Javelins for parade? Nick Schifrin on PBS NewsHour
Nick Schifrin:
And a core one of, what was U.S. policy to Ukraine, and how much was the U.S. helping Ukraine? Over the last five years, the U.S. has provided Ukraine about $1.6 billion. That's across both the Obama and Trump administrations. And this is everything from ambulances, to police uniforms, to military assistance, night-vision, communications, radar, lots of training to try and make sure that the Ukrainian military looks toward the West, rather than the East.
Now, what we're looking at here is a Javelin. This is the key difference between the Obama administration and the Trump administration. The Trump administration sent an offensive weapon to Ukraine. Those are Javelins, anti-tank weapons seen in a parade in 2018. The reason we're showing you photos of a Javelin and a parade is that because they're not deployed to the front lines. The Trump administration is getting credit and talks about how they are deploying Javelins to Ukraine.
Here's the thing. Javelins have a specific security requirement. The Department of Defense says that, when they are deployed, they have to have extra security, basically. That security is not on the front lines. Ukraine is not able to provide that security on the front lines. So the Javelins that we're talking about, designed to destroy tanks, basically, are not actually being used on the front lines, where Ukrainian soldiers are fighting on one side, with Russian-backed separatists on the other.
What the U.S. ambassadors and diplomats who we have heard from say is that, even if they're not deployed, they provide deterrence to Russia, and that's why so many people were upset when President Trump stopped the deployment of $390 million of assistance that includes Javelins.
(snip)
Nick Schifrin:
Right, and as seen by those offensive weapons. And Republicans made that point.
The problem, of course, is that the Democrats point out, well, the president himself, Rudy Giuliani himself stopped the Trump administration policy of providing military aid to Ukraine, when there was a temporary freeze on that military aid, apparently asking that freeze to be lifted only when Ukraine did those investigations.
In the end there, though, Judy, as we talked about, the aid was sent. There was a President Trump and a President's Zelensky meeting. And Ukraine never did conduct those investigations.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/what-william-taylor-and-george-kent-shared-during-public-impeachment-hearings
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Is this the point? Aid was sent, Trump and Zelensky did meet and no investigation so, let's close everything and go home?
The response, of course, is that Trump did stop the aid and he did ask for a "favor." But I can see how this will be the line.
Don't know much about Schifrin. He is a regular contributor on PBS NewsHour..
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