Pentagon lobbied to remove neo-Nazi battalion ban, succeeded

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
2 Dec 2022 15:32
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The US can ow fund and train neo-Nazis... just this time, in the open.

Ukrainian soldiers posing with three flags: NATO, the Neo-Nazi Azov battalion, and the Hitler Youth flags.

Within the same timeframe of canceling Kanye West on social media and US tabloids for posting a swastika on his personal page, US Congress has gone through with a decision to repeal the ban on Ukrainian neo-Nazi battalions, which essentially paves the way for US financial and military assistance to be sent to these aggressive parties.

The Azov and Aidar battalions - two of the most prominent neo-Nazi parties that have been accused of greasing bullets with pig fat to shoot Muslims - have been active on the ground in disenfranchised areas in eastern Ukraine before the said area joined Russia by popular referendum earlier this year. The battalions are official bodies within the Ukrainian military.

Ukraine's Azov Battalion Recruitment Video pic.twitter.com/5aJeffT5i6
— The NPC Show (Same Handle On Truth Social) (@TheNPCShow) November 28, 2022

In June, US Congress passed a resolution intended to block US military funding to the Ukrainian army, essentially blocking such training and weaponry from reaching the hands of the Azov battalion in particular. Congressmen John Conyers Jr. and Ted Yoho contended that the battalion has been a "source of controversy" since it was allowed to exist.

The battalion's symbol is the neo-Nazi Wolfsangel, a black swastika against a yellow background.

Is the United States with Nazism or against?

The Nation reports that the Pentagon lobbied that the House Defense Appropriations Committee to remove the amendment backed by Conyers and Yoho, arguing that such funding was already prohibited under another law.

In April, Tokyo's Public Security Intelligence Agency (PSAI) removed the neo-Nazi designation of the far-right nationalist Ukrainian Azov battalion from Japan's 2021 handbook on international terrorism.

"Recently, there have been cases of misinformation published as though the PSIA recognized the Azov battalion as a neo-Nazi organization. We regret the occurrence of this situation," the Japanese agency said, apologizing for the designation of a neo-Nazi organization as neo-Nazi.

"[This] does not mean that the agency has recognized the Azov battalion as a neo-Nazi organization," it stressed despite the battalion's logo itself bearing Nazi insignia.