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Latest Biden policy reversal further escalates Ukraine conflict ahead of Trump inauguration

November 20, 2024 | | Print Article

Another lame-duck authorization found the Biden-Harris administration further escalating the conflict between Ukraine and Russia in spite of the will of voters.

Lost amid corporate media’s pablum punditry about the 1,000-day mark of the Eastern European war was the ongoing mission creep under President Joe Biden. What started with “historic” sanctions that failed to deter an invasion and paved the way for tens of billions of dollars, tanks, fighter jets, and missiles led to the authorization of anti-personnel land mines Tuesday.

CBS News confirmed that the latest policy reversal from the White House would allow the U.S. to provide mines to Ukraine with a commitment that the devices would not be used in areas populated with Ukrainian civilians.

It also came only days after the president authorized the use of the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) for Ukraine to strike targets within Russia, a strategy utilized for the first time Tuesday.

Following the initial escalation, it was reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin released a revised doctrine on the threshold for his country to authorize the use of nuclear weapons in retaliation.

The Associated Press indicated that the decision on mines was “very problematic” to Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide as it violated an international convention to which Ukraine was a signatory.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin defended their use, arguing, “The land mines that we would look to provide them would be land mines that are not persistent, you know, we can control when they would self-activate, self-detonate and that makes it far more safer eventually than the things that they are creating on their own.”

Speaking with NBC News, Austin said the U.S. was aware for weeks that Russia was “revamping” their policy on nuclear weapons, but proceeded nonetheless, and asserted, “We’ll continue to remain vigilant in this regard. But at this point, no, I don’t see an indication that there’s an imminent threat to use nuclear weapons.”

He also indicated that the U.S. believes 10,000 North Korean troops were in Russia’s Kursk Oblast to assist in efforts to reclaim land from Ukraine.

“We believe that those troops will be embedded in Russian formation, and I have every reason to believe that we will see them in combat in the not-too-distant future,” said Austin. “I think the intent’s there, but we’ve not seen that yet.”

Echoing the Defense Secretary’s lack of surprise over Russia’s nuclear doctrine, a National Security Council spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “As we said earlier this month, we were not surprised by Russia’s announcement that it would update its nuclear doctrine; Russia has been signaling its intent to update its doctrine for several weeks.”

“Observing no changes to Russia’s nuclear posture, we have not seen any reason to adjust our own nuclear posture or doctrine in response to Russia’s statements today,” the statement continued. “This is more of the same irresponsible rhetoric from Russia, which we have seen for the past two years. As we said to Russia weeks ago, Russia’s use of DPRK soldiers in combat operations against Ukraine presents a significant escalation of its war of choice against Ukraine and we warned that the United States would respond.”

Meanwhile, prior to the secondary escalation from the White House, Texas Rep. Keith Self submitted a letter to the president calling for a classified briefing on the approvals granted to Ukraine no later than Monday.

“Americans do not want World War III,” wrote Self. ” Following President-elect Trump’s November 5th victory, Vladimir Putin signaled his readiness to enter talks with the United States regarding an end to the Ukraine conflict. Furthermore, on November 15, 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that Russian aggression would end ‘faster’ once President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office.”

“This newfound expectation for peace in Eastern Europe is the byproduct of the will of the American people, who decisively pledged their support for a Commander-in-Chief who is committed to accomplishing peace through strength,” he continued.

The congressman noted that failure to provide the briefing would result in further oversight.

Kevin Haggerty
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