US President Joe Biden directly appealed to the US public to support funding for Israel’s and Ukraine’s war efforts, saying that Hamas and Russian President Vladimir Putin pose parallel threats to US democracy.
The Oval Office address, which took about 15 minutes, preceded a formal White House request that Congress provide about US$100 billion in resources for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and the US southern border. Biden said that supporting Ukraine and Israel in their fights against Russia and militant groups, respectively is “vital for America’s national security.”
“I know these conflicts can seem far away, and it’s natural to ask why does this matter to America,” Biden said on Thursday. “Hamas and Putin represent different threats. They share this in common: They both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy.”
Photo: Reuters
This was the second Oval Office address of Biden’s presidency.
“History has taught us that when terrorists don’t pay a price for their terror, when dictators don’t pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction,” Biden said.
Biden said he would send Congress an “urgent budget request to fund America’s national security” and “critical partners including Israel and Ukraine” yesterday.
The ask would include about US$60 billion in funding for Ukraine over the next year, and more than US$10 billion in funding to bolster Israeli defenses. The request would also include additional asks in excess of US$10 billion for both humanitarian aid, which could help address the situation in Gaza, as well as for US border security measures, a key ask of some Republican Party members.
The White House package would also include funding for the Indo-Pacific that is expected to bolster allies and partners like Taiwan, sources said.
The Biden administration failed to gain lawmakers’ approval for a package last month containing about US$24 billion in Ukraine aid, amid opposition from ultraconservative Republicans.
There is bipartisan support in Congress for financing Israel’s war-time needs, but public opinion remains mixed. US public’s support for backing Ukraine has also waned since the conflict began last year.
In related news, US forces in the Middle East are facing increasing threats as a US Navy warship shot down missiles appearing to head toward Israel on Thursday, and US bases in Iraq and Syria were repeatedly targeted by drone attacks.
Later, a US official said there had been a rocket attack early yesterday morning on US and coalition forces at a diplomatic support center near the Baghdad International Airport.
Initial assessments indicated two rockets were fired, the official said, noting that one was intercepted by a counter-rocket system and the other struck an empty storage facility.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public, said no casualties were reported.
Earlier, the USS Carney, a Navy destroyer in the northern Red Sea, intercepted three land attack cruise missiles and several drones that were launched by Houthi forces in Yemen.
Additional reporting by AP
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS