Will Washington be able to support both Ukraine and Israel? Report Wsj
Is the United States still capable of providing military assistance to its allies, given the political dysfunction in Washington? The Wall Street Journal article
The capital's press loves to worry about the fate of US democracy, invariably because of the Republicans. But now a real democratic test is coming: support for Israel and Ukraine. Can the factions in Washington overcome their parochial interests and find a compromise to help two American friends fighting for their national survival?
THE PROGRAM OF THE CHAMBER
The House plans to vote on $14 billion in aid to Israel this week, and Washington is embroiled in infighting over whether to combine it with support for Ukraine and Taiwan. But if you take away the internal aspect of the game, what is at stake is whether America can still come together for a common goal, while an axis of hostility works together against US interests – writes the WSJ in its editorial.
The Chinese Communist Party is forging a deeper relationship with Iran, the ventriloquist of terrorist groups now threatening Israel. Tehran is working to help Vladimir Putin devastate Ukraine. These adversaries hope that Washington will descend into dysfunction and fail to repel aggression in Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific.
The House bill on Israel would help America's main ally in the Middle East buy more air defense interceptors, among other things. Funding is provided for US forces working overtime in the region. To pay for the spending, the House also defunded the Internal Revenue Service, even though congressional budget gnomes argue that this increases the deficit.
WHAT MIKE JOHNSON THINKS
New House Speaker Mike Johnson no doubt wants to demonstrate that his Congress is now united and capable of passing bills after weeks of circular firing squads. Johnson could also pick up some Democratic votes. But his bill will not pass the Senate, which is working on a broader package covering Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and the porous southern border. The Senate is right on the strategic thread. The House bill falls short of the urgency of the moment, which requires a real expansion of the United States' weapons stockpile and military might.
Johnson recently said he supported aid to Ukraine and the United States: “We cannot allow Vladimir Putin to prevail in Ukraine, because I don't think he would stop there.” He said China could then play for Taiwan. He's right, and he deserves credit for having political courage, given that support for Ukraine is toxic in about half the Republican conference.
The new Speaker of the House can help the Republican Party shape a position on Ukraine that addresses the concerns lawmakers say they have: Biden has no plan to end the war; US financial aid pays bureaucratic salaries in Kiev; no one knows where America's weapons and money end up. A House bill could focus on lethal aid and reduce the financial support the European Union is pledging to provide. Aid to Ukraine is already being scrutinized by several inspectors general, but the House is free to add additional scrutiny.
WHAT BIDEN DID, WHAT THE REPUBLICANS CAN DO
President Biden has too often offered Ukraine enough weapons to float, but not enough to prevail. The political selling point for Republicans is to insist on victory, which means pushing Russia back to its pre-invasion borders or beyond. Force Biden to move the Army's long-range tactical missile system to scale. Give the Administration a deadline to purchase 1,000 more missiles. This is better policy than the House offers nothing, which puts it in a corner with the White House and Senate at crucial times.
Senate Republicans can help Johnson by making concessions to his narrow majority. Democratic leader Chuck Schumer will have to abandon the domestic carnage and offer substantial concessions on border security. Fixing broken incentives in asylum policy would make a much bigger difference than throwing more money at asylum courts or bailing out New York on its migrant spending.
The Senate may be tempted to jam the House with a single bill. But the risk is to end up with nothing done, which is the worst outcome. Nobody will remember whether the aid will pass through a single law or several.
POLITICAL DYSFUNCTIONALITY IN WASHINGTON
Biden also has an obligation to behave like a commander in chief rather than a leader of a political faction. That means compromising with Republicans, even if that requires confronting his left flank on immigration and domestic spending. He has already passed trillions in domestic spending that will continue for years to come.
Biden may think he can blame Republicans if aid to Ukraine fails, but his political position is at risk. If Russia descends on Ukraine next year, he will share the blame as President and play into Donald Trump's hands.
As the world becomes more dangerous, the political dysfunction in Washington also becomes more dangerous. If Washington fails to help two allies defend themselves, without American troops fighting, the world will conclude that our adversaries are right about America's decline.
(Extract from the eprcommunication press review)
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/stati-uniti-crisi-politica-washington/ on Sun, 05 Nov 2023 06:19:27 +0000.