Most Ukraine Aid ‘Goes Right Back’ to US, Nuland Claims
Washington spends most of the money allocated as aid for Ukraine on weapons production at home, Acting US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said in an interview with CNN this week.
Commenting on the pending aid package which Congress failed to approve before going on winter recess, Nuland said she has “strong confidence” that it will pass, as it addresses America’s own interests.
“We have to remember that the bulk of this money is going right back into the US economy, to make weapons, including good-paying jobs in some forty states across the US,” she stated, adding that support for Ukraine in America “is still strong.”
NEW – Nuland on Ukraine: “We have to remember that the bulk of this money is going right back into the U.S. to make those weapons.”pic.twitter.com/wo9jRMuLBX
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) February 24, 2024
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives blocked a bill requested by US President Joe Biden for an aid package for Kiev worth $60 billion, most of which is earmarked for weapons, earlier this month. They are expected to restart discussions on the package after they reconvene on February 28.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also recently said that roughly 90% of the financial assistance for Ukraine is spent on domestic production of weapons and equipment. At a press conference on December 20, he said additional tranches would “benefit American business, local communities, and strengthen the US defense industrial base.”
According to Germany’s Kiel Institute, which tracks international support for Kiev, Washington allocated nearly €68 billion ($73.7 billion) in aid for Ukraine between January 24, 2022 and January 15, 2024, including roughly €43 billion ($46.6 billion) in military aid.
However, Kiev has been increasingly demanding more aid from its Western backers. Several days ago, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky warned visiting American legislators that Kiev would “lose the war” against Russia without Washington’s assistance, according to US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Russia has criticized the US and other Western states for their military support for Kiev, arguing that it is only dragging out the conflict.
According to a recent survey from the Harris Poll and the Quincy Institute, a growing number of Americans do not support US military aid to Kiev unless it is tied to peace talks. Only 22% of respondents said Washington should continue ‘unconditionally’ providing Ukraine with financial assistance, while 48% said new funding must be conditioned on progress toward a diplomatic solution. Around 30% said the US should halt all aid.
Vivek, Noem Top Poll for Trump Vice President
Former US presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy tied with South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as the top choice for Donald Trump’s running mate among attendees of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday. Trump has said that a wide range of candidates are being considered, including former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard.
Ramaswamy and Noem both took 15% in the straw poll, with Gabbard – who denounced her former party in 2022 as elitist warmongers – coming in third place with 9%. New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott came in joint fourth place with 8% each.
The poll is unusual in that it was held while Trump has yet to secure the GOP’s nomination to face President Joe Biden this November. However, Trump has won all four Republican primary contests to date, and is considered by allies and opponents alike to be the party’s presumptive nominee.
Later on Saturday, the former president soundly defeated his only remaining challenger, Nikki Haley, in her home state of South Carolina. Despite the blow, Haley vowed to stay in the race, calling it her “duty” to represent the party’s traditional establishment wing.
Ramaswamy won support among Trump’s base during his short-lived campaign with promises to gut the federal bureaucracy, deport millions of illegal immigrants, cut funding to Ukraine, and re-evaluate the US relationship with NATO, which he called an “expansionist” bloc. Unlike his fellow contenders – most notably Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Ramaswamy refused to publicly criticize Trump, leading many pundits to argue that his campaign was aimed at securing a place in a potential Trump administration.
The 38-year-old entrepreneur endorsed Trump after the former president’s landslide victory in Iowa last month, announcing his decision to chants of “VP” from the Iowa crowd. Ramaswamy has since traveled to New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina to stump for Trump, and is set to campaign for his former rival in Michigan on Sunday.
Noem did not take part in the Republican primaries. “I was one of the first people to endorse Donald Trump to be president,” she said in her CPAC speech on Friday. “Last year, when everyone was asking me if I was going to consider running, I said no. Why would you run for president when you know you can’t win?”
Gabbard spoke at CPAC on Thursday, describing Trump as “a fighter” who is driven by “a sincere love and concern for the future of our country and his care for the American people.” In a speech described by The Guardian as “an audition for the vice-presidency,” Gabbard denounced the “Democrat elite and the swamp creatures in Washington” as power-hungry war-hawks, and the recent court judgment against Trump’s businesses as “a politically motivated hit job.”
Asked whether Ramaswamy, Noem, or Gabbard were on Trump’s “shortlist,” he told Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Tuesday that “they are.” The Republican frontrunner also confirmed that Scott, DeSantis, and Florida Congressman Byron Donalds were also being considered.
Alex Jones reveals that taking the COVID-19 injection may make your blood useless to the Red Cross.
Watch Neocon Warmonger-in-Chief Lindsey Graham Get Viciously Booed by MAGA Crowd in SC
The veteran South Carolina senator has offered ringing endorsements of every act of US military aggression abroad since 2003, and was a fervent backer of NATO’s proxy war against Russia in Ukraine before a surprise partial reversal this month, refusing to endorse a $61 billion Senate funding bill in favor of a loan scheme proposed by Donald Trump.
The MAGA crowd at Donald Trump’s victory bash after Saturday’s South Carolina primary gave a not so very warm welcome to Senator Lindsey Graham after Trump invited him to the podium to speak.
“Another man, not a lot of people know him, he doesn’t do too much television, he happens to be a little bit further left than some of the people on this stage, but I always say when I’m in trouble on the left I call up Lindsey Graham and he straightens it out so fast,” Trump said, with his comments met with a mix of applause and boos.
“No, no,” Trump said, gesturing to try to calm the rambunctious crowd. “I love him, he’s a good man! Come up here Lindsey!”
Lindsey Graham booed during Trump’s victory speech in South Carolina… his home state ?
It proves that our elections are rigged. pic.twitter.com/hbmc0221uv— TheStormHasArrived (@TheStormRedux) February 25, 2024
“Ok, are you ready?” Graham asked after reaching the podium, where he was met with more boos. “America, the nightmare you’re facing is just about over. Help is on the way. This is the most qualified man to be president of the United States. And let it be said that South Carolina created the biggest political comeback in American history,” the senator said before quickly dashing off from center stage.
Graham and Trump have had a difficult, on-again, off-again political relationship since the New York billionaire announced his run for the presidency in 2015, with the senator initially calling the real estate mogul a “jackass” and Trump returning the favor, calling Graham a “disgrace,” a “nut job” and “one of the dumbest human beings I’ve ever seen.” After entering office in 2017, Trump accused Graham and his fellow neocon, the late Senator John McCain, of ignoring issues like immigration and border security and instead “always looking to start World War III.”
Graham pulled an about face on Trump in 2019, presumably after realizing the then-president’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) wing of the party was gaining significant political clout and easing out traditional, George W. Bush-style neocon Republicans, after which he began to cozy up to Trump and even seemingly adopting elements of his personal style.
Graham became one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the US-backed proxy war against Russia in Ukraine in 2022, vowing to support Kiev for “as long as it takes” and saying US support was resulting in “Russians…dying,” which was “the best money we’ve ever spent.” Russia reacted by adding Graham to its “terrorists and extremists” listing.
The South Carolina senator pulled a bizarre 180 on his Ukraine stance earlier this month, expressing support for the MAGA Republican-dominated House of Representatives’ intransigence on further aid, and saying Congress’s priority was to “deal with our border first,” and saying he backed a Trump proposal to make the “supplemental aid package into a loan instead of a grant.”
Last week, Graham even defended Trump’s comments on NATO, which caused an explosion of exasperated anger by Democrats and neocon Republicans alike, saying he wants “to have a system where if you don’t pay, you get kicked out,” and that Trump was “right to want NATO nations to meet their obligation of 2 percent” of GDP on defense spending.
Political trends may help explain Graham’s about-face. Fresh polling of South Carolina Republicans’ attitudes toward American assistance for Ukraine by AP VoteCast has found that about 6 in 10 GOP voters oppose continuing aid to Kiev, in favor of Trump’s “America First” message, with about half saying the US should take a less active role in world affairs.
In his farewell address in January 2021, Trump said he was “especially proud to be the first president in decades who started no new wars” during his tenure. One of Trump’s twin impeachments revolved around his threat to temporarily put Ukraine military aid on hold while calling for an investigation into potential pay-to-play corruption by the Biden family in the Eastern European country.
WATCH: Smuggler Crashes With Illegals Laying in Pickup Bed During Wild Pursuit
A suspected human smuggler was arrested after a dangerous pursuit in Texas that ended when he crashed a pickup truck with illegal aliens laying in the bed, according to authorities.
The harrowing incident unfolded on Monday in Webb County near the Mexican border.
Texas Department of Public Safety (TxDPS) troopers attempted to pull over a suspicious vehicle when the driver took evasive action.
TxDPS released footage from the ensuing chase, which unfolded on a local highway packed with traffic.
2/19: A driver from #Laredo led @TxDPS on a high-speed chase in #WebbCounty. The chase came to a stop after the driver crashed. Troopers discovered 8 illegal immigrants concealed inside the vehicle. The driver was arrested & charged w/ evading & smuggling. #OperationLoneStar pic.twitter.com/jctoWA4vDk
— Chris Olivarez (@LtChrisOlivarez) February 23, 2024
The driver of the pickup can be seen weaving around big rigs and other vehicles before speeding down the grassy shoulder and nearly slamming into a tractor trailer passing through an intersection.
The suspect leaves the roadway again at high speed before crashing into a guardrail and coming to a stop.
TxDPS troopers swarm the pickup as passengers bail out of the cab.
At least four more people can be seen laying dazed and confused in the bed of the pickup.
The suspect was identified as Adrian Alejandro Ibarra, a resident of Laredo, Texas.
Ibarra was charged with one count of smuggling a person under 18 years of age, seven counts of smuggling persons with the likelihood of serious bodily injury or death, and evading arrest.
Chaos unfolds constantly along the U.S.-Mexico border, as Infowars regularly reports.
Alex Jones reveals that taking the COVID-19 injection may make your blood useless to the Red Cross.
Two Americans Feared Dead After Yacht Hijacked In Caribbean
Authorities in the Caribbean nation of Grenada believe three escaped prisoners hijacked a yacht and killed two Americans in the process as they sailed from Grenada to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Police in Grenada said Thursday that a preliminary investigation “suggests” after the three male prisoners escaped jail on Sunday, they hijacked a catamaran in St. George, Grenada, CNN reports.
Police are “currently working on leads that suggest that the two occupants of the yacht may have been killed in the process,” authorities stated, adding, “It is believed that the occupants of the yacht were American citizens.”
The Royal Grenada Police Force released images of the escaped prisoners who are now in police custody after the catamaran was found abandoned in Saint Vincent.
In a separate report, Fox 5 DC said the American couple is from northern Virginia:
Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel have been known to take trips to go cruising around Grenada. Their family told FOX 5 this is something they always do – live on their boat during the winter months. It’s an escape from their home in Falls Church, Virginia.
Suellen Desmarais, Ralph Hendry’s sister, is still trying to figure out what exactly happened on the vessel. She told Fox 5 that she’s keeping faith the two are alive.
A US State Department spokesperson told CNN: “We are aware of these reports involving US citizens. We are monitoring the situation and seeking additional information.”
Alex Jones reveals that taking the COVID-19 injection may make your blood useless to the Red Cross.
US, Allies Conduct Strikes Against 18 Houthi Targets in Yemen
The United States and its allies, including Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, have carried out strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, hitting 18 military targets of the movement, the US Defense Department said on Sunday.
“Today’s necessary and proportionate strikes specifically targeted 18 Houthi targets across 8 locations in Yemen associated with Houthi underground weapons storage facilities, missile storage facilities, one-way attack unmanned aerial systems, air defense systems, radars, and a helicopter,” the department said in a statement.The statement added that the strikes were conducted by the US, the UK, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand in response to the “Houthis’ continued attacks against commercial and naval vessels transiting the Red Sea and surrounding waterways.”
On the same day, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said that the movement fired several missiles at an American ship in the Gulf of Aden.
“The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a specific military operation targeted the American ship ‘TORM THOR’ in the Gulf of Aden, with a number of appropriate naval missiles,” Saree said on X.
In addition, Houthis also carried out drone attacks on a number of US military vessels in the Red Sea, the statement added.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Sunday that it had received information about an attack on a ship in the Gulf of Aden.”UKMTO has received a report of an incident 70 NM [nautical miles] east of the port of Djibouti. The Master reports an explosion in close proximity to the vessel, no damage is reported to the vessel and there are no injuries to the crew,” the agency said on X.
The Houthi movement, which controls large parts of northern and western Yemen, vowed in November 2023 to attack any ships associated with Israel until it halts military actions in the Gaza Strip. This led US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to announce the creation of a multinational operation to secure navigation in the Red Sea. US and UK forces later launched major strikes against Houthi positions in a bid to degrade the rebels’ ability to target commercial vessels.
Alex Jones reveals that taking the COVID-19 injection may make your blood useless to the Red Cross.