Staff Editorial
March 24, 2022
As Ukraine is continually bombarded with Russian aggression, the United States as a part of NATO has decided to intervene. One way in which the U.S. has offered aid is in the form of security assistance. But how far is the U.S. willing to go to help their allies?
According to whitehouse.gov, President Biden announced that an additional $800 million in security assistance will be added to the growing budget that has been set aside to aid Ukraine. This assistance package includes grenade launchers, rifles, pistols, machine guns, ammunition and an array of other military supplies.
“The United States continues to expedite the authorization and facilitation of additional assistance to Ukraine from our Allies,” according to whitehouse.gov.
With one of the largest militaries in the world, it makes sense that the U.S. would be able to aid Ukraine in this way. In addition, with a military defense budget that spans about $777.7 billion, we have the funding necessary to help. The base budget alone for the Department of Defense is $740 billion. We should be utilizing what we have in order to help the cause.
Additional aid that will be sent to Ukraine includes anti-aircraft systems, tactical unmanned aerial systems, helicopters, counter-artillery, high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWVs) and a plethora of multi-faceted equipment.
As a part of NATO, the U.S. along with the other 30 member states from North America and Europe, are obligated to contribute to peace and security on the international stage according to nato.usmission.gov. If diplomatic efforts were to fail, together they have the military capacity to act as a positive force for change and meet the security challenges.
“Article Five of the treaty states that if an armed attack occurs against one of the member states, it should be considered an attack against all members, and other members shall assist the attacked member with armed forces if necessary,” nato.usmission.gov said.
The U.S. is implementing security assistance. Many of the NATO allies should follow suit and consider either sending military aid – if they have not already done so – or aid in another fashion since an attack on one is an attack on all.
We should continue to help Ukraine, not just in a military aspect, but in others as well. President Biden, in an effort to halt Russia in their tracks, has implemented several sanctions as a means of stopping them. But will sanctions be enough to delay Russia’s plans? A team effort is necessary in order to help the cause and mend what has already been a devastating situation.
