Ukraine's Defeat Could Spell Defeat for US

The US Senate has approved an aid package with $60 billion going to Ukraine, while Americans are growing less convinced of their country continuing its "world policing" role. President Joe Biden is trying to portray this aid package as a win-win situation, as some of the money will boost the US economy. Magyar Nemzet spoke to Balazs Martonffy, director of research at the John Lukacs Institute of the University of Public Service in Kecskemet, about the issue.

US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrive to hold a press conference at the White House in Washington, DC, December 12, 2023. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) Fotó: AFP Forrás: AFP

The total package includes 60 billion dollars for Ukraine, 14 billion dollars for Israel, nine billion dollars in humanitarian aid for Gaza and nearly five billion dollars for the Indo-Pacific region.

It is a complex package, with individual elements communicating different messages to the various actors, but it is important to underline that it does not include the border protection component to stop illegal migration.

The Republican Party pulled that part as they claim it is not strong enough and they are confident that if they vote on it separately they can put more pressure on the upper house to pass a bigger, stronger package,

Balazs Martonffy, director of research at the John Lukacs Institute for Strategy and Politics at the National University of Public Service told Magyar Nemzet.

The United States has already spent more than $100 billion to help Ukraine since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022. While it is true that the war in Ukraine has not progressed, it has prevented Ukraine's collapse - which could mean a lot of things, but these financial packages only enable Ukraine to subsist.

The United States is on a fixed course, as the declared policy of the Biden administration is that Russia cannot win. That is what this package is about. The US is so entrenched in this war that a possible defeat of Ukraine would mean US defeat on the international stage,

 the expert pointed out.

Earlier, President Joe Biden had said that 90 percent of foreign security assistance is being spent in the US to produce enough weapons, which strengthens its economy.

Americans are increasingly of the mind that it is time for the US administration to focus on the country's own domestic problems. In the past, Republicans have been against supporting money for Ukraine and have withheld greenlighting aid.

Perhaps the reason behind the Republicans' acceptance was that they could not get a better deal. Or by passing this package without the border protection component, they can put more pressure on lawmakers to pass that separately. But they may also be able to add additional items to it with their advantage in the House of Representatives. But we don't known what intelligence they've received on how badly Ukraine needs this aid,

Martonffy explained.

In the United States, voices are mounting that with this decision the Biden administration has once again put Ukraine ahead of the US and making a war on another continent more important than its own country. This could be a key factor in the upcoming elections.

The general feeling within the Democratic Party is that among Americans there is a diminishing sense that the country has a global policing role to play. "If you look at that role as necessary, then you can understand why Ukraine needs to be supported. But with the relative erosion of power, the rise of China and the move towards a multipolar or bipolar world, the situation has changed," the expert says, adding that

there is a steady shift in the mindset of average citizens to the idea that the US should mind its own business and that, while the role of the gendarme worked in the past as it was also in the US interest. Now these domestic interests come before global values.

The Biden administration will adopt some typically Republican talking points in a bid to gain the support of independent voters. Presumably, these will revolve around the economy, i.e., US citizens sense and think that their economy is doing worse than it actually is, he added.

Cover photo: US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Photo: AFP/Mandel Ngan)