While announcing a minimal $10,000 student debt relief plan, Biden announced another $3 billion additional military expansion in Ukraine.
Earlier this month, when Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer said the debt relief plan should cancel $50,000 per student borrower, most student borrowers found that to be inadequate.
The $3 billion weapons package is the largest yet for Ukraine, according to Defense One, the Atlantic Media trade publication for the military-industrial complex. It will push total U.S. aid well past the annual budgets of at least eight federal programs, including the entire judicial branch.
Since most of the Pentagon budget and military spending is handled secretly, there have probably been larger weapons packages that were not announced or reported.
The announcement came just five days after a previous statement unveiled a $775 million package of advanced missiles, armored vehicles, drones and artillery. The package includes additional HIMARS, the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, and Howitzers.
No mention is made in any of these announcements that the massive U.S. military spending has been one of the factors in the serious and, for some, devastating inflation rise this year.
The U.S. has been escalating its NATO proxy war against Russia, not just with the largest arms buildup in U.S. history but with covert and special forces operations such as the assassination in Moscow of Russian journalist Darya Dugina. The assassination had the earmarks of a special forces operation, like the drone assassination of an alleged al-Qaeda leader in Kabul, Afghanistan, that Biden announced on August 1.
Dugina and her father, Alexander Dugin, have been elevated from the fringes in the U.S. media. Neither are big capitalists with the power that would bring nor in any position of political power; they are an easy target. Dugin is known for his outspoken far-right Russian nationalism, a view that is not popular in Russia and is not espoused by any in the government, including Putin.
The assassination was most likely a test, a show by the imperialists that they could strike in the heart of Moscow.
Russian authorities have identified the killer of Darya Dugina as Natalya Vovk. Vovk is associated with the Azov battalion Nazis of Ukraine. The Azov battalion received training by the U.S. CIA.
Vovk escaped to Estonia, a NATO member state. Any action to seek her extradition puts Russia in a direct conflict against NATO, even more directly than the U.S. proxy war in Ukraine has.
Ammunition in amounts ‘never seen before’
According to Defense One, the $3 billion package Biden announced on August 24 would be the largest single chunk of the total of $13.7 billion the United States has announced since February. Moreover, it will contain ammunition in amounts “we’ve never seen before.”
As noted, the Defense One figures are limited to the officially announced military packages. But Congress approved a $40 billion “Ukraine aid” package in May, which the Washington Post said was 60% military funds. The $13.7 billion figure cited by Defense One is just a fraction of the total U.S. military spending on the Ukraine war.
Still, the $13.7 billion package is more than the annual budget of some federal programs, Defense One admits, such as the National Science Foundation ($9.2 billion) and the Small Business Administration ($1.7 billion), according to Statista. It is larger than the annual budgets of the federal judiciary ($9.7 billion), Congress ($6.6 billion), or the Executive Office of the President ($0.6 billion). It is creeping up on the budgets of the Environmental Protection Agency ($15.9 billion), if not NASA ($24.9 billion).
Tracking largest arms transfer in U.S. history
Below is a timeline of all publicly disclosed major weapons shipments or funding packages going back to Feb. 24, compiled by the think tank Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
This list only contains publicly announced information. The Pentagon admitted on August 11 to sending at least one type of missile that had not been previously mentioned in their press releases, so this list is not exhaustive.
August 8
The Pentagon announced that it would send $1 billion worth of security assistance to Ukraine via presidential drawdown, including:
- HIMARS ammunition (This is an acronym for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System. These mobile missile launchers can fire a wide range of munitions, including rocket artillery and short-range ballistic missiles.)
- Artillery ammunition
- Javelin missiles and other anti-armor weapons
August 1
The Pentagon announced an additional $550 million of security aid via presidential drawdown, including:
- HIMARS ammunition
- Artillery ammunition
July 22
The Pentagon announced that it would send $270 million of military aid to Ukraine, with $175 million authorized via presidential drawdown and $95 million coming via Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) funds. This included:
- Four additional HIMARS
- HIMARS ammunition
- Four Command Post vehicles (These can be used as a tactical operations center or an armored ambulance, among other things.)
- Tank gun ammunition
- Phoenix Ghost drones (These are a type of “loitering munition,” or a weapon that can wait in the air for extended periods before attacking a target. The U.S. created this for use in Ukraine.)
July 8
The Pentagon announced an additional $400 million of military assistance via presidential drawdown, including:
- Four additional HIMARS
- HIMARS ammunition
- Artillery ammunition
July 1
The Pentagon announced it would send $820 million of security aid, with $50 million authorized via presidential drawdown and the remaining $770 million coming via USAI funds. This included:
- HIMARS ammunition
- Two National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) (This system launches missiles to defend against various types of aircraft, including drones.)
- Artillery ammunition
June 23
The Pentagon announced an additional $450 million in military assistance via presidential drawdown, including:
- Four HIMARS
- Artillery ammunition
- Grenade launchers
- Patrol boats
June 15
The Pentagon announced an additional $1 billion in lethal aid, with $350 million authorized via presidential drawdown and $650 million coming from USAI funds. This included:
- Howitzers (This is a popular long-range artillery weapon.)
- Artillery ammunition
- HIMARS ammunition
- Two Harpoon coastal defense systems (These launch missiles that fly just above the water’s surface to attack planes and ships.)
June 1
The Pentagon announced an additional $700 million in military assistance via presidential drawdown, including:
- HIMARS ammunition
- Javelin missiles and other anti-armor weapons
- Artillery ammunition
- Four Mi-17 helicopters (These can be used for transport or combat.)
May 19
The Pentagon announced $100 million in lethal aid via presidential drawdown, including:
- Howitzers
- On the same day, Congress passed a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine, roughly half of which was earmarked for military assistance.
May 6
The Pentagon announced $150 million in military aid via presidential drawdown, including:
- Artillery ammunition
April 21
DoD announced $800 million in further aid via presidential drawdown, including:
- Howitzers
- Artillery ammunition
- Phoenix Ghost drones
April 13
The Pentagon announced that it would send an additional $800 million in military assistance via presidential drawdown, including:
- Howitzers
- Artillery ammunition
- Largest arms transfer in history: Biden escalates U.S. proxy war in Ukraine
- Switchblade drones (This is another form of loitering munition.)
- Javelin missiles and other anti-armor weapons
- Armored personnel carriers
- 11 Mi-17 helicopters
- Various types of explosives
April 6
The Pentagon announced an additional $100 million in aid via presidential drawdown, including:
- Javelin anti-armor systems
April 1
DoD announced that it would send $300 million in lethal aid using USAI funds, including:
- Laser-guided rocket systems
- Switchblade drones
- Puma surveillance drones
- Anti-drone systems
- Armored vehicles
March 16
The Pentagon announced it would send $800 million of military aid via presidential drawdown. The exact contents of this package are unclear, but it likely included Mi-17 helicopters, Javelin missiles, and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.
March 12
The White House announced that it would send $200 million in lethal aid via presidential drawdown, including:
- Javelin missiles
- Stinger missiles
March 10
Congress approved $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine, roughly half of which was earmarked for military assistance.
February 25
The White House announced that it would send $350 million in military aid via presidential drawdown, including:
- Anti-armor weapons
- Small arms
Join the Struggle-La Lucha Telegram channel