Dear Editor,
Last week, according to Czech President Peter Pavel, 18 countries agreed to finance the purchase of 800,000 artillery shells for munitions-starved Ukraine from producers outside the European Union. Once procurement documentation has been secured, ammunition should be delivered within weeks.
The ammunition is desperately needed as Russia is firing up to 10 times more ammo than Ukraine on the front lines, according to one European official’s estimate. Russia has turned to foreign sources to supplement its arms supply, with missiles and drones from Iran and ammunition stocks from North Korea.
While Ukrainian soldiers suffer from ammunition shortages on the battlefield, political infighting is contributing to an impasse in Congress over providing military aid for Ukraine. House Speaker Mike Johnson has experienced pressure to take up a Senate foreign funding package that proposes $95 billion in aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, while many Republicans insist that funding must be paired with U.S. southern border security provisions. Ultimately, a bill drafted in February failed a procedural vote based on immigration grounds.
So which crisis most warrants immediate attention?
It’s been more than three years since President Biden issued immigration-related executive orders reversing many of his predecessor’s policies – raising the refugee admissions cap and endorsing immigration reform legislation that has created the largest legalization program in history.
Since January 2021, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, between four and five million undocumented immigrants have crossed our southern border as well as over one million “gotaways” who entered essentially undetected. Might there be any bad actors among them? We do know that two Mexican cartels are primarily responsible for trafficking the fentanyl that is killing 150 people daily in the US.
For more than two years, Ukrainian soldiers have demonstrated valor, resolve, and ingenuity in defending their homeland against the Russian invasion. The key to their success has been the flow of weapons and munitions from the US and NATO member countries.
The last US package was delivered in December.
Congress needs to recognize that this is not just about Ukraine. For seven decades, a stable and secure Europe has been vital to our national interest. A Russian victory in Ukraine will only embolden Putin to invade another country, which would likely result in American soldiers entering the fight. Putin has already announced Russian troops being sent to the border of Finland in response to that country having joined NATO.
Relative to the potential ramifications of Russia overtaking Ukraine and pursuing further conflict in Europe, Congress not passing a sufficient, stand-alone Ukraine assistance bill would ultimately be the greater failure. Preventing a World War emanating from the existing conflict seems to be of higher priority.
The world view of America as the leader of the free world is tarnished and needs a good polishing. And in reality, the immigrant crisis within our homeland, however consequential, could be greatly contained by President Biden with a stroke of his pen, reversing the course he set in motion some three years ago.
Peter Wibell Rutledge