The US president announced this Thursday to the country that he will send an “urgent” request to Congress to fund “national security needs”, guaranteeing that the United States will be safer if it helps Ukraine and Israel.
“It is a smart investment that will pay dividends for American security for generations,” said Joe Biden in a rare speech from the Oval Office of the White House, broadcast live on the country’s main television networks.
In a prime-time speech that toggled between wars involving Ukraine and Israel, Biden asserted that “American leadership is what holds the world together” and the alliances it has with other countries keep Americans “safe.” in United States”.
“American values are what make us a partner nation they want to work with. Putting all that at risk – walking away from Ukraine, turning your back on Israel – is simply not worth it,” the head of state said.
According to the North American press, Biden will ask Congress on Friday for at least 60 billion dollars (about 56.7 billion euros) for the war in Ukraine, 14 billion dollars (13.2 billion euros) for Israel and 14 billion dollars for the United States. . edge.
The funding request, which is expected to be formally revealed on Friday, will amount to about $100 billion (€94.7 billion) over the next year, according to sources directly linked to the proposal, who requested anonymity.
“Help us keep American troops out of harm’s way. Help us build a safer, more peaceful and more prosperous world for our children and grandchildren,” Biden said, showing his clear goal of mobilizing public opinion to pressure Congress, that is united in the need to support Israel, but divided on support for Ukraine.
“I know we have our divisions at home. We have to overcome them. We cannot allow petty politics and angry partisanship to get in the way of our responsibility as a great nation,” he added, at a time when the most radical wing of the The Republican Party opposes continuing to support Kiev.
Despite being two very different conflicts, the leader tried to draw a line between them, and thus connect them with the United States.
Biden argued that Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Islamist group Hamas are similar in that “they both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy,” thus attempting to link the two conflicts.
Justifying the need for the United States to continue supporting Ukraine and Israel, the President stated that if international aggression continues, “conflict and chaos could spread” to other parts of the world.
“History has taught us that when terrorists do not pay a price for their terror, when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos, death and more destruction,” he argued.
The head of state took advantage of the occasion to address the anger and division that has inflamed North American communities in recent days, in direct relation to the conflict between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas, denouncing anti-Semitism and also Islamophobia.
Biden directly referenced last weekend’s murder of Wadea Al-Fayoume, a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy stabbed to death by his landlord, as an example of anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bias that cannot be tolerated.
“I see you, you belong here. And I want to tell you this: you are all Americans,” Biden said, in what was only his second speech from the Oval Office of the White House since assuming the presidency of the United States. January 2021.
Source: TSF
