By Ray Cardello for November 28, 2024, Season 30 / Post 10

The title intimates that I am concerned about Joe Biden’s actions on the global stage during his last two months in office, but that would presume he is in power. We all know that Biden is not in charge, but we cannot pinpoint exactly who is calling the shots for this Manchurian president. Whoever it may be, the Biden administration is taking bold steps to escalate the war in Ukraine at a time when they should be laying low and allowing Trump and his incoming administration to take the reins on this endless conflict. Money is not the only concern in the Biden/Ukraine relationship; it is significant. Biden has already sent $175 billion to Ukraine during this three-year conflict and wants to send another $24 billion in tax-payer dollars before he retires to Rehoboth Beach. If I were to be hyper-cynical, I would say that Biden was doing this to get one more bite at the money Zelenskyy funnels back to The Big Guy every time we send Ukraine a check with a long string of zeros. To be factual, only about 60% of the money goes directly to Ukraine, while the rest goes to defense contractors in the United States. The truth is, we really can’t account for where most of the money goes or how it is used. However, Ukraine is now the leading recipient of foreign aid from the United States, and we haven’t even begun to estimate the cost of rebuilding Ukraine when the fighting ends.

Not to belittle $200 billion, but there are more significant concerns with Biden’s last chapter actions in Ukraine. Two decisions this week indicate that Joe Biden is throwing gas on this fire to sabotage the battle between Ukraine and Russia for the incoming Trump. Biden “gave permission” to Ukraine to launch offensive missiles into Russian territory and the use of land mines. It was challenging to write that sentence, let alone understand its ramifications, mainly when it describes the actions of a man who gave us the Afghanistan withdrawal. Joe Biden will never be described as a military mastermind in any history book. These two edicts will do nothing but prolong this battle, prompt more aggressive actions by Russia, and incite the international community that has been battling against the use of land mines.

Ukraine cannot win this war, and the fact that North Korea has entered the conflict by sending thousands of troops to help Russia tells us this has to come to an end now. It is not hyperbole to say we are on the brink of World War III. Still, the Biden administration is leaving us with the weakest military America has had in decades, and we are not ready to respond if we must protect NATO countries and all of Europe. Trump has already impacted the Middle East crisis, and a ceasefire is in place. We must not allow Biden to further escalate the Ukraine battle to a point where Trump will be unable to use diplomacy to end the killing and destruction. Whatever senseless motivation is driving Biden and his handlers must be shut down before Putin is coaxed to use his power to obliterate Ukraine.