On Friday, the White House announced the most reckless and dangerous escalation yet of its involvement in the war with Russia, which has ordered Ukrainian pilots to fly US-made F-16 fighters and send nuclear-capable aircraft into the region. Decided to train for Of battle
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters at the G7 summit in Japan that Biden “informed his G7 counterparts that the United States would support a joint effort to train Ukrainian pilots in fighter aircraft.” Fourth generation, which includes the F-16. He said the United States would “work with our allies to determine when the planes will be delivered, who will deliver them and how many.”
Facing a series of major military setbacks for its proxy forces in Ukraine, the United States is widely expanding its direct involvement in the war, with potentially catastrophic consequences for all of humanity.
Despite being introduced to the market decades ago, the F-16 has been continuously upgraded and remains one of the most capable, complex and lethal weapon systems in the world. With a range of over 500 miles, it is capable of deploying the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, which has a range of up to 1,200 miles. These weapons threaten both Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Last March, the Pentagon rejected plans to send semi-obsolete Soviet-era MiG-29s to Ukraine because it could be mistaken for escalation “with NATO” and could lead to a significant Russian response. Which can increase the possibilities of military growth.
The fact that these words apply so heavily to the decision to send in the F-16s shows just how out of control the war in Ukraine is.
To an even greater extent than the M1 Abrams main battle tank, sending F-16 fighters to Ukraine would involve the deployment of logistics infrastructure and supply lines from NATO countries to Ukraine, including US citizens to help maintain these sophisticated Including deployment of contractors. System.
The F-16 is the workhorse of the US ‘nuclear sharing’ programme. In the event of a full-scale nuclear war, nuclear bombs located in Turkey, Germany, and Poland dropped from F-16 fighter jets would be among the first to explode.
The announcement that NATO will send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine comes in flagrant defiance of several clear promises made to the public by the Biden administration, aimed at reassuring the populace that it will prevent the escalation of a large-scale war with nuclear Russia. was about to escape. ,
In March 2022, Biden insisted that ‘the idea that we’re going to send invasion forces and planes and tanks and trains are going to come with American pilots and American crews, understand it—and make no mistake, whatever you Say – this is called the third world war’.
In May, Biden said: ‘We will not engage directly in this conflict, either by sending US troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces. We are not encouraging or allowing Ukraine to attack outside its borders.
One by one, Biden has crossed each of the ‘red lines’ set up to limit his administration’s involvement in the war.
In January, the Biden administration announced that it would send dozens of M1 Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine, along with hundreds of other main battle tanks from NATO countries.
In April, leaked documents revealed that 97 NATO special operations forces are stationed in Ukraine, as well as 71 active-duty US military personnel. According to an article published this week in the Wall Street Journal, these troops are “operating very close to the front line” and are a “guiding influence on the activity of Ukrainian special forces”.
Ukraine has privately obtained US authorization to conduct strikes inside Russia, and in February, US Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland publicly endorsed Ukrainian strikes inside Crimea. “These are legitimate goals,” Nuland said. ‘Ukraine is attacking them. We are supporting it’.
Now, with the shipment of the F-16 fighters, the United States has crossed the last of these self-proclaimed red lines.
But the war does not have public support. According to a University of Maryland poll, only one in five Americans approve of expanding American involvement in the war.
For this reason, the Biden administration has consistently lied about its plans to escalate the war and has presented its long-planned escalation measures as casual reactions to public ‘pressure’ from members of Congress from its NATO and US allies. tried to hide.
This story has been presented time and again in the American media. The Washington Post wrote, “For more than a year, Kiev’s holy grail has been putting F-16s in the skies over Ukraine for use against Russia… suddenly President Biden has said yes.”
“The changes, according to US, European and Ukrainian officials, are the result of persistent pressure from allies, Congress and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has just finished his tour of European capitals.”
The only caveat to this story is that the US has been working on plans to send the F-16 fighter since at least July 2022. That month, John Kirby, the National Security Council’s strategic communications coordinator, confirmed that the Pentagon was discussing “providing fighter jets to the Ukrainians”, and Air Force General Charles Q. Brown Jr. said that “discussions are ongoing”. To send US fighter jets and NATO to Ukraine.
The White House’s announcement that it would send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, under pressure from a series of military defeats, sets the stage for an escalation of war, including a full-scale conflict between the two countries with the largest nuclear arsenals. has been threatened. World.
