By Andrew Jarocki
While national attention may be focused on the winners and losers of the midterm elections, a high-stakes contest in the lame-duck session of Congress is just beginning.
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy ignited a firestorm of criticism when he commented that Ukraine may not be able to expect a "blank check" of American aid in the new Congress. Both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell have since vowed to rush more assistance to Ukraine before the end of the year.
Before Washington opens the checkbook again, lawmakers need to subject aid proposals to a simple Petraeus Test. Gen. David Pretraus, who oversaw the American surge in Iraq, often exposed the assumptions of plans presented to him with a simple command: tell me how this ends.
This piece was originally published in Business Insider on November 30, 2022. Read more HERE.