The Biden administration and most U.S. Congress members function with an America Last attitude.
More accurately, nothing for Americans sounds better.
The U.S. federal government has funneled billions of dollars to Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.
The government is getting ready to funnel hundreds of millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to another country.
On Friday, a U.S. official said the United States will soon announce a $340 million military aid package for Taiwan.
NEW: The United States will soon announce a roughly $340 million military aid package for Taiwan, a US official said Friday.https://t.co/VSoOHBJdBR
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) July 28, 2023
“The package will feature intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment and small arms munitions, but could include other items as well, the official said on condition of anonymity,” Barron’s reports.
Great. Another Ukraine. https://t.co/1zomm2XW46
— Being Libertarian (@beinlibertarian) July 28, 2023
Per Barron’s:
The move is certain to anger Beijing, which claims the democratic, self-ruled island as part of its territory and has vowed to take it, by force if necessary.
Congress has authorized the president to draw aid for Taiwan from American military stocks — the same way that Washington has provided large quantities of assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.
The 2023 defense spending bill permits the president to “direct the drawdown of defense articles from the stocks of the Department of Defense, defense services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training, of an aggregate value of not to exceed $1,000,000,000 per fiscal year.”
Doing so is quicker than contracting for new equipment from the defense industry, as the United States has gear it does not need in storage and can provide it more quickly than it would take to produce new items.
The military aid package for Taiwan comes on the heels of another $400 million in military aid sent to Ukraine.
We just announced another $400 million in additional military aid for Ukraine. Yay! Add that to the $43B already sent. May as well just hand Zelenskyy a blank check at this point… pic.twitter.com/LutSS0JfkI
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) July 26, 2023
BREAKING: Joe Biden, who is currently facing intense congressional scrutiny for allegedly accepting a $10 million bribe from a Ukrainian oligarch as VP, just approved another $400 million to Ukraine.
This is the 43rd approved aide package from the US to Ukraine since Feb 2022.
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) July 24, 2023
The current Secretary of Defense — who served as a member of the Board of Directors of the weapons manufacturer Raytheon before receiving a waiver to run the Pentagon — casually announces another $400 million to Ukraine, pledging that the money will flow without end. https://t.co/1VUulXfdxG
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) July 26, 2023
The U.S. Department of Defense announced Tuesday:
Today, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced additional security assistance to meet Ukraine’s critical security and defense needs. This authorization is the Biden Administration’s forty-third drawdown of equipment from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021 as the U.S. government has continuously provided Ukraine with the weapons and equipment it needs for the battlefield. Today’s commitment in security assistance, valued at up to $400 million, includes additional air defense munitions, artillery and other ammunition, armored vehicles, anti-armor weapons, and other equipment to help Ukraine counter Russia’s ongoing war of aggression.
More on Taiwan from Reuters:
Congress authorized up to $1 billion worth of Presidential Drawdown Authority weapons aid for Taiwan in the 2023 budget.
One official, speaking on the condition anonymity, said the package is expected to be worth around $330 million.
The White House declined to comment.
The formal announcement is not expected to include a list of weapon systems being provided.
In recent weeks, four sources said the package was expected to include four unarmed MQ-9A reconnaissance drones, but noted their inclusion could fall through as officials work through details on removing some of the advanced equipment from the drones that only the U.S. Air Force is allowed access to.
Another issue was who would pay for the alterations to the drones, one of the people briefed on the matter said. Reuters could not determine if the drones were still part of the package.
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