Congress passed three separate aid packages totalling $100 billion dollars to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan last month. Surprisingly, the packages stirred huge controversy within the Republican caucus. Some Republican representatives such as Marjorie Taylor Greene called for the resignation of Speaker Mike Johnson as he allowed the packages to pass. They claim that sending any aid to foreign countries is not in the interest of the United States. When considering the circumstances of each country, aid to Ukraine does benefit U.S interests, while aid to Israel and Taiwan does not.
On February 24, 2022, President Vladimir Putin of Russia announced he would launch a “special military operation” into Ukraine. Putin expected a swift victory. This did not come to pass. The U.S has been supporting Ukraine to maintain Ukrainian sovereignty to check Russian expansion in the region. But this aid has also achieved many of the U.S’s strategic goals in the 21st century. It managed to cripple one of America’s most powerful adversaries without shedding a single drop of American blood. Russia has 50 percent of its infantry and 63 percent of its tanks in the war according to an US Intelligence Assessment. However, continued aid is necessary to maintain this victory.
The most important reason to continue sending resources to Ukraine is to address its existential crisis. According to NBC, the only reason Ukraine has maintained its sovereignty up to this point is because of a constant stream of foreign aid. As the war has dragged on, NBC News notes that this aid has been decreasing, which has led to Ukraine being put “on the back foot.” Russia’s main advantage is both in its size and its network of allies. North Korea recently sent two million rounds of ammunition to Russia this February. Without continued U.S support and military aid, Ukraine will be overrun, which would embolden the United States’s adversaries to engage in further aggression.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists massacred and kidnapped more than 1,400 men, women, and children. This was a tragedy that sparked outrage around the globe. However, Israel’s response, which has killed nearly 40,000 Gazans according to Al Jazeera, has drawn international condemnation. The Associated Press states that a majority of U.N. member states believe Israel has violated international law in its military operation in the Gaza Strip. Former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas claims Israel is becoming a pariah state. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vow to “stand alone,” risking alienation of U.S. allies and even the U.S. itself, echoes Pinkas’s warnings. If the United States continues funding the Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, the U.S. risks being distanced from her allies, many of whom have publicly condemned Israel’s actions. This will weaken the United States’s position in international affairs.
Taiwan has been one of the United States’s most valuable allies in Asia. The Taiwan-based semiconductor manufacturing TSMC has proven crucial for American interests. Since the dawn of the chip age, computer chips have doubled in effectiveness every two years. TSMC has produced the world’s most advanced chips, which are years and sometimes generations ahead of any Chinese chip. It is important for the United States to protect Taiwan from Chinese aggression. The intention of U.S. aid would be to deter U.S. adversaries from engaging in conflict. However, by sending more aid, America could provoke China into attacking earlier. China is by law required (by any means necessary) to reunify Taiwan with China. A beast is most dangerous when it is backed into a corner. That is why further aid to Taiwan would be misguided, potentially escalating an already tense situation.
When discussing the effects of aid in Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, it quickly becomes clear that such issues of war are extremely complicated. I recently listened to a lecture by former General Mark Milley. Milley stated that he and other advisors of President Biden had to seriously evaluate any U.S. move in Ukraine, trying at all costs to prevent direct conflict with Russia. It is certainly in the U.S.’s interests to check the influence of the U.S.’s adversaries. But world peace and stability presided by the United States is its ultimate goal.
