Congressional dysfunction risks US military aid to 'Israel': Maariv

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
29 Nov 2023 15:16

The Israeli newspaper says the US will find it increasingly difficult to defend "Israel" from the attacks of the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement in light of congressional dysfunction.

Yemeni forces helicopter approaching the cargo ship Galaxy Leader on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023. (AP)

In a piece titled "Bad news from Washington; Are the Houthis celebrating?", the Israeli newspaper Maariv addressed the consequences of Washington's cash problem in the Middle East in light of congressional dysfunction.

The newspaper pointed out that the US will find it increasingly difficult to assist "Israel" against the attacks of the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement in light of financial complications.

Amidst the ongoing war and the additional layer of threats posed by the involvement of Ansar Allah, the United States has worked extensively to stifle the participation of additional parties in the war alongside the Palestinian Resistance, Maariv explained.

It described the recent report by Politico published on Tuesday that "the Pentagon lacks sufficient funds for the costs of its military reinforcements in the Middle East" as bad news.

Since the United States has been aiding "Israel" in its aggression on Gaza that began on October 7, the Defense Department has dispatched an extra aircraft carrier strike group, air defenses, fighter jets, and hundreds of troops to the Middle East in an effort to prevent the situation from escalating into a regional war. However, according to Politico, the main problem in this framework is congressional dysfunction, which means that the Pentagon is unable to fund the buildup.

The federal government's temporary financing happens to include the military as well, and this freezes expenditure at the same levels as the previous year. Because the personnel transfers in the Middle East were unplanned, the Pentagon was forced to draw funds from existing operations and maintenance accounts, according to DOD spokesperson Chris Sherwood. US President Joe Biden approved a temporary bill last month to keep the government operational until the end of the fiscal year.

According to Sherwood, this means drills and deployments scheduled for the year will have less funding, and some contractual payments may be delayed.

He detailed that “neither the basic budget proposal nor the fiscal year 2024 supplemental request contained financing for US-Israel missions," adding, "We're taking it out of hide."

The buildup has included prolonging the presence of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group off the coast of "Israel" and has forced military departments and US Central Command to reassess the requirements for current and future operations based on the developing conflict, he added.