A group of Republican Senators demanded that President Joe Biden follow through with a Polish plan to supply fighter jets to Ukraine as they try to fend off an invasion by Russia.
Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah and Joni Ernst of Iowa joined 40 other Republican senators who signed a letter calling on Biden to expedite the transfer of jets in order to "prevent a brutal and unlawful takeover of Ukraine."
The debacle began when the U.S. encouraged NATO allies to supply Ukraine with fighter jets and said that they were working with Poland to do just that. Poland surprised the U.S. with a plan to deliver a fleet of MIG-29 jets to the U.S. in the hopes they would deliver them to Ukraine. The Biden administration balked at the plan and then rejected the idea altogether.
“We need to be careful about every decision we make so that we aren’t making the potential for escalation worse,” explained Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby Wednesday.
Romney and Ernst decried the refusal in a media briefing Thursday.
"We had a hearing this morning with the Foreign Relations Committee. Chairman Menendez said the same thing, Senator Shaheen said the same thing. Democrats are saying the same thing: Send these MiGs. And the question is, why aren’t they being sent?" asked Romney.
The administration faced vociferous criticism from both sides of the aisle over the failure to orchestrate the handoff.
"Enough talk. People are dying. Send them the planes that they need. They say they need MiGs. People say, well maybe that’s not the ideal weapon for them. That is what they say they want. They are there. They have the eyes to determine what they want," Romney continued.
"They want MiGs," he concluded. "Get them the MiGs."
Here's Romney at the media briefing Thursday:
Romney: Enough talk, send the MiGs.www.youtube.com
Post a Comment