn in funding for allies in the Asia-Pacific, including Taiwan, to “counter communist China.”
5. Russia Says U.S. Aid To Ukraine Will Hurt Ukraine, Cause More Deaths – Reuters
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the U.S. House of Representatives’ approval of security aid to Ukraine would lead to more damage and deaths in the conflict there.
The decision “will make the United States of America richer, further ruin Ukraine, and result in the deaths of even more Ukrainians, the fault of the Kyiv regime,” Peskov was quoted as saying.
6. Russia Likely Lost 100 Combat Planes In Ukraine War, Says U.K. – dpa
A Russian strategic bomber aircraft was likely brought down by the Ukrainian Air Force, according to an estimate by the British Defense Ministry, “the first instance of a strategic bomber being shot down by Ukrainian air-defense systems.”
The Russian Air Force had lost one of its Tupolev Tu-22M3 supersonic heavy bombers. While the Russian Defense Ministry said there had been a crash likely caused by technical problems, Ukraine claimed it was shot down.
7. Russia Doesn’t Have Capability To Knock Ukraine Out Of War: Ex-U.S. Commander – Al Jazeera
General Ben Hodges, who once commanded NATO forces in Europe, said in an interview that a paralyzed U.S. Congress, overly cautious White House administration, and fearful allies in Europe constitute a Russian marketing success.
Hodges was deeply skeptical about Russia’s success in conventional warfare. Russia, he said, lacked the ability to equip large armored formations that could move rapidly with supporting artillery, engineers, and logistics.
“They do not have the capability to knock Ukraine out of the war.”
8. Blinken To Visit China Amid Claims About Russia Support – RFA
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Shanghai and Beijing from Wednesday to Friday, a senior State Department official, who spoke on anonymity, said.
Blinken’s trip comes as he and others in Washington accuse Beijing of “fueling” Russia’s war in Ukraine by helping to resupply its military. The official said he could not confirm that Blinken would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping during the visit.
9. China Accelerates Purge At State-Owned Companies To Fight Graft – Nikkei Asia
China has replaced more than three times as many top executives at state-owned companies this year as it did in the same period in 2023.
The trend signals a growing push to stamp out corruption at what it considers some of the country’s most critical businesses.
10. U.S. House Passes Bill That Could Ban TikTok – D.W.
The bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives could ban the wildly popular video creation and sharing app TikTok in the U.S. unless it divests from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
The bill gives Chinese owner ByteDance nine months to sell the app, with a potential three-month extension if a sale is underway. The parent company would also be barred from controlling TikTok’s algorithm, which feeds users videos based on their needs.
11. Drug Shortages, Now Normal In UK, Made Worse By Brexit, Report Warns – The Guardian
Drug shortages are a “new normal” in the UK and are being exacerbated by Brexit, a report by the Nuffield Trust health think tank has warned.
While global manufacturing problems linked to Covid, inflation, and the war in Ukraine have added to the situation, Britain’s departure from the EU in 2020 has significantly aggravated the problem and laid bare the “fragility” of the country’s medicines supply networks and could lead to the situation worsening, the report said.
12. U.S. Agrees To Withdraw Troops From Niger Amid Sahel Region’s Pivot To Russia – Al Jazeera
The United States will withdraw its soldiers from Niger as the West African nation is increasingly turning to Russia and away from Western powers.
U.S. media reported that the U.S. Department of State agreed to withdraw about 1,000 troops from the country, which has been under military rule since July 2023. Officials said no timeline had yet been set.
13. West Africa’s Sahel Becoming A Drug Trafficking Corridor, UN Warns – Al Jazeera
Drug seizures have soared in the West African Sahel region, according to a new United Nations report, indicating the conflict-ridden region is becoming an influential route for drug trafficking.
Cocaine is the most seized drug in the Sahel after cannabis resin, the report said.
The location of the Sahel – lying south of the Sahara desert and running from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea – makes it a natural transit point for the increasing amount of cocaine produced in South America and destined for Europe.
14. Armenia Agrees To Return 4 Villages To Azerbaijan As First Step To Define Borders – RFE/RL
Armenia has agreed to return four abandoned border villages it has controlled since the early 1990s to Azerbaijan as the initial step in defining the frontier between the two bitter South Caucasus rivals.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought wars over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, with more than 30,000 people killed.
Azerbaijan regained control of Nagorno-Karabakh in a lightning military offensive last year, but much of the border between the countries remains in dispute.
15. Canary Islands Residents Protest Mass Tourism – D.W.
Tens of thousands of people protested across the Canary Islands, demanding a reevaluation of the tourism strategy in the Spanish archipelago and a pause in the number of visitors.
Protest organizers say mass tourism perpetuates an economic model that harms residents. They want authorities to temporarily limit tourist arrivals to curb a boom in short-term rentals and hotel construction that drives up housing costs for locals. They are also calling for restrictions on foreign property purchases.
16. Managing Blood Sugar May Prevent Brain Bleed For Stroke Survivors – HealthDay News
Managing a stroke victim’s blood sugar levels after they receive powerful clot-busting drugs might help them survive their health crisis, a new trial finds.
People with high blood sugar levels were more likely to suffer a potentially deadly brain bleed after clot-busters reopened their blocked brain arteries, researchers found. Every 10-point increase in average blood sugar increased the odds of a brain bleed by 8%.
17. Fruits, Vegetables Contain Concerning Levels Of Pesticides, Report Finds – HealthDay News
A new report finds that nearly 20% of fresh, frozen, and canned fruits and vegetables Americans eat contain concerning levels of pesticides.
The review from Consumer Reports found that pesticides posed significant risks in popular choices such as strawberries, green beans, bell peppers, blueberries, and potatoes.
The report said that strawberries, typically the frozen variety, were most of the highly contaminated produce. This is because strawberries grow low to the ground and are, therefore, more accessible to bugs.
Republished with permission from TIPP Insights
