A Tale of Two Wars

The war in the Ukraine continues to drag on. As far as I can tell it's bogged down into a stalemate. Casualties are serious with estimates nearing 500,000. 

I can see no end in sight especially now that the Israelis are looking for weapons from the same US stockpiles as the Ukrainians.

Now that McCarthy has been kicked out as Speaker and the post remains vacant I don't see any new appropriations any time soon either. To make matters worse the Republicans would probably strongly support aid for Israel but for Ukraine not so much. 

I don't think the Democrats are stupid enough to hold up aid for Israel if aid to Ukraine isn't included but the Democrats have surprised me before with their ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

In Gaza civilians and foreigners are trying to get out of the way of a possible Israeli ground invasion by fleeing south. Unfortunately the Egyptians have closed the Rafah crossing from Gaza into the Sinai.

This is causing multiple problems. First people with foreign passports, including a number of Muslim Americans, are unable to leave Gaza; second, Palestinians refugees fleeing the fighting have no place to go and third, aid supplies can't get into Gaza. There is a long line of trucks waiting to bring relief supplies into Gaza but the crossing is closed.

Whether the Israelis will actually launch a ground invasion remains to be seen. It could be a big bluff intended to get civilians out of the area so more airstrikes can be launched without worrying about extensive collateral damage.

There continue to be reports about fighting in the north between Hezbollah and Israel and the Israelis have reportedly bombed airports in Damascus and Aleppo to prevent their use for ferrying in supplies from Iran.

The US has dispatched Strike Group 12 with the USS Gerald R. Ford to the eastern Mediterranean. Strike Group 2 with the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower is also enroute to the Mediterranean but its ultimate destination hasn't been announced. Britain has dispatched a Royal Navy task force to the area to help in "humanitarian efforts" or at least that's the official word.

That's a whole lot of firepower moving into the area.