MILITARY/WAR
Biden Makes Appeal For ‘Unprecedented’ Aid To Israel And Ukraine In Oval Office Address
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In a primetime address from the Oval Office on Thursday, President Joe Biden sought public support for an unprecedented security package for both Israel and Ukraine in the midst of their wars.
American leadership is what holds the world together, Biden said. American alliances are what keep us, America, safe. American values are what make us a partner that other nations want to work with. To put all that at risk if we walk away from Ukraine, if we turn our backs on Israel, its just not worth it.
Biden is expected on Friday to ask Congress for tens of billions in military aid for the two countries.
For Israel, Biden showed clear support for its military campaign against Hamas, though he stressed that humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians would also be required, along with a longer term plan for peace.
The terrorist group Hamas unleashed pure, unadulterated evil in the world. But sadly, the Jewish people know, perhaps better than anyone, that there is no limit to the depravity of people when they want to inflict pain on others, Biden said.
I also spoke with President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority and reiterated that the United States remains committed to the Palestinian peoples right to dignity and to self-determination. The actions of Hamas terrorists dont take that right away, he said.
And as I said in Israel: As hard as it is, we cannot give up on peace. We cannot give up on a two-state solution. Israel and Palestinians equally deserve to live in safety, dignity, and peace, he said.
You know, I know many of you in the Muslim American community or the Arab American community, the Palestinian American community, and so many others are outraged and hurting, saying to yourselves, ‘Here we go again,’ with Islamophobia and distrust we saw after 9/11, Biden said.
We must, without equivocation, denounce antisemitism. We must also, without equivocation, denounce Islamophobia, he said.
Ukraine, meanwhile, is 20 months into fighting off a Russian invasion, with assistance from dozens of allied nations, and Biden said U.S. support is vital to keeping other allies in the fight.
Weve have not forgotten the mass graves, the bodies found bearing signs of torture, rape used as a weapon by the Russians, and thousands and thousands of Ukrainian children forcibly taken into Russia, stolen from their parents. Its sick, Biden said.
If we dont stop Putins appetite for power and control in Ukraine, he wont limit himself just to Ukraine. Hes — Putin has already threatened to ‘remind’ — quote, ‘remind’ Poland that their western land was a gift from Russia, Biden said.
One of his top advisors, a former president of Russia, has called Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania Russias ‘Baltic provinces’. These are all NATO Allies, he said.
Biden also addressed Iran’s support for both Hamas and Russia, saying, well continue to hold them accountable.
Per reports, the aid package requested by Biden is expected to total more than $100 billion, though some of that is earmarked for humanitarian aid, as well as funding for operations at the U.S.–Mexico border, and in the Indo-Pacific region, including Taiwan.
“Its a smart investment thats going to pay dividends for American security for generations,” Biden said.
TMX contributed to this article.
