Gunny
03-15-2022, 10:15 AM
IMO, the decision against a no-fly zone is a sound one. The "we know what Ukraine needs best", typical leftwingnut argument from that POS Lloyd Austin regarding the fighters not so much.
A moment of enormous political drama is assured on Wednesday, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will give a virtual address to Congress.
The speech was announced Monday by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (https://thehill.com/people/nancy-pelosi) (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (https://thehill.com/people/charles-schumer) (D-N.Y.).
But Zelensky’s speech could come with complications for President Biden (https://thehill.com/people/joe-biden), given that the Ukrainian president is virtually certain to renew his plea for a no-fly zone over his country and for more weaponry, including warplanes.
Biden, and most American lawmakers in both parties, are opposed to a no-fly zone, at least for the moment. They note the only way it can be enforced is if U.S. or other Western forces are willing to shoot down Russian planes — something that would likely ignite a full-blown war between Russia and the United States.
The issue of facilitating Ukraine in getting warplanes is a more nuanced one. The Biden administration backed away last week from a proposal from NATO member Poland to provide MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, amid some confusion.
The White House’s position on that issue has come in for plenty of GOP criticism. Forty Republican senators last week wrote an open letter supporting the provision of war planes to Ukraine. “Send them the planes they need,” Sen. Mitt Romney (https://thehill.com/people/willard-mitt-romney) (R-Utah) said at a news conference.
Now Zelensky will be making a version of the same argument.
He will be doing so having won near-universal acclaim for his leadership and personal bravery since the Russian invasion began. Zelensky, a former TV star, has also proven adept at using social media, becoming a charismatic counterweight to Russian President Vladimir Putin (https://thehill.com/people/vladimir-putin).
Zelensky already spoke to U.S. lawmakers via Zoom on March 5. But that call was restricted to lawmakers, whereas Wednesday’s address is expected to be made available to TV networks.
continued:https://thehill.com/homenews/the-memo/598191-the-memo-zelensky-virtual-address-raises-pressure-on-biden
A moment of enormous political drama is assured on Wednesday, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will give a virtual address to Congress.
The speech was announced Monday by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (https://thehill.com/people/nancy-pelosi) (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (https://thehill.com/people/charles-schumer) (D-N.Y.).
But Zelensky’s speech could come with complications for President Biden (https://thehill.com/people/joe-biden), given that the Ukrainian president is virtually certain to renew his plea for a no-fly zone over his country and for more weaponry, including warplanes.
Biden, and most American lawmakers in both parties, are opposed to a no-fly zone, at least for the moment. They note the only way it can be enforced is if U.S. or other Western forces are willing to shoot down Russian planes — something that would likely ignite a full-blown war between Russia and the United States.
The issue of facilitating Ukraine in getting warplanes is a more nuanced one. The Biden administration backed away last week from a proposal from NATO member Poland to provide MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, amid some confusion.
The White House’s position on that issue has come in for plenty of GOP criticism. Forty Republican senators last week wrote an open letter supporting the provision of war planes to Ukraine. “Send them the planes they need,” Sen. Mitt Romney (https://thehill.com/people/willard-mitt-romney) (R-Utah) said at a news conference.
Now Zelensky will be making a version of the same argument.
He will be doing so having won near-universal acclaim for his leadership and personal bravery since the Russian invasion began. Zelensky, a former TV star, has also proven adept at using social media, becoming a charismatic counterweight to Russian President Vladimir Putin (https://thehill.com/people/vladimir-putin).
Zelensky already spoke to U.S. lawmakers via Zoom on March 5. But that call was restricted to lawmakers, whereas Wednesday’s address is expected to be made available to TV networks.
continued:https://thehill.com/homenews/the-memo/598191-the-memo-zelensky-virtual-address-raises-pressure-on-biden