By Willis L. Krumholz
Something has been lost in the noise of the national conversation about President Donald Trump’s relationship with Ukraine and his handling of military aid to the Eastern European country. The conventional wisdom that dominates Washington and is reflexively referenced in the impeachment inquiry chatter holds that this aid is crucial to U.S. national security. But that just isn’t true.
There are many compelling reasons to stop sending taxpayer dollars and military aid to Kiev. While this assistance certainly won’t be the centerpiece of the upcoming hearings and investigations, hopefully Americans will become more aware of the pitfalls of aid to Ukraine and begin to challenge U.S. officials over the issue.
The $391 million in U.S. military aid that was recently released to the Ukrainian government—and is now at the center of the current political controversy—is the latest of nearly $1.5 billion of U.S. taxpayer dollars that have gone to Kiev since the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
This piece was originally published by NBC Think on October 9, 2019. Read more HERE.