In a tense game of chicken, remarkable for its mix of petulance and audacity, congressional Republicans are threatening to halt U.S. aid to Ukraineā€”guaranteeing a Russian breakthrough and possible victory in that warā€”unless Democrats help pass a bill that all but locks down Americaā€™s Southern border.

If the impasse isnā€™t resolved by the end of next week, when Congress goes on recess until the new year, the Ukrainian army could run out of ammunition. President Joe Biden could resupply the arsenal from U.S. stockpiles without legislative approval, but the move would be temporary, and the signal sentā€”that Ukraine, and by implication other allies, can no longer count on U.S. support in a pinchā€”could be a holiday cork-popper for Russian President Vladimir Putin and all of our other adversaries.

  • ReluctantMuskrat@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    The US can support Israelā€™s right to exist along with the Palestinians too and could pressure Israel to have a more reserved response that didnā€™t kill so many Palestinian civilians. And in fact itā€™s clear many in the administration want this. However as there are definitely ardent Israel supporters that have no empathy for the civilians plight and that have deep pockets and long memories, it appears Biden is very reluctant to offend them right before an election.

    • pandacoder@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      None of this is mutually exclusive with what I said and you got really close to my pointā€¦

      that have no empathy for the civilians plight and that have deep pockets

      I keep seeing everyone talking about only a few groups:

      • those who do not give a shit about/hate Palestinians
      • those who only care about Israel
      • and those who actually give a shit about innocent people not suffering

      Iā€™m not seeing anyone mention the group of people who do not care about Israel as a people either and only want to protect their money and power and view Israel as a tool to do so.

      That last group is currently escaping the headlines which are essentially all about people who are vocally pro-/anti-Israel or pro-/anti-Palestinians and not about the group who care about neither. The last group needs more attention because they will be funding the next war too.