Time to be the arsenal of democracy

The quotes that got the most attention in President Joe Biden’s remarks on Tuesday about the terrorist attacks in Israel referred to “evil.” But the line with the most important policy foreshadowing was notable in that it did not name Israel per se: “When Congress returns, we’re going to ask them to take urgent action to fund the national security requirements of our critical partners.” Biden was referring to not only Israel but also Ukraine, Taiwan and the U.S. border. The White House is privately telling lawmakers it is preparing a supplemental funding request that would cover all four national security crises. That strategy would be wise and timely. Like President Franklin Roosevelt’s “call to arm and support” the Allies in 1940, it would position America as the “arsenal of democracy”.

What Biden didn’t admit is that having been elected by casting himself as a steady hand to restore stability after the chaos of his predecessor, the world is now ablaze with national security crises: Iran sponsors terrorism against Israel, Russia brutally attempts to colonize Ukraine, China develops the capability to annex Taiwan, and migrants stream across the southern U.S. border. This is no time for lawmakers on either side to elevate party over country by picking and choosing threats based on partisan politics. That danger is why Biden voiced this warning after previewing his legislative request: “This is not about party or politics. This is about the security of our world, the security of the United States of America”.

The terrorism Hamas inflicted on Israel is comparable to 9/11, not only in the human devastation and intelligence failure, but also how it feeds anguished thirst for revenge that will drive a harsh military response in Gaza and potentially beyond. The United States should be guided by its own lessons from 9/11, which include the folly of focusing only on threats in the Middle East, to the exclusion of Russia, China and domestic challenges. The best way to get off on the right foot of avoiding this myopia is to simultaneously enact assistance related to Israel, Taiwan, U.S. border security and Ukraine.

On Israel, the U.S. government has been responding swiftly this week. Within hours, Biden unequivocally stated that “Israel has the right to defend itself and its people. Full stop.” That message was soon echoed by the leaders of G-7 allies in Europe. The Pentagon sent munitions and a carrier strike group, while coordinating with Israel about requests for specific weapons. A U.S. official says these are different weapons than those needed by Ukraine: “Israel has Iron Dome, whereas Ukraine has NASAMS, Patriot, Hawks … It’s a bit of a different category”.

Security assistance for both Israel and Ukraine require congressional approval, as does the White House plan to fund arms for Taiwan as part of the Ukraine supplemental budget request. Whereas Taiwan usually pays to purchase U.S. weapons, these military transfers would be paid for by U.S. taxpayers under a program normally reserved for sovereign states. This strong signal of U.S. support would come at a time when Chinese President Xi Jinping has instructed his country’s military “to be ready by 2027 to conduct a successful invasion,” according to CIA Director William Burns.

In addition to assisting the three foreign partners, the White House plans to request the policy linkage that then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) appeared to have agreed upon with the White House before he was ousted, which is to pair Ukraine aid with U.S. border security measures. Legislation to address heightened migration should range from the funding needs of cities run by Democrats to the asylum standards that Republican lawmakers want to tighten.

Congress should also go big on Ukraine aid, meaning $90 billion of assistance with strong oversight and accountability provisions. That is the amount required for the United States to catch up with Europe in how much each country has committed to Ukraine. And it would be enough to get through the 2024 election, which is important, considering that Republicans are unlikely to continue approving Ukraine aid every few months in an election year when the top Republican presidential candidates are against it.

Last week, a group of 100 conservative national security professionals published an open letter calling on Republicans to support Ukraine aid: “Without a single U.S. servicemember in harm’s way, America’s material support to Ukraine is degrading the war machine of Russia … an aggressive power working hand in hand with China to reduce America’s prosperity and overturn America’s victory in the Cold War”.

Key to that victory in the Cold War was a similar bipartisan strategy in the Soviet-Afghan War of using security assistance rather than American boots on the ground to bleed Moscow of blood and treasure. Even though that operation came under a Republican president—Ronald Reagan—the essential champion in Congress was Texas Democratic Rep. Charlie Wilson.

There are statesmen like Wilson among the half of House Republicans who back Ukraine even though the president is currently a Democrat. But not among the populist right or some Republican advocacy groups, who talk as if Ukraine cannot be supported alongside needs at home. Some of that opposition responds to populism that will withstand the test of history no better than similar isolationism in the 1930s, although Republicans manage to overcome those impulses when it comes to Israel and Taiwan. Another factor is raw partisanship: Many Republicans don’t want Ukraine to win because it’s seen as Biden’s war.

With the White House and Senate probably on board with enacting aid covering all four crises, the key is the House. One pathway would be for Republicans to insist upon only voting for a Speaker who promises to let the whole House vote on Ukraine aid, even if thought that would ultimately mean having to rely on some Democratic votes for a Speaker. Other options, which should also be prepared and used as leverage on House leadership, include signing a discharge petition. If the populist right insists on voting on the four issues separately, leadership should call their bluff and say that’s fine — and the vote on Ukraine aid will not be left out.

Autocrats, terrorists and other thugs like to warn their subjects that democracies are ungovernable. Congress has an opportunity to prove them wrong by working together to lift national security above domestic politics and enact aid for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and the U.S. border that makes America the arsenal of democracy in our time.

Josh Rudolph is the fellow for malign finance of the Alliance for Securing Democracy, a bipartisan transatlantic organization with the stated aim of countering efforts to undermine democratic institutions in the United States and Europe.