Jun 26, 2024
- CNN reports that Biden is considering allowing US private military contractors to go to Ukraine.
- Sources told the outlet that they would be restricted to helping maintain US-supplied equipment.
- The Biden administration has long ruled out a move like this.
President Joe Biden’s administration is moving toward a plan that would allow US military contractors to deploy to Ukraine for the first time in a limited capacity, CNN reported.
Four US officials familiar with the matter told the outlet that a policy is being worked on to allow the Pentagon to issue private contracts to send troops for the maintenance and repair of US-supplied systems in Ukraine.
Biden himself has not signed off on the policy, CNN reported.
A White House spokesperson told Business Insider: “We have not made any decisions and any discussion of this is premature.
“The President is absolutely firm that he will not be sending US troops to Ukraine,” they added.
Should the draft plan go ahead, it would be put into action later this year, the officials told CNN.
The move would cross a long-held red line for Biden, who has been wary of taking actions that would put American troops in the firing line or bolster Russian claims that the US, and NATO more broadly, is fighting a proxy war in Ukraine.
CNN’s sources insisted that the plan includes the requirement that contractors develop strong risk-mitigation plans.
They also said that the move would likely see numbers from just a few dozen, up to around 200, contractors in Ukraine at any one time.
This would be a far cry from the previous situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, which saw tens of thousands of private personnel contracted by the US.
If it went ahead, the move would likely help relieve considerable logistics headaches over keeping US-supplied weapons and equipment working.
US maintenance support remains remote, conducted via video calls and chat lines, with seriously damaged equipment needing to be sent to neighboring countries for repairs.
This is a problem for artillery like Howitzers, which are needed almost constantly for the defense of the front line — but is also likely to be a key issue for the F-16s Ukraine is readying to use, which bring with them a host of complex maintenance needs.
In February, European leaders balked at French President Emmanuel Macron’s statement that the deployment of Western troops to Ukraine should not be ruled out.
As of earlier this month, Macron is proceeding with a plan to bring together a coalition of countries who could send troops to Ukraine in a similar supporting role to the plan being considered in the US — the training of Ukrainian troops and the maintenance of equipment.
Allowing US private contractors to go to Ukraine would not be the first time that the Biden White House has crossed its self-imposed red lines regarding support for Ukraine.
F-16s were a no-go until last summer — while more recently, the US said it was allowing Ukraine to use its weaponry in limited strikes on Russian soil.
With Biden, everything that has to do with Ukraine aid is restrained. His intelligence is also quite restrained. His courage is nonexistent.
Just think, he is the better choice for president. I thunder with anger when I think that this is all our two parties gave us as options. They could find no one better out of 350,000,000 people!
Let’s assume for a moment that the US avoids being run by a putler-rimming felon and sleepy Joe carries on; the least worse of two abysmal options.
The challenges will be worse than they are now: putler will have pressed another horde of orcs into action, supplemented by an unknown but significant number of norks.
Biden is clear : no US troops. So he must provide Ukraine with mercs; purchased via international brokers. Ten divisions are what’s needed just to be going on with.
He can do whatever he wants, regarding aid to Ukraine, because most of our Congress would support him, but he’s restraining himself. He remains in his too little too late with restrictions mode, even with this measure. Biden is such a pathetic POTUS, that it’s hugely irritating! That he’s the better choice is horrifying
“Let’s assume for a moment that the US avoids being run by a putler-rimming felon”
President Biden’s calculations may change once he’s secure of being re-elected. Let’s face it – if he sent in a bunch of Americans and they got killed, that would hurt his chances of staying in office – and if the putler-rimming sexual abuser and convicted felon got back in office, that would be a disaster for both Ukraine and the United States.
Did you see the debate? From what is appearing on mainstream news sites, it was a disaster; not for trumpkov.
Any chance of Biden being replaced with someone who can think clearly and debate competently?
Yes, I did. trumpkov lied continuously, and didn’t answer most of the questions. Which of course isn’t going to bother any of his followers in the MAGAt cult.
President Biden didn’t come out looking too good. But he had his facts straight.
I’d rather have a president who can run the country competently than one who can debate well but lacks the requisite skills to run the country.
I think the consensus in his own party is that he must stand down. Even their house mag; NYT wants this.
“Even their house mag”
The NY Times may lean Democratic, but they’re no fan of President Biden.
The feud between Biden and the Times burst out into the open with confirmation that the editorial slant against Biden has come at the request of the paper’s own publisher, A.G. Sulzberger, and from other top officers at the outlet. Said one Times journalist to Politico,
“All these Biden people think that the problem is Peter Baker or whatever reporter they’re mad at that day. It’s A.G. He’s the one who is pissed [that] Biden hasn’t done any interviews and quietly encourages all the tough reporting on his age.”
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/04/25/new-york-times-biden-white-house-00154219
“Folks, I don’t walk as easy as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to. But I know what I do know — I know how to tell the truth … I know right from wrong. And I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done!” 👊
— President Joe Biden
He’s too weak, too feeble. His courage is too little. He is too old.
So, in your mind, the guy that allowed putin’s invasion is better than the one that prevented it? Hmmm. Interesting. Backwards, if you’re a Ukraine supporter, but interesting.
In what parallel universe did your god/king prevent the simmering and intensification of hostilities by the rashists Sir RSM?
How much territory did poopin take under Trump? That’s right, zero. How much taken under Biden and Obama? I rest my case. And do me a favor, Christian, knock off the cult language. I follow the first commandment. Do you? It doesn’t appear that way. It looks like you’re in need of some Golden Rule lessons if you want to maintain any semblance of credibility. Start with this lesson from John:
And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.
I strongly suggest you try it because it works.
See replies below.
“the guy that allowed putin’s invasion”
As I’ve posted before, President Biden did everything possible to try and prevent the invasion.
Let’s not forget that Trump had weakened NATO and vowed to pull the U.S. out of it if he won a second term. Biden and his secretary of state, Antony Blinken, had worked hard to pull the alliance back together.
Biden worked the phones and Blinken flew around the world, talking to allies not only to warn them but also to get pledges to pressure Russia, help Ukraine defend itself, and accept refugees if necessary. On one day alone, Biden spoke with leaders from the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Poland, and Romania; the secretary general of NATO; and the presidents of the European Union.
Biden and Blinken anticipated Putin’s pretenses for an invasion of Ukraine and publicized them, taking away from the Russian president a key propaganda lever. Along with their allies, they warned they would respond to any invasion of Ukraine with heavy economic sanctions that would crush the Russian economy. This was a threat many observers met with skepticism, since sanctions imposed after Russia’s 2014 invasion and subsequent occupation of Ukraine had not been strong enough to force Putin to a reckoning.
“How much territory did poopin take under Trump? That’s right zero.
You gloss over a lot in making that statement and it is false. 25th of November 2018, FSB fired upon and captured three Ukrainian Naval vessels in the Sea of Azov and russia claimed it as russian territorial waters. You also ignore many other things the Trump administration did to aid and give comfort to the enemy.
“…knock off the cult language.”
If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, good chance it’s a duck.
Let’s look at what characterizes a cult.
1. Absolute authoritarianism without accountability.
2. Zero tolerance for criticism or questions.
3. Lack of meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget.
4. Unreasonable fears about the outside world that often involve evil conspiracies and persecutions.
5. A belief that former followers are always wrong for leaving and there is never a legitimate reason for anyone else to leave.
6. Abuse of members.
7. Records, books, articles, or programs documenting the abuses of the leader or group.
8. Followers feeling they are never able to be “good enough”.
9. A belief that the leader is right at all times.
10. A belief that the leader is the exclusive means of knowing “truth”.
” I follow the first commandment do you?”
I’m not the one whom is following someone who had a 6 ft gold statue made of himself in china from a mold made by a Mexican artist. Or whom accepts such terms falsely being applied to him as “the chosen one”, “prince of peace”, “savior”, or “second coming of Christ”,
Golden rule is principle of treating others as one would want to be treated. Sometimes called ethics of reciprocity. I don’t see how your reference to John 8:32 relates to that.
You missed context by not including an important part of verse 31 …if you continue in My word, then you are My disciples indeed;
Consider verses 44-45 as you follow after lies.
Ye are of (your) father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.