Share this:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Email (Opens in new window)

Today’s Top Story

The U.S. Senate approved a bill authorizing $95.3 billion of military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan that finally made it through Congress on Saturday over the opposition of Republican legislators aligned with former President Donald Trump. President Joe Biden is expected to quickly sign it into law, ending a monthslong impasse over a military aid package that Ukraine in particular desperately needs. (N.Y. Times)

Our Take

The authorization of the aid package puts an end to an episode that highlighted the willingness and ability of a small coterie of Republican extremists to paralyze U.S. action on a key national security interest: helping Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s invasion. But it leaves key questions unanswered, both with regard to U.S. foreign policy, and Ukraine’s fortunes on the battlefield.

To begin with, it’s still uncertain what drove Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, a conservative Republican, to buck the Trump-aligned faction on the military aid bill by passing it with the help of Democratic legislators. So it remains to be seen whether this sets a precedent for when divisive issues of foreign and defense policy come before the House in the future.

Second, while Ukraine will be relieved to receive the military aid, it comes after months of attrition in the face of relentless Russian attacks. So it’s also an open question whether the aid, when it finally arrives at the front lines, will be enough to reverse the momentum in Ukraine’s favor.

Finally, the combined package highlights the many cross-cutting divisions among the U.S. electorate over different aspects of Washington’s security commitments to its allies and partners. While the MAGA wing of the Republican Party opposed further military aid to Ukraine, the left wing of the Democratic Party expressed similar misgivings about the part of the package earmarked for Israel against the backdrop of the war in Gaza. Though there were bipartisan majorities for both packages, they may come with political costs for Johnson as well as Biden in the months ahead.

On Our Radar

The World Bank has suspended $150 million in funding for a tourism project in a remote part of southern Tanzania due to the project’s effects on local communities. The move comes after a California-based human rights group, the Oakland Institute, released a report in November that detailed abuses by Tanzanian authorities during efforts to expand Ruaha National Park.

The effects of tourism on local communities is not just a problem for Tanzania. As Samira Sawlani wrote in July 2022, a new wave of activists is challenging Kenya’s approach to wildlife conservation and the related tourist industry as well.

---

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry announced that it has suspended consular services for military-age men living outside Ukraine. Men between the ages of 18 and 60 who have left the country will be unable to renew passports and access other services for citizens abroad. The policy is in keeping with a recent law meant to expand the pool of men in Ukraine available to fight.

Such laws are controversial because it’s not clear they solve the problem they are meant to address, and they create new ones. As Charli Carpenter wrote in August, Ukraine has more volunteers for military service than it is able to train, and the inability of men to leave the country for work can harm families, leading most women to oppose such laws.

More from WPR

• Mike Brand on including women in Sudan’s peace talks.
• Alexander Clarkson on Washington’s reliability as a strategic partner.
• Shahryar Pasandideh on the implications of Iran’s recent attack on Israel.
• Charli Carpenter on the use of artificial intelligence for targeting in war.