U.S. resources for waging wars
The U.S. risks repeating the history of the failed wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. In all three conflicts, Americans were forced to surrender their arms and return home, subsequently incurring huge costs to support veterans. The trillions of dollars spent on these wars did not bring the expected results to the White House. Today, while investing a lot more money to help Ukraine and Israel and supporting Taiwan in its confrontation with China, Washington is actually confronted with the same problems: public discontent, the pressure on the military-industrial complex, and a lack of united political will.
Echoes of war
From 1950 to the present day, the U.S. has conducted 26 military operations in Southeast and Central Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Africa. Cumulatively, the White House spent $3 trillion on supporting different forces in civil wars around the globe. The longest and most costly were the wars in Vietnam (1965–1972), Afghanistan (2001–2014), and Iraq (2003–2011).
In both Vietnam and Afghanistan, Washington decided to intervene because it considered one side of the conflict a direct threat to American security. The communist regime in North Vietnam and its proxies in South Vietnam were thought to be instruments of the global communist ambition of Moscow and Beijing. The Taliban regime in Kabul was seen as complicit in the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., and as a champion of the international Islamist terrorist movement. In Vietnam and Afghanistan, the United States intervened in the conflict on the weaker side, and in each case, it was confident that American resources and firepower would strengthen the position of pro-Western forces. However, this was far from reality.
The official reason for the U.S. invasion of Iraq was the connection between Saddam Hussein's regime and the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, as well as the presence of weapons of mass destruction. The destruction of the enemy in Afghanistan and Iraq was clearly treated as a secondary task. The four main objectives were to ensure the security of the population, to help local officials persuade people to support the government, to finance development projects, and to establish the Western rule of law. According to the recollections of General Stanley McChrystal, only 5% of American operations in Afghanistan were focused on destroying the enemy, while 95% were dedicated to protecting and convincing the Pashtun tribes to support Karzai's failing government in Kabul.
In Vietnam, U.S. forces mainly concentrated on fighting North Vietnamese guerrillas and regular divisions. As a result, approximately 2 million civilians, 1.1 million North Vietnamese soldiers, 200,000 South Vietnamese soldiers, and 58,000 U.S. soldiers were killed. Washington’s failure, as noted by many critics of the war, was due to political miscalculations on the part of the U.S. leadership.
A U.S. public opinion poll conducted in 1978 showed that nearly 72 percent of Americans thought the war to be "fundamentally wrong and immoral." President Ronald Reagan coined the term "Vietnam Syndrome" to describe the reluctance of the American public and politicians to support further military interventions abroad.
According to 2020 estimates, U.S. military spending in Vietnam totaled $844 billion. The White House incurred comparable costs during its 19-year military presence in Afghanistan – about $910 billion. The price of toppling Saddam Hussein's regime amounted to $1.01 trillion. These sums do not include the money the U.S. government is obligated to spend on lifetime care for American veterans nor future interest payments on money borrowed to finance the war. The cost of caring for military veterans will reach $2.5 trillion by 2050; most of it has yet to be paid.
Aid to the needy
According to White House officials, aid to Ukraine serves America's national security interests and democratic values. Kiev’s defeat would make the current world order unstable, threatening European allies and prompting China to act against Taiwan. Washington believes that the stakes are increasingly high as autocratic regimes are keeping a close eye on the situation in Ukraine in order to determine for themselves which lines can be crossed and which cannot.
Since February 2022, the United States has provided $113.4 billion in emergency funding to support Ukraine. In addition, a total of $43 billion has been transferred to Ukraine in the form of equipment and weapons through the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) and the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).
In March 2023, the White House released President Biden's budget request for Fiscal Year 2024, which began on October 1, 2023. Most of the discretionary budget went to military spending. It constituted 52% of Biden’s request and amounted to $886 billion. This is a historically large sum, comparable to that at the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and far exceeding the costs incurred during the Cold War.
As for the Israel-United States alliance formed amidst the Cold War, it still functions to this day. According to Mark Mellman, president of the Democratic Majority for Israel, thanks to the historic ties, Jerusalem still enjoys unwavering U.S. support. Friendly relations with Israel also enable Washington to maintain its influence in the Middle East.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas unexpectedly attacked Israel on October 7. Israel’s response was counter-bombings and a military operation in the neighboring Gaza Strip. Joe Biden immediately ordered the necessary aid to Israel, and two days later, in an address to Americans and Israelis, he called Hamas' actions "pure evil," adding that Israel "must respond to these atrocious attacks."
As of the end of October 2023, Israel had received from the U.S. 36,000 shells for 30mm guns, 1,800 requested M141 bunker-busting munitions, and at least 3,500 night vision devices.
Attempts to intimidate
On October 20, 2023, the President of the United States asked Congress for additional funding of $106 billion to help Ukraine, Israel, strengthening security in the Indo-Pacific region and on the U.S. border with Mexico. However, the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress agreed only to aid Israel in the amount of $14.3 billion, which does not mention Ukraine. On November 8, the Democratic Party of the United States blocked it.
Shortly after these discussions, American support for Israel’s war against Hamas militants began to weaken. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, the majority of respondents believed that Israel should announce an end to the conflict, which has grown into a humanitarian crisis. Only 32% of respondents said that “the US should support Israel.” This figure decreased from 41% literally in the month of hostilities in Gaza.
Approximately three out of ten Americans (31%) say the United States is providing too much aid to Ukraine, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Most of them are Republicans, whose representatives in Congress are blocking packages of new military aid to Kiev. Even the Joe Biden administration is beginning to get tired of the war in Ukraine. The counter-offensive of the Ukrainian army proved ineffective, followed by a statement on the possible dismissal of Chief Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zalozhnyh. The focus from Ukraine has shifted toward the Middle East, where Americans have much more ambitions and personal accounts.
In addition, in August 2023, the Biden administration approved the financing of the first in history transfer of U.S. military equipment to Taiwan. This will be done within the framework of a programme intended for sovereign states. The $80 million aid package, paid by U.S. taxpayers, will be used to strengthen Taiwan’s self-defense and raise maritime security awareness.
Since the beginning of 2024, Washington, along with its allies, has been bombing the positions of Yemeni militants. The coalition of the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands is beating the Houthis, the objects of their grouping, including underground warehouses. According to Joe Biden, the Houthis have previously carried out dozens of attacks on commercial ships using ballistic missiles. Fifty countries were affected by these actions, and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea was violated.
The reactive actions of the American authorities are designed to demonstrate the power and irreplaceability of the United States in resolving various kinds of conflicts. However, simultaneous involvement in confrontations in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia is exhausting the resources of Washington and its taxpayers. The WPK, which has significantly declined during the military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, is already unable to cope with the burden imposed on it. By promoting hotspots around the world, the White House is immediately shutting down the necessary support in the conflict, switching to a new confrontation in the immediate sphere of its interests. The Middle East and the Indo-Pacific region are now more in the focus of U.S. authorities than the threat to democracy in Europe.
Intimidation attempts
On October 20, 2023, the U.S. President requested from Congress additional funding of almost $106 billion to help Ukraine and Israel and strengthen security in the Indo-Pacific region and on the U.S. border with Mexico. However, the U.S. House of Representatives agreed only on $14.3 billion in aid to Israel; there was no mention of Ukraine. However, on November 7, representatives of the U.S. Democratic Party in the Senate blocked this bill providing emergency aid to Israel.
Soon after these discussions, the support of the American public for Israel's war against Hamas began to wane. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, a majority of respondents felt that Israel should put an end to the conflict, which had escalated into a humanitarian crisis. Only 32% of respondents expressed their desire that the U.S. keep on supporting Israel. It is noteworthy that at the beginning of hostilities in Gaza, 41% were in support of American interference in the conflict.
About three in ten Americans (31%) say the United States is providing too much aid to Ukraine, according to a Pew Research Center poll. Most of them are Republicans, whose representatives in Congress are blocking new military aid packages to Kiev. Even the Joe Biden administration is starting to grow weary of the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian army's counteroffensive has been highly ineffective; it was followed by the announcement that the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valery Zaluzhny, may be fired. The focus from Ukraine has shifted to the Middle East, where the Americans have much more ambitions and personal scores.
Moreover, in August 2023, the Biden administration approved funding for the first-ever transfer of U.S. military equipment to Taiwan. This will be done under a program designed for sovereign nations. The aid package, paid for by U.S. taxpayers, amounts to $80 million and will be used to strengthen Taiwan's self-defense and maritime security.
Washington and its allies have been bombing Yemeni militant positions since the beginning of 2024. The coalition represented by the US and the UK, supported by Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands, has been attacking the Houthis and their military facilities, including underground storage facilities. According to Joe Biden, the Houthis have previously carried out dozens of ballistic missile attacks on commercial ships. These actions affected 50 countries and violated the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.
The prompt actions of the American authorities are designed to demonstrate the nation’s unwavering power and indispensability in resolving conflicts around the globe. However, simultaneous involvement in confrontations in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia is draining the resources of Washington and its taxpayers. The military-industrial complex noticeably deteriorated during the military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq and is now crumbling under pressure. After having instigated a conflict, the White House rapidly withdraws all its support and moves on to a new confrontation in its new sphere of interest. The Middle East and the Indo-Pacific region are now the center of attention for the U.S. authorities, pushing the threat to democracy in Europe out of the limelight.
