The House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday passed a resolution to pressure President Biden to escalate US involvement in the Ukraine war by supplying Kyiv with longer-range missiles.
The bill calls on Biden to immediately arm Ukraine with the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), munitions with a range of up to 190 miles. The ATACMS can be fired by the HIMARS rocket systems that the US has been providing Ukraine.
Most of the ammunition Kyiv has for use with the HIMARS has a range of about 50 miles, although the US has also pledged Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDB), which can hit targets up to 94 miles away. Russia said in March that it had downed a GLSDB for the first time.
Providing ATACMS would give Ukraine the ability to hit more targets inside Russia. The Biden administration claims that it doesn’t want Kyiv using US weapons to hit Russian territory, but the restriction doesn’t apply to Crimea.
After passing the resolution, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said ATACMS are “critical to Ukraine’s success in the counteroffensive.” Throughout the war, McCaul has been critical of President Biden for not giving Ukraine everything that it demands.
“There’s no reason to give Ukraine just enough to bleed but not enough to win,” McCaul said, according to The Hill. “It’s been my criticism all along — if we’re going to be helping them, either go all in or get out.”
The resolution was also backed by the top Democrat on the panel, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY). It faced some opposition, with Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) saying he doesn’t support sending more weapons to Ukraine without a clear goal.
“When you don’t define the mission, no one can be held accountable,” David. “We owe it to the [American] men and women, if we commit to a war — even a proxy war — that we define the mission before we commit to the mission.”
The resolution now heads to the House floor. According to The Hill, the legislation is expected to have wide support.
Source: AntiWar.
