An amendment meant to replenish stocks of U.S. weapons sent to Ukraine could lead to a U.S. ground war with Russia.
by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J S Davies, The Progressive Magazine
If the powerful leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senators Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, and Jim Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma, have their way, Congress will soon invoke wartime emergency powers to give the Pentagon more leeway to build up even greater stockpiles of weapons. The amendment is supposedly designed to replenish the weapons that the United States has sent to Ukraine, but a look at the wish list proposed in this amendment reveals a different story.
Reed and Inhofe’s plan is to tuck their wartime amendment into the FY2023 National Defense Appropriation Act that is scheduled to pass during the lameduck session before the end of the year. The amendment sailed through the Armed Services Committee in mid-October and, if it becomes law, the Department of Defense would be allowed to lock in multi-year contracts and award non-competitive contracts to arms manufacturers for Ukraine-bound weapons.
![Ukraine soldier holds a rifle](https://progressivehub.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Shutterstock_2030928983-1-uai-258x145.jpg)
But if the Reed/Inhofe amendment is really aimed at replenishing the Pentagon’s supplies, then why do the quantities it calls for vastly surpass those that have been sent to Ukraine?
Let’s do the comparison:
- The current star of U.S. military aid to Ukraine is Lockheed Martin’s HIMARS rocket system, the same weapon U.S. Marines used to help reduce much of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, to rubble in 2017. The United States has only sent thirty-eight HIMARS systems to Ukraine, but Reed and Inhofe plan to “reorder” 700 of them, with 100,000 rockets, which could cost up to $4 billion.
Recent Posts
VIDEO: A Blueprint For Countering American Fascism
July 26, 2024
Take Action Now Our First Annual Henry A. Wallace Symposium offered lessons from real-life heartland organizers on how to fight for a multiracial…
Gavin Newsom Orders Removal Of Homeless Encampments
July 26, 2024
Take Action Now “The only way to end homeless encampments in California is to end the need for homeless encampments,” an expert said.…
The Crackdown On Antisemitism Doesn’t Have Much To Do With Antisemitism
July 26, 2024
Take Action Now Republican lawmakers increasingly conflate anti-Zionism with antisemitism in an effort limit pro-Palestine speech and criticism of…
Netanyahu’s Unhinged And Bellicose Congressional Address Draws Scorn
July 25, 2024
Take Action Now ‘Our enemies are your enemies,’ the prime minister insisted, setting up confrontation with Iran. By Blaise Malley,…