Biden Says US Can Sustain Support for Both Israel and Ukraine in Wars

President Joe Biden greets lawmakers and their families during a Congressional picnic at the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on July 19, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

President Biden has dismissed concerns that the United States doesn’t have the resources to support both Ukraine in its war with Russia, and Israel in its freshly sparked conflict with the terrorist organization Hamas.

In an Oct. 15 interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes” news program, the president relayed he was confident in the United States’s ability to continue with ongoing military support and financial aid to both countries.

“We’re the United States of America for God’s sake, the most powerful nation in the history—not in the world, in the history of the world,” President Biden said.

“We can take care of both of these and still maintain our overall international defense,” he added.

The Biden administration has already moved military assets closer to Israel, and sent munitions and interceptors for its Iron Dome defense system.

The first supply of U.S. armaments arrived in Israel on Oct. 10, “including ammunition and interceptors to replenish Iron Dome,” President Biden said, following the deadly attack by Hamas that prompted Israel to also declare war for the first time since 1973.

On the other hand, Ukraine has received billions in military and financial aid since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

However, unlike in Ukraine, Israeli forces are being supported by a growing deployment of United States warships in the region in deterrence posturing directed at Iran and its proxies in the region.

The United States in July also decided to send controversial cluster bombs to Ukraine after months of requests from Kyiv for further assistance with its war effort against Russia. President Biden explained his decision to reporters at the time, saying, “We’ve run out of ammunition,” referring to medium-caliber 155 mm artillery ammunitions.

Not just the United States, but Ukraine’s European allies have also expressed that they are running low on 155 mm munitions, having been depleting their stockpiles in support of Ukraine’s defense.

No American Boots on the Ground in Israel Conflict

President Biden shot down the idea that American soldiers would be involved in any actual fighting on the ground though, saying he didn’t think it necessary.

“Israel has one of the finest fighting forces in the country. I guarantee we’re gonna provide them everything they need,” he said.

So far, the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel has seen more than 1,300 Israelis killed and over 3,000 wounded in the Oct. 7 surprise attack. The retaliation air strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip by Israel have killed at least 2,200, with another 8,714 wounded.

Israeli army soldiers stand near stationed Namer armoured personnel carriers (APCs) at a position near the border with Gaza in southern Israel on Oct. 11, 2023. Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images

According to the White House, at least 29 Americans were killed in the initial attacks by Hamas; fifteen are still missing.

President Biden said the White House is doing “everything in our power to find those who are still alive and set them free.”

Israel has cut off food, power, and water to Gaza, vowing to maintain its complete siege until Hamas frees all hostages.

Biden Talks Safety of Americans

Aside from the obvious direct threat posed to the Americans in the war zones, President Biden believes the two conflicts “overwhelmingly” relate to the safety of all Americans.

“In Ukraine, one of my objectives was to prevent Putin, who has committed war crimes himself, from being able to occupy an independent country that borders NATO allies and is on the Russian border,” he said.

“Imagine what happens now if he were able to succeed. Have you ever known a major war in Europe we didn’t get sucked into? We don’t want that to happen. We want to make sure those democracies are sustained.”

President Biden also revealed he had been in meetings with Homeland Security and the FBI to ensure no acts of terrorism spill over from the Middle East and occur on American soil, as has happened in the past.

“We’re making a major effort to make sure that doesn’t happen,” the president said.

The White House is expected to ask Congress to provide additional aid to Israel in the coming days. However, the House of Representatives still needs a speaker. No legislation can be passed until someone is officially elected.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was removed as House speaker on Oct. 4 by a vote of the House of Representatives on a motion to vacate the chair brought by a member of his own party, firebrand Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).

One of Mr. Gaetz’s principal complaints against the speaker was that he had passed government funding legislation with Democratic votes that a majority of Republicans opposed.

Schumer Backs Israel, Cruz Blames Biden

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also voiced his support for Israel in an Oct. 15 post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

“We say this to the Israeli people: We have your back. We feel your pain. We ache with you. And we and our country will stand by you in these difficult times,” Sen. Schumer said.

In a post on the same day, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was critical of President Biden’s foreign policy, claiming the fault for the conflict rests at his feet.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks during a press conference on border security at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on Sept. 27, 2023. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

“Hamas’s terror attack on Israel was paid for by Joe Biden,” Mr. Cruz said.

“In the last two and a half years, the Biden admin has allowed $50 billion to flow to Iran and hundreds of millions to Gaza. That money went to fund Hamas’s genocidal terrorism against Israel and terrorist groups globally.”

He came to that figure listing the $6 billion the Biden administration recently released in a prisoner exchange but that members of Congress now want to refreeze, “$10 billion that was sent three weeks earlier, and over $40 billion in revenues because the Biden administration will not enforce oil sanctions.”

The claim that Iran directly helped fund and plan the attack on Israel has become a popular accusation in the days since the war began, but no actual proof has been forthcoming its Tehran’s explicit ordering of the Oct. 7 attack.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the White House have both said on several occasions that while Iran has helped Hamas in the past with funding and munitions, they have yet to find any evidence Iran is directly involved in the latest attack.

The Epoch Times contacted the White House for further comment but didn’t hear back before publication.