Courtesy of Mish.
People keep asking why I have a spotlight on Ukraine and not Gaza.
It should be obvious. The economic impact of the Civil war in Ukraine has a huge European economic interest.
Moreover, risk of further escalation involving Russia and the US looms large.
The Financial Times reports Debate Heats Up in US and Europe Over Arming Kiev.
As Barack Obama departs for Europe to attend a crucial NATO summit, the US president is facing fresh pressure at home to provide weapons to Ukraine, including from senior members of his own party.
European governments are also considering the wisdom of sending arms to Ukraine, with many leaders from eastern Europe eager to do more to help Kiev, while western European governments remain cautious.
“I think it is very important to recognise that a military solution to this problem is not going to be forthcoming,” Mr Obama said last week.
But even leading members of his own party have joined Republican critics to call for more assistance to Kiev. Adam Smith, the leading Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said at the weekend that the US should help Ukraine build “a more capable fighting force to resist” Russia.
Robert Menendez, the Democrat who chairs the Senate foreign relations committee, said the recent Russian actions were “a watershed moment” in the Ukraine crisis and added that for the White House the issue of sending heavy weapons “may be very well on the table right now”.
NATO to Endorse 4,000 Man Rapid Response Force
Yesterday, the New York Times reported NATO Weighs Rapid Response Force for Eastern Europe
As Ukrainian leaders warned on Monday of “a great war” with Russia, NATO leaders meeting in Wales this week were expected to endorse their most concrete response yet to increased Russian military intervention in Ukraine: establishing a rapid-reaction force capable of deploying quickly to Eastern Europe, officials of the alliance said.
The new force of some 4,000 troops, capable of moving on 48 hours’ notice, will be supported with logistics and equipment pre-positioned in Eastern European countries closer to Russia, with an upgraded schedule of military exercises and deployments that are intended to make NATO’s commitment of collective defense more credible and enhance its deterrence.
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