Tag: USAID

Ukraine Aid Oversight

Since the US began dumping millions of dollars into Ukraine I have been concerned that there was no oversight on how it the cash was spent or the weapons used….and it seems daily that we, the US, send more cash and stuff to Ukraine…..when will there be any oversight?

If it is up to the White House there will be no oversight at all.

The Joe Biden administration has come out in opposition to Congress creating an inspector general’s office to oversee weapons transfers to the Ukrainian government. 

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes a provision that will create an inspector general for the proxy war in Ukraine modeled after the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR). 

SIGAR John Sopko detailed the rampant American failures during the Afghan War for years. His quarterly reports routinely embarrassed American officials who tried to portray the situation in Afghanistan as improving. 

Sopko has warned that an inspector general’s official for the Ukraine war needed to be established to prevent a repeat of the situation American aid created in Afghanistan, which saw massive corruption. “There is an understandable desire amid a crisis to focus on getting money out the door and to worry about oversight later, but too often that creates more problems than it solves,” he wrote in a report submitted to Congress earlier this year. “Given the ongoing conflict and the unprecedented volume of weapons being transferred to Ukraine, the risk that some equipment ends up on the black market or in the wrong hands is likely unavoidable.”

Sopko continued, “You’re bound to get corrupt elements of not only the Ukrainian or the host government, but also of US government contractors or other third party contractors to try to steal the money. There’s just so much money going in, and it’s hard to keep track of.”

https://libertarianinstitute.org/news/white-house-looks-to-prevent-oversight-of-ukraine-aid/

Ask yourself why would the White House oppose any form of oversight?

Apparently someone somewhere has something to hide from the American people, whose money is being used to finance yet another proxy war that will accomplish nothing in the grand scheme of international relations.

Again it amazes me that some Americans go on and on about those ‘lay abouts’ on social programs and have no thoughts about wasted money elsewhere.

Social program fraud is tracked down and punished….can we say that about the fraud in Ukraine?

Do you think the American taxpayer deserves to know where their money is being spent or wasted?

Just wondering.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Beacon Of Democracy

For decades the US has sold itself as the ‘beacon of democracy’ fighting the autocrats for a freer and democratic world…..promoting democracy as an export from our shores.

Well all that patriotic claptrap is just plain bullsh*t.

The US is npe selling weapons to the world’s autocrats…..

President Joe Biden claims that the United States is leading “democracies” in a fight against “autocracies” to establish a peaceful international order, but his administration approved weapons sales to nearly three-fifths of the world’s authoritarian countries in 2022.

That’s according to a new analysis conducted by Security Policy Reform Institute co-founder Stephen Semler and published Thursday in The Intercept.

The U.S. has been the world’s largest arms dealer since the end of the Cold War. Data released in March showed that the U.S. accounted for 40% of global weapons exports from 2018 to 2022.

As Semler explained:

In general, these exports are funded through grants or sales. There are two pathways for the latter category: foreign military sales and direct commercial sales.

The U.S. government acts as an intermediary for FMS acquisitions: It buys the materiel from a company first and then delivers the goods to the foreign recipient. DCS acquisitions are more straightforward: They’re the result of an agreement between a U.S. company and a foreign government. Both categories of sales require the government’s approval.

Country-level data for last year’s DCS authorizations was released in late April through the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. FMS figures for fiscal year 2022 were released earlier this year through the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency. According to their data, a total of 142 countries and territories bought weapons from the U.S. in 2022, for a total of $85 billion in bilateral sales.

To determine how many of those governments were democratic and how many were autocratic, Semler relied on data from the Varieties of Democracy project at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, which uses a classification system called Regimes of the World.

“Of the 84 countries codified as autocracies under the Regimes of the World system in 2022, the United States sold weapons to at least 48, or 57%, of them,” Semler wrote. “The ‘at least’ qualifier is necessary because several factors frustrate the accurate tracking of U.S. weapons sales. The State Department’s report of commercial arms sales during the fiscal year makes prodigious use of ‘various’ in its recipients category; as a result, the specific recipients for nearly $11 billion in weapons sales are not disclosed.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-sells-weapons-to-majority-of-authoritarian-countries

So Biden’s chest thumping about “battle between democracies and autocracies” is so much bovine fecal matter.

It looks like playing both sides from the middle…..again cash always takes precedent over morality.

It’s always the lies.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Ukraine Needs More….And More

While the world awaits the counteroffensive that has been promised by Ukraine against the invading Russian army in the East of the country…..its officials are planning the ‘next’ counteroffensive action…….

These officials are starting their program to get even more of American taxpayer money….even before their first long awaited counteroffensive has not been successful or for that matter has not even begun.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister said the upcoming counteroffensive would not be the last. The diplomat requested NATO members transfer more advanced weapons to Kiev for the coming operations, including F-16s. 

Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian foreign minister, said in an interview with Deutsche Welle, “Do not consider this counteroffensive as the last one, because we do not know what will come out of it.” He continued, “It means we have to prepare for the next counteroffensive.”

For months, the Pentagon has been assisting Kiev in planning its operations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has used the forthcoming counteroffensive to lobby for more weapons from his Western backers. 

Last week, Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK Vadim Pristayko indicated the long-anticipated operations would begin once the weather improves. Recently American and Ukrainian officials have suggested the counteroffensive to retake territory could fail. 

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the results of the counteroffensive would have significant sway over whether Ukraine continues to receive US support. “If Ukraine is successful in the eyes of the American people and the world, I think it will be a game-changer for continued support.” He continued, “If they are not, that will also have an impact, in a negative way, though.”

Although, at a joint press conference on Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UK Foreign Minister James Cleverly explained Western support is not based on Ukraine’s battlefield success. “We need to continue to support them, irrespective of whether this forthcoming offensive generates huge gains on the battlefield, because until this conflict is resolved and resolved properly, it is not over,” Cleverly said.

https://libertarianinstitute.org/news/ukraine-seeking-advanced-weapons-for-next-counteroffensive/

“Resolved properly”?

Who decides that?

Maybe a look at Ukraine from SouthFront.org 

I would like the American people stop believing the hype….and the wealth of disinformation designed to garner public support for the continuation of this conflict that only certain people profit from….hint:  it is not the Ukrainian people.

I realize that some think that the purse strings for war is unlimited but the lust for war will destroy this country in time.

Just saying!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Jump On That Gravy Train

The US has stated that it will defend Europe, through NATO, if attacked….now we will fund the Ukraine efforts to expel the Russians….then we will defend South Korea from aggression from the North and Taiwan from any moves by China and now a new ‘needy’ nation is on the payroll…..the Philippines.

The US has promised to support the nation if problems arise.

President Biden hosted Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the White House on Monday amid heightened tensions with China and told him that the US commitment to defending the Philippines is “ironclad.”

In comments ahead of a meeting with Marcos, Biden said the US “remains ironclad in our commitment to the defense of the Philippines, including the South China Sea, and we’re going to continue to support the Philippines’ military modernization goals.”

Marcos told Biden that the Philippines was located in “arguably the most complicated geopolitical situation in the world right now.”

“And so, it is only natural that — for the Philippines to look to its sole treaty partner in the world to strengthen and to redefine the relationship that we have and the roles that we play in the face of those rising tensions that we see now around the South China Sea and Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific regions,” the Philippine leader added.

…

Biden and Marcos agreed to take other steps to strengthen the military alliance. According to the White House, the US will transfer military equipment to the Philippines’ armed forces, including “two Island-class patrol vessels, two Protector-class patrol vessels, and three C-130H aircraft.”

According to the White House, Biden underscored that “an armed attack in the Pacific, which includes the South China Sea, on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft, including those of the Coast Guard, would invoke US mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty.”

The White House said the two countries have also adopted “Bilateral Defense Guidelines that institutionalize key bilateral priorities, mechanisms, and processes to deepen alliance cooperation and interoperability across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace.”

(antiwar.com)

This ought to keep the War industry stocks strong…..and that is a great reason for all this adventurism.

Who will be the next nation to get on the US gravy train?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Victory At All Costs

Happy May Day!

That seems to be the attitude of those deep in the Ukraine conflict……and that includes some within our Congress and the president has basically given an open end commitment to fund the war for Ukraine.

A few in the Congress have made their commitment known through their offering of bills……

A bipartisan group of hawks in Congress announced a new resolution on Tuesday that calls for the U.S. to seek the restoration of Ukraine’s 1991 borders and to bring Ukraine into NATO after the war is over. 

Reps. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) and Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) are co-sponsoring what they call the Ukrainian Victory Resolution, and have been framing it, perhaps not surprisingly, with the lofty rhetoric of World War II. So far the bill has 18 bipartisan co-sponsors.

“We must not repeat the error of Sept. 1, 1939,” Wilson told Yahoo News, referencing what is now held by many as the “Munich moment” and appeasement of Adolf Hitler before the Nazi invasion of Poland.

Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) have also introduced their own, similar resolution in the Senate. This comes after three Senators and 16 House Republicans last week sent a letter to President Biden saying they would not support any new Ukraine aid if it was not paired with a clear.

This week’s resolutions are sure to stir debate over the extent of U.S. Ukraine policy and support ahead of an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive this spring. Furthermore, a signal from Congress that the U.S. is fully behind the retaking of Crimea and the Donbas would be exactly what the Ukrainian government wants to hear, but it is a dangerous message to send when Ukraine lacks the ability to achieve those goals on the ground.

In fact, setting overly ambitious, unrealistic goals as the definition of “victory” seems more likely to blow up in the faces of both Washington and Kyiv. Instead of backing war aims that promise to prolong the conflict, the U.S. should be encouraging Ukraine to settle for a return to the pre-2022 lines.

Lawmakers deploy ‘Munich’ trope to push dangerously hawkish Ukraine resolutions

This will eventually bite the US in the ass….as always.

Another point here where will the US get the funds to pay for the massive build-up for a possible mash-up with China?  Nations like South Korea, Japan, Philippines, Taiwan…..that will stretch things a bit far.

But as long as the profits keep coming….who f*cking cares?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Lobbyist Money Well Spent

Recently the House had a brilliant idea….that is to find more oversight over the funds that is spent on continuing the war in Ukraine.

An idea that met with my approval (so that meant it would go nowhere) and now it looks like the buckets of cash from lobbyists has return a dividend.

The Senate on Tuesday night voted down an amendment to create a special inspector general to oversee the over $113 billion that the US has authorized to spend on the war in Ukraine.

The amendment, which was introduced by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), failed in a vote of 26-68, with 24 Republicans and only two Democrats voting in favor of more oversight for the billions in weapons that are being shipped to Ukraine.

Hawley tried to add the amendment to a bill to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Iraq Authorizations for the Use of Military Force (AUMFs). The legislation to repeal the AUMFs is expected to be voted on sometime this week.

Hawley’s idea was to create a position for Ukraine similar to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), which John Sopko has filled since 2012.

Sopko found tens of billions of dollars in waste in US aid to Afghanistan and issued scathing reports criticizing US policy in the country. Last month, Sopko said he fears the US will repeat the same mistakes in Ukraine.

“You’re bound to get corrupt elements of not only the Ukrainian or the host government, but also of US government contractors or other third party contractors to try to steal the money. There’s just so much money going in, and it’s hard to keep track of,” Sopko told reporters.

Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, Hawley wrote in an op-ed published by Fox News: “Billions upon billions of American dollars are pouring into a war-torn country without any serious oversight.”

Hawley has been critical of US policy in Ukraine because he thinks the US should be focusing on building up in the Asia Pacific to face China instead. In December, he sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the Biden administration to prioritize arming Taiwan over Ukraine.

(antiwar.com)

No one in the industry wants oversight.

Why should the American people know where their tax dollars are going and how it is spent?

Just another in a long list of oversight proposals that die an agonizing death.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“I Want More” (Always More)

Does anyone remember the promise of a massive counter-offense offered up by Ukraine to take the fight to Russia in Eastern Ukraine?

Don’t bother…you do not.

Well it appears that that promise is on hold until Zelensky gets what he wants (always more)…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that Ukraine’s counteroffensive can’t begin until the US and other Western countries send more weapons and ammunition.

When asked about a potential counteroffensive in an interview with the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, Zelensky said Ukraine can’t “start yet” and can’t “send our brave soldiers to the front line without tanks, artillery and long-range rockets.”

“We are waiting for the receipt of ammunition from our partner countries. If there is political will, ways can be found to help us. We are at war and cannot wait,” he added. He said the military situation in eastern Ukraine is “not very good” due to the lack of ammo.

Ukrainian and Russian forces are still battling for the eastern Donbas city of Bakhmut, where both sides are using an enormous amount of ammunition. Zelensky said the Russian troops are using three times as much ammunition as the Ukrainian side.

Zelensky’s comments echo what a senior Ukrainian government official told The Washington Poston the condition of anonymity earlier this month. The official told the Post that Kyiv doesn’t have the “people or weapons” to pull off a counteroffensive.

Ukrainian soldiers fighting on the front have told several media outlets that they’re being sent into what has become known as the “meat grinder” in Bakhmut with little support and ammunition. New conscripts are also being sent into battle with barely any training.

The US and its allies have pledged a lot of new military aid for Ukraine over the past few months, but Zelensky keeps saying it’s not enough. The Biden administration wants Ukraine to launch a counteroffensive to make territorial gains this spring, but the prospect now seems unlikely.

More!  More!  It is NEVER enough!

Time for this country to re-evaluate its massive spending while our infrastructure is collapsing around our heads.

But this is far more important that the War Department gets its cash to keep our interventions up and running.

When will it be enough support from the US?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Ukraine Escalation

There is always something new concerning Ukraine that needs further scrutiny….but seldom is….

I see that the UK and the US have decided to escalate the conflict in Ukraine.

We see reports that the Russian military is massing for a big push in Eastern Ukraine….what to do….I know let’s make it even more lethal than it is now.

I start with what the UK is planning on sending into the fray…..

A British official has confirmed that the UK will be providing Ukraine with depleted uranium shells to be used with the British-made Challenger 2 tanks despite warnings from Russia that it would consider the use of the toxic ammunition the same as a dirty bomb.

“Alongside our granting of a squadron of Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine, we will be providing ammunition including armor piercing rounds which contain depleted uranium. Such rounds are highly effective in defeating modern tanks and armored vehicles,” said Annabel Goldie, the British deputy defense minister, in a written response to a question posted on the British Parliament’s website.

Depleted uranium is typically created as a byproduct of producing enriched uranium and is extremely dense. Because depleted uranium munitions are radioactive, they are linked to cancer and birth defects, especially in Iraq, where US forces used an enormous number of the controversial munitions during the Gulf War and the 2003 invasion. Birth defects are still common in the Iraqi city of Fallujah to this day, likely due to depleted uranium.

(antiwar.com)

Bad idea!  There is already enough problems with nuke material in Ukraine.

Across the pond from the UK is what the US maybe considering…..something that would effect civilians as much as Russian troops.

Four leading Republicans in Congress have sent a letter to President Biden urging him to provide Kyiv with cluster bombs, controversial munitions that endanger civilians by spreading small bomblets over large areas.

Due to the harm they cause civilians, cluster bombs have been banned by over 100 countries under the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions. But Russia, Ukraine, and the US are not signatories to the treaty.

The letter to Biden was signed by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), the chair of the House Armed Services Committee, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Jim Risch (R-ID), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

(antiwar.com)

Tanks for the memories…..US is sending tanks as well as Poland and whoever else is …..

The Pentagon is looking to speed up the delivery of the Abrams tank to Ukraine by refurbishing older models instead of manufacturing new ones.

US officials told The Associated Press that the new plan is to send Ukraine the older M1A1 version that can be pulled from US Army stockpiles. The officials expect the M1A1s could be delivered within eight to 10 months.

The initial plan was for the US to manufacture 31 new M1A2 Abrams tanks, which wouldn’t have been delivered for years. The new plan still does not get the tanks into Ukraine’s hands before the spring, when the US is hoping Ukraine will launch a counteroffensive against Russian forces.

President Biden’s announcement in January that the US would provide Abrams to Ukraine came after Pentagon officials said sending the tanks to Ukraine would be impractical. But Biden’s decision was made to convince German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to send Leopards and sign off on the export of the German-made tanks from other countries.

Scholz previously ruled out sending Ukraine tanks and explained his reasoning by saying he was trying to prevent a direct war between NATO and Russia. But the US and its allies are less concerned about escalation and continue to ramp up support for Kyiv, including Poland and Slovakia pledging Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter jets.

This thing spiraling…..as all our conflicts do….this will not end well for the people of Ukraine.

Is this conflict turning into a trap?

Three big factors are in motion that will shape prospects for the war in Ukraine. Each of these affects the others in potentially reinforcing ways. Together, they could soon create a dynamic that might greatly constrain the ability of the Biden administration to steer events toward its desired outcomes.

The first is the course of battlefield developments. Bolstered by the mobilization Putin ordered last fall, Russian forces are pressing closer toward encircling Bakhmut, and Ukrainians look to be on the brink of their first significant setback since last summer. Although this battle has proved slow and costly for Russia, it is exacting an enormous toll on Ukraine.

Biden’s looming trap in Ukraine

This is just my opinion and of course it does not jive with what that pretty boy tells you on your favorite news show…..that may be but it does not make me wrong.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

So Much We Do Not Know

That is my thought on the Ukraine/Russia mash-up…..why?  That is an easy answer and it comes from the MSM…..

For instance….Take a look at the newest ‘aid’ package from the US….

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday that the US will send about $10 billion in additional economic assistance to Ukraine in the coming months.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine last year, the US has given Kyiv at least $13 billion in budgetary aid, economic assistance that goes directly to the Ukrainian government to fund government services, pensions, and healthcare.

“Our economic assistance is making Ukraine’s resistance possible by supporting the home front: funding critical public services and helping keep the government running,” Yellen said in India ahead of a meeting of G20 finance ministers.

“In the coming months, we expect to provide around $10 billion in additional economic support for Ukraine,” she said.

So far, the US has approved $113 billion in spending on the war, which includes military aid, training, funds for the Pentagon to replenish stockpiles and pay for troop deployments, and economic a

(antiwar.com)

Great deal….we cannot afford to fund our country but we have cash for some other nation.  Why is that?

According to the mainstream Western narrative, Vladimir Putin is an insatiable, Hitler-like expansionist who invaded Ukraine in an unprovoked land grab.

That is a convenient answer that will keep most of the public in the dark about why.

As I have asked many times before….why are there no answers to so many question?

The first question is the same one I have asked many many times….what does the US expect to be the return on our massive investment in the country?

This one never gets a good answer….usually it is some emotional response about the desire of Putin or his mental grasp on reality.

My next question is …..if the Ukrainian military is receiving advanced training from NATO and being rewarded with all this advanced weaponry like artillery, tanks, etc and if the Russian military is in disarray and badly trained….why is the conflict still raging? I mean the MSM gives us the glowing reports on the accomplishments of the Ukrainians….why is there not more progress beyond a basic stalemate?

Here is the situation…..

INTERACTIVE - WHO CONTROLS WHAT IN UKRAINE 219

All aid that Ukraine has received and yet they cannot re-take a small mining town of Bakhmut…..even Zelensky has said they may leave it for the Russians…..

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukraine would continue to defend the eastern Donetsk city of Bakmut but “not at any price,” signaling that Ukrainian forces might be considering a withdrawal.

“Yes, it is not a particularly big town. In fact, like many others in Donbas, (it’s been) devastated by the Russians. It is important for us to defend it, but not at any price and not for everyone to die,” Zelensky said in an interview published Sunday, according to Reuters.

Bakhmut’s pre-war population was about 70,000, but now Ukrainian officials estimate only about 5,000 people live in the city. Russian and Ukrainian forces have been locked in fighting over Bakhmut for months, and Ukraine has taken heavy casualties defending the area.

Ukrainian officials still maintain that they want to recapture all the territory Russia controls, including Crimea. Oleksiy Danilov, the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, said over the weekend that the war won’t be over until “our tanks will be parked on Moscow’s Red Square.”

(antiwar.com)

Not much change in the situation on the ground….why is that?

Any answers for my questions?

I am amazed just how deep the indifference of the American public actually goes.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Money For The ‘Freeloaders’

I have written about the new budget deal that is working it’s way through the Congress….appears that a deal is near completion and should be sent to Biden’s desk for his signature….

Congressional leaders unveiled a $1.7 trillion spending package early Tuesday that includes another large round of aid to Ukraine, a nearly 10% boost in defense spending, and roughly $40 billon to assist communities across the country recovering from drought, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. The bill includes about $772.5 billion for non-defense discretionary programs and $858 billion in defense funding, the AP reports. Lawmakers are working to stuff in as many priorities as they can into what is likely to be the last major bill of the current Congress. They are racing to complete passage of the bill before a midnight Friday deadline or face the prospect of a partial government shutdown going into the Christmas holiday. Lawmakers leading the negotiations released the details of the bill shortly before 2am Tuesday.

Republican leader Mitch McConnell has warned that if the fiscal year 2023 spending measure fails to gain bipartisan support this week, he would seek another short-term patch into next year, guaranteeing that the new Republican majority in the House would get to shape the package. Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, argued against that approach in releasing the bill saying, “the choice is clear. We can either do our jobs and fund the government, or we can abandon our responsibilities without a real path forward.”

The Senate is expected to vote on the spending bill first where support from at least 10 Republican senators will be needed to pass it before the measure is considered by the House. As has been the case with recent catchall spending bills, lawmakers voiced concerns about passing legislation containing thousands of pages on short notice. “We still haven’t seen a single page of the Pelosi-Schumer spending bill, and they’re expecting us to pass it by the end of this week,” tweeted Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. “It’s insane.”

Ukraine gets its handouts in this bill….

Congress unveiled on Tuesday a massive $1.7 trillion omnibus funding bill that includes $45 billion in new Ukraine aid, which will bring total US spending on the war to about $112 billion.

The $45 billion is over $7 billion more than the $37.7 billion in Ukraine aid that the White House asked Congress to authorize before the next congressional session begins in January.

According to a summary of the new Ukraine aid, the $45 billion includes $9 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which allows the US to purchase arms for Kyiv and funds other types of support, including training and intelligence sharing.

The aid includes $11.8 billion to replenish US military stockpiles that have been sent to Ukraine. US European Command will get $6.98 billion for “mission support, intelligence support, pay, equipment, and related activities.” The US is set to open a new command in Germany dedicated entirely to overseeing the training and arming of Ukrainian forces.

Other types of aid include $13.37 billion for economic assistance and direct budgetary support and $2.47 billion for humanitarian aid. When it comes to oversight, the new aid includes $6 million for the Pentagon’s Inspector General and requires an IG report on the new funds.

(antiwar.com)

Not to worry this will go through Congress for the theatrics are being set up for Zelensky to come and make his demands before our Congress.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is planning to visit Washington, DC on Wednesday on his first trip outside Ukraine since the Russian invasion, sources tell outlets including the AP and CNN. The sources say that while there’s a strong chance the trip could be called off at the last minute due to security issues, the visit will include a meeting with President Biden at the White House and an address to Congress if it goes ahead. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told lawmakers they should attend Wednesday evening’s session in person. “We are ending a very special session of the 117th Congress with legislation that makes progress for the American people as well as support for our Democracy,” Pelosi wrote in a letter to colleagues, per the AP. “Please be present for a very special focus on Democracy Wednesday night.”

It always amazes me that some well meaning people can pitch a bitch about all those ‘freeloaders’ that receive welfare in one form or another…..and yet be perfectly fine when it comes to paying other countries to do our bidding…..

We can only hope that eventually that Americans will one day care more about their neighbors that a bit of frozen tundra in some far away …..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”