The aim of US policy in Ukraine is...

 

JEFFREY ST. CLAIR: 

+ Alas, the most open of secrets is no more. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has finally thrown away the bag and let the cat run free. The aim of US policy in Ukraine is…(wait for it)…to “weaken Russia.” After returning from Kyiv, Austin told reporters, many of whom feigned shock at his lack of discretion, “We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine.” The reporters were no doubt worried that Putin might order this quote read over loudspeakers to the Russian Army as motivational material for the siege of Mariupol.

+ Was that some kind of a joke, Lloyd? This has been US policy since Madeleine Albright became Secretary of State in 1993. Every new “reset” merely tightened the screws further. Ukraine is paying the price now. Soon we’ll all be paying the price. Shall we convene a séance to ask the shade of Madame Secretary, if it was worth it?

+ Biden is asking Congress for another $33 billion in “emergency” military and economic aid to Ukraine. This is an endless cycle: more weapons will escalate the war, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis, which will require ever more economic assistance. A negotiated settlement will save thousands of lives and billions of dollars, which is, of course, why it’s not being pursued.

+ Biden’s $33 billion “emergency” military aid package for Ukraine is three times the size of the EPA’s entire budget for 2022.

+ The Ukraine war can only end diplomatically. But not until every possible weapons deal is made and all of the PAC contributors have gotten their cut of the action.

+ According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)  worldwide military spending for 2021 hit an all-time high of $2.1 trillion, a 0.7% increase from 2020 levels. It’s the seventh straight year of increased expenditures.

+ The Air Force has been ordering more F-35s faster than Lockheed can build them, even when building them badly