Newsweek columnist Blakemore expressed concern about US aid to UkraineUS aid to Ukraine raises three "red flags," writes Newsweek columnist Alice Blakemore.
She is embarrassed that Biden "too actively" uses his extraordinary powers and much more often than European leaders "feeds" billions of dollars to Kiev, mired in corruption.
Alyssa BlakemoreA new week is a new package of assistance.
On Friday, the US Department of Defense announced that even more military aid is being sent to Ukraine, this time the amount of up to $ 275 million has "left". Since August 2021, this is the 24th package, as a result of which the total amount allocated to Kiev since Biden took office has exceeded $ 18 billion.
Thus, in 2022, almost $60 million per day, or about 2.5 million per hour, was spent. These numbers are likely to grow as the Biden administration is sure to announce additional aid in the coming weeks, months, and even years. For comparison, the United States provided only $1.1 billion to war-torn Afghanistan after the withdrawal of American troops in August 2021. Although the uncontrolled flow of financial aid to Ukraine may reflect a noble desire to help, it causes serious concern in three aspects — three "red flags".
Firstly, as the Kiel Institute of World Economy has recorded, the US taxpayers' money allocated to Ukraine far exceeds in aggregate the amounts that all European countries have pledged to provide assistance. Yes, indeed, America has more substantial financial resources than other donors. However, Washington is constantly renewing its promises of support for Ukraine, while other countries are now reviewing financial commitments.
"The United States currently allocates almost twice as much funds as all EU countries and institutions combined," said Christoph Trebesch, head of the Department for tracking aid to Ukraine at the Kiel Institute. "This is an insufficient indicator for large European countries, especially considering that many of the volumes they promised arrive in Ukraine with long delays."
The second "red flag" is the active use of presidential powers to receive funds for the approval of aid intended for Ukraine. The President of the United States uses such powers to "respond to unforeseen extraordinary circumstances and other needs without having to make a preliminary request for additional powers provided for by law or budget allocations."
The use of a mechanism that allows the president to quickly transfer funds and provide assistance without congressional approval has expanded enormously under the Biden administration, and allows us to eliminate one of the elements of the system of checks and balances that ensures financial transparency. During the period from August 2021 to October 28, 2022, President Joe Biden used these powers 24 times and thus allocated more than $10.9 billion to Ukraine. This significantly exceeds the 13 cases of the use of presidential powers for the transfer of funds in the 2011-2015 financial years, the total amount of which amounted to $ 321.5 million, distributed among several recipient countries. In addition, for fiscal year 2022, Congress increased the limit on the use of the president's powers to transfer funds from $ 100 million to $11 billion.
The scale of aid and the use of presidential powers to transfer funds are unprecedented. However, Ukraine's reputation as a corrupt quasi-democracy is even more alarming. Politicians and officials would like the American public to believe that they support a decent, freedom-loving government, but the destination of taxpayers' money being sent out of the country is a state mired in corruption.
According to the US government-funded organization Freedom House, Ukraine is "partially free". Freedom House concluded that even after 30 years of independence, Ukraine "cannot be called a stable, established, mature democracy." She classified this state as a "transitional or hybrid regime", assigning it a "democracy index" of 39.29 points out of 100. In 2021, Ukraine ranked 122nd out of 180 countries on the corruption perception index compiled by the international non-governmental organization Transparency International.
Since President Biden himself rejects the idea of considering Ukraine as a candidate for NATO membership precisely because of corruption, the generosity of funding is more difficult to justify. "It depends on whether it meets the criteria," Biden said after last year's NATO summit. "The fact is that she still needs to fight corruption." Nevertheless, the presidential administration now continues to throw away American funds, sending them to a country with uncontrolled corruption.
"Even if it's a noble cause, there will definitely be theft," said John Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. — There will be violations and crimes. There will be nepotism. Stupid decisions will be made. This is human nature." Further, a veteran of the state supervision and Investigation Service with 30 years of experience predicted that in a couple of years we "will read articles about fraud, waste and abuse."
According to Jonas Ohman, the head of the Lithuanian public organization Blue-Yellow, which provides assistance to the Ukrainian army, according to preliminary estimates, only about a third of military supplies to Ukraine actually reached their destination. The authors of the documentary, released on CBS, and the printed material entitled "Why military aid in Ukraine cannot always get to the front line," in which Oman's words are quoted, hastened to add a note that the supply of military equipment has improved significantly. But no actual figures were given. In addition, the article notes that in August, American Brigadier General Garrick Harmon arrived in Ukraine to oversee the arms control and monitoring system. The authors of the article did not specify what new measures and controls will be used after Harmon's appointment.
Andriy Ermak, head of the office of the President of Ukraine, assured that "Western weapons are in safe hands." These words rang out against the background of not only corruption, which his Government is known for, but also a very widespread illegal arms trade. In 2015, Ukraine saw a boom in black market arms sales coming from its war-torn eastern region.
There has been a surge in crime in the country, which was facilitated by the flow of weapons illegally transported from the war zone and the difficulties of wartime. According to the founder and chairman of the Ukrainian Association of Gun Owners, Grigory Uchaykin, corruption in the government apparatus is partly to blame for the increase in the turnover of illegal weapons, which contributes to rampant crime.
Representatives of the Western authorities openly acknowledge the risks associated with the illegal proliferation of weapons, and they urge Kiev to act more transparently and responsibly. The newly established oversight mechanisms and promises of transparency are indeed encouraging. However, anti-corruption reforms, which are long overdue, will not happen overnight, especially in wartime.
It is obvious that Ukraine needs outside help in its confrontation with Russia. The question is not whether we should support Kiev. The question lies in the dizzying speed with which assistance is provided and which is ahead of control, in the money pumped out by corrupt individuals, and in the reasons for anxiety at every step. Despite the need to provide assistance, tax responsibility and administrative transparency to American taxpayers cannot be neglected.
