President Joe Biden staged an unannounced trip to Ukraine earlier this month where he once again vowed to continue supplying that nation’s military with money and equipment to ostensibly aid against invading Russian troops.
Days later, the White House announced another $2 billion in U.S. funding would be sent to Ukraine even as an increasing number of Americans are second-guessing the seemingly unlimited support for the foreign mission.
In addition to arguments that the money could be used to address serious domestic problems, many critics of the Biden administration’s position are concerned that the money is being misappropriated by Ukrainian officials.
"We've spent almost $100 billion on weapons & aid going to #Ukraine & the suffering that we have in our own country is being ignored."-@ReadeAlexandra @TuckerCarlson pic.twitter.com/UkLLj1YwA6
— Rage Against the War Machine (@RageAgainstWar_) February 18, 2023
During a recent Fox News Channel appearance, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) highlighted the need for accountability regarding where the assistance is actually going upon reaching Ukraine.
She recently introduced a resolution of inquiry similar to a measure she sponsored last year, noting that the Republican Party’s newfound majority in the House of Representatives gives it a better chance of success.
“It’s going to force Congress to give the American people an audit,” she said. “And that is exactly what the American people need — and audit of Ukraine, because we have no idea where all this money is going.”
If successful, the resolution will require the executive branch to release pertinent information about Ukrainian aid to the legislative branch.
“I’m introducing this resolution, and I’m looking forward to seeing my Republican colleagues support it,” Greene explained.
As Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko explained, the potential for corruption steadily increases as more money is injected into a nation’s economy.
“When you spend that much money that fast, there’s bound to be problems, there’s bound to be leakage,” he explained.
Sopko, who has chronicled such misappropriation in Afghanistan, compared the phenomenon to a sponge absorbing water.
“Drip, drip, drip — it holds the water,” he said. “Then all of a sudden it reaches a certain point, and then all the water starts spreading out from that sponge.”
Of course, those on the left who favor an indefinite period of Ukrainian aid are downplaying the potential for corruption. U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power insisted that there has been no “evidence that U.S. assistance is being misused or misspent” but acknowledged that “the key is not resting on anybody’s goodwill or virtue.”
