Pentagon Needs $10B to Replace Weapons Already Sent to Ukraine, Officials Say
Voice of AmericaMar 12
Biden Admin Announces $300M Weapons Package for Ukraine
The Facts
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced Tuesday that Washington will send Ukraine an additional $300M in security assistance. The new funding reportedly became available due to costs recouped from weapons contracts.
According to senior defense officials, the latest aid package includes air defense interceptors, artillery rounds, armor systems, and a variant of the 100-mile (160 km) range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS).
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Congress is risking America's national security by delaying its proposed aid package bill. With each of these bills, enough money was allocated to deliver Kyiv what it needs to fight Moscow, as well as enough to replenish the US stockpile from which Ukraine's weapons are coming. The Pentagon can only search for alternative funding sources for so long — once it runs out, the world will be at great risk. While the president does have $4B left to send to Ukraine, he can't risk sending it without assurances of replenishment from the legislative branch.
Establishment-critical narrative
As Americans watch the Pentagon and its pro-war friends in Congress complain about national security and Ukraine, this is the perfect time to remember the same charged language that was used to influence the population into supporting the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. The US military-industrial complex has sent so much money to Ukraine — with no evidence of it helping — that our defense stockpile has dried up. Congress should re-read the Constitution and start abiding by their duty only to start wars that the legislature votes to declare.
Nerd narrative
There's a 54% chance that Germany will supply Ukraine with a Taurus missile in 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
