View in browser || Unsubscribe

18 June 2024

The Hill | House GOP approves mammoth annual defense bill with culture war amendments

The House on Friday approved its version of the annual defense policy bill that includes a number of controversial culture war amendments, setting the stage for a showdown with the Democratic-controlled Senate over legislation that typically enjoys bipartisan support.

‌

Military Times | A dental debacle: Why veterans struggle to navigate VA’s oral care

Marine Corps veteran Jeremy Williams was humiliated last summer when his front six teeth fell out of his mouth in the middle of a business meeting. Almost a year later, he’s infuriated that he still can’t get his Veterans Affairs health insurance to correct the problem.

‌

Military.com | Lawmakers Move to Defund US Military's Gaza Aid Pier After Torrent of Problems

Amid being battered by rough seas and weathering international logistical headaches, the U.S. military's humanitarian aid pier in Gaza is facing another obstacle: Congress.

‌

RealClearDefense | Efforts To Bar Private Companies From Assisting in VA Claims Harm Veterans

Recent calls by former Navy SEAL Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) for Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough to resign from his post are reigniting scrutiny of the scandal-ridden department. Egregious backlogs in veteran claims and a confusing bureaucratic process have left many of our nation’s heroes empty-handed and unable to access their hard-won benefits.

‌

Associated Press | A record number of NATO allies are hitting their defense spending target during war in Ukraine

A record 23 of NATO’s 32 member nations are hitting the Western military alliance’s defense spending target this year, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday, as Russia’s war in Ukraine has raised the threat of expanding conflict in Europe.

‌

Washington Post | Russia’s Putin to visit North Korea, amid growing military cooperation

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit North Korea for talks with leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday, furthering concerns about the growing military cooperation between the two states at a time when Moscow is hungry for munitions to use in its war against Ukraine.

‌

POLITICO | Trump threatens to cut US aid to Ukraine quickly if reelected

Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday blasted the scale of U.S. support for Ukraine and said that if he is reelected in November he would immediately "have that settled."

The National Interest | Joe Biden’s Ukraine Policy is Marching Toward Catastrophe

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance is facing a significant turning point in its support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia. The Biden administration, in lockstep with several of the United States’ European allies, has approved the use of American weapons to strike targets on Russian soil around the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

‌

Newsweek | American Lives Are at Stake if NATO Doesn't Set a Better Course

NATO will celebrate its 75th anniversary this year, and no doubt there are many talking about what the next 75 years should look like. As a combat veteran with more than 20 years' experience, I can tell you—the future of NATO is America playing a realistic, fair part in the alliance. That part should not be characterized by a windfall of American taxpayer dollars, not to mention the potential cost in lives if war between Ukraine and Russia escalates into Western Europe.

Foreign Policy | The Taiwan Aid Bill Won’t Fix the Arms Backlog

In April, U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law a trio of emergency supplemental spending bills, including one focused on the Indo-Pacific that is commonly referred to as the Taiwan aid bill. The new legislation seeks in part to address Taiwan’s roughly $19.7 billion backlog of arms sales from the United States—a hot-button issue given China’s increasingly provocative military activities around Taiwan and the perception among some U.S. analysts that Taiwan is not as much of a priority as Washington claims.

Last week CVA released a poll that shows the American public opposes key parts of the Biden administration’s proposed Saudi normalization deal. Under the deal, the Saudis would normalize relations with Israel in exchange for a security guarantee from the U.S. and American aid for a Saudi civilian nuclear program.

‌

Check out the exclusive story in The American Conservative: Poll: Americans Oppose Biden’s Saudi Deal:

“According to the poll, 40 percent of Americans believe that the deal would be contrary to U.S. interests, while only 29 percent believe it would be beneficial for U.S. interests. The remaining 31 percent are unsure.

The responses on the individual parts of the deal are further revealing. For instance, 43 percent of those polled opposed a U.S. security guarantee for the Saudis, with 24 percent strongly opposing such a guarantee. By contrast, only 19 percent support a guarantee, with only 5 percent strongly supporting it. The remaining 38 percent are either undecided or do not know.”

For a full break down of the poll, you can visit CVA’s Overwatch Blog here.

Did someone forward this to you?

Hit the button below to sign up.