Benjamin Wittes — Israel, Gaza and Implications for U.S. Foreign and Domestic Policy
Benjamin Wittes — Israel, Gaza and Implications for U.S. Foreign and Domestic Policy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfBkqP7OTVA
Tag: war
New American Military Aid for Ukraine – What’s in the package and what impact will it have?
New American Military Aid for Ukraine – What’s in the package and what impact will it have?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc436PwqeqM
Biden is sending $61 billion to Ukraine. Much of it will pass through the US economy first.
“Washington is spending another $61 billion to help Ukraine. But most of the money will flow through the US economy first.
The new law will allow the Pentagon to send existing weapons — everything from bullets to missiles to tank parts — to Kyiv and then simultaneously backfill that inventory with new manufacturing efforts for US armories.
There are 117 production lines in about 71 US cities that are set to produce those weapons systems, according to research from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/biden-is-sending-61-billion-to-ukraine-much-of-it-will-pass-through-the-us-economy-first-162914531.html
Mitch McConnell says Tucker Carlson and Trump’s waffling delayed crucial Ukraine aid
“At a press conference, the Kentucky Republican pinpointed two men responsible for that delay: former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson and former President Donald Trump.
“The demonization of Ukraine began by Tucker Carlson, who in my opinion ended up where he should have been all along, which is interviewing Vladimir Putin,” McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters. “And so he had an enormous audience, which convinced a lot of rank and file Republicans that maybe this was a mistake.”
“I think the former president had sort of mixed views on” Ukraine aid, he added, before alluding to the failed attempt to add border security provisions to the bill, “which requires you to deal with Democrats, and then a number of our members thought it wasn’t good enough.”
“And then our nominee for president didn’t seem to want us to do anything at all,” McConnell said. “That took months to work our way through it.”
The top Senate Republican has been an ardent supporter of Ukraine aid and battled a slew of conservative voices who have sought to block it. He called the expected passage of the bill “an important day for America, and a very important day of freedom-loving countries around the world.””
https://www.yahoo.com/news/mcconnell-says-tucker-carlson-trumps-223340768.html
How McConnell and Schumer beat hardline conservatives on Ukraine
How McConnell and Schumer beat hardline conservatives on Ukraine
https://www.yahoo.com/news/mcconnell-schumer-beat-hardline-conservatives-090000343.html
The Peril of Slowness: American Mistakes during Russia’s War of Aggression in Ukraine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVs2y-YeiFM
Iran’s stealth drones have become the new blueprint for international warfare
In January, an Iranian exploding drone hit a US military base in Jordan, killing three US service members. The Washington Post cited a defense source who said the weapon was a small attack Shahed-101.
The drone was able to sneak past American defenses by shadowing a US drone also landing at the base — a trick believed to have been picked up from Russia, Bloomberg reported.
“Russia and Iran are learning from each other. That is almost as important as the technology-sharing itself,” Matthew McInnis, a Pentagon intelligence officer who was a State Department representative for Iran, told the outlet.
But Iran’s influence goes beyond Russia. Iranian-backed Houthis have curtailed trade in the Red Sea in recent months by perpetrating drone attacks on cargo ships.
Bloomberg reported that Ethiopia had used Iranian drones to squash rebellions in the country, while Tajikistan, Algeria, and Venezuela were also partnering with Iran.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/irans-stealth-drones-become-blueprint-013422260.html
Blinken says China is Russia’s primary military complex supplier
“U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticised on Friday Chinese support for Russia’s defence industry, saying Beijing was currently the primary contributor to Moscow’s war in Ukraine though its provision of critical components for weaponry.
He said this effort was fueling “the biggest threat to European security since the end of the Cold War.”
Speaking at a news conference capping the end of a gathering of G7 foreign ministers on the Italian island of Capri, Blinken said Washington had made it very clear to Beijing and others that they should not be aiding Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.
“When it comes to Russia’s defense industrial base the primary contributor in this moment to that is China. We see China sharing machine tools, semiconductors, other dual use items that have helped Russia rebuild the defense industrial base,” Blinken said.
“China can’t have it both ways. It can’t afford that. You want to have positive, friendly relations with countries in Europe, and at the same time, you are fueling the biggest threat to European security since the end of the Cold War,” Blinken said.
The U.S. has warned China not to aid Moscow’s war effort since Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which came just weeks after Russia and China declared a “no limits partnership.”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock echoed Blinken’s concerns.
“If China openly pursues an ever closer partnership with Russia, which is waging an illegal war against Ukraine, … we cannot accept this,” Baerbock said after a meeting with her G7 counterparts in Capri.
U.S. officials briefed reporters earlier this month on materials China was providing to Russia, including drone and missile technology, satellite imagery and machine tools, that fall short of providing lethal assistance but were helping Russia build up its military to sustain its two-year-old war in Ukraine.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/blinken-says-china-russias-primary-125758842.html
Ukraine says it ‘ran out of missiles’ to stop Russian strike ruining power station
“A lack of air defense missiles prevented Ukraine from thwarting a Russian missile attack last week that destroyed the biggest power plant in the region around the capital Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
Zelenskiy’s comments, which follow repeated warnings from his government to its allies about scarce air defences, reflect the dire situation Ukraine finds itself in as Russia scales up strikes on its energy system.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/ukraine-says-ran-missiles-stop-103157624.html
White House says Iran did not provide early warning of Israel attack — and didn’t mean for it to fail
“The White House is strongly denying reports that Iran provided any advance warning of the massive aerial attack it sent towards Israel on Saturday, calling the suggestion that Tehran would have provided any information on its military plans “ridiculous”.
John Kirby, the president’s national security communications adviser, also took a page from President Joe Biden’s book of oft-used phrases by referring to reports of such warnings — through back channels or otherwise — as “malarkey”.
“We did receive messages from Iran, and they receive messages from us too, but there was never any message to us or to anyone else on the timeframe, the targets, or the type of response,” he said during a White House press briefing on Monday.
“I want to be clear, this whole narrative out there that Iran passed us a message with what they were going to do is ridiculous,” he later added.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/iran-attack-doesn-t-mean-155639859.html