Washington can still “walk and chew gum at the same time,” the Pentagon boss insists
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (L) shakes hands with Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Israel on October 13, 2023. © AFP / W.G. Dunlop
The US remains committed to continuing to help both Ukraine and Israel simultaneously and is able to “project power” in multiple theaters at the same time, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Friday.
“The United States is the most powerful country in the world. And we remain fully able to project power, uphold our commitments, and direct resources to multiple theaters,” the Pentagon boss said during a press conference in Israel.
“So we will stand with Israel even as we stand with Ukraine. The United States can walk and chew gum at the same time,” he added.
US military assistance will “flow in at the speed of war” to Israel, Lloyd stated. The aid includes “munitions, air-defense capacities, and other key equipment and resources,” namely missiles for the Iron Dome air defense systems used by Israel to counter the less-sophisticated homemade unguided rockets that are used by Hamas.
While Washington has repeatedly provided public assurances that it can support both Israel and Ukraine without favoring one over the other or compromising its own security, several media reports have suggested that the reality may be different. CNN, for instance, has reported, citing multiple US officials, that the Pentagon earlier used some of its stockpiles of artillery shells from Israel to prop up Ukraine.
Ukraine and Israel currently “require different weapons,” but if Israel actually launches a large-scale ground operation against Hamas it would need 155mm NATO artillery shells, stockpiles of which have been “stretched thin” due to the Ukraine conflict, the outlet noted.
The escalation between Israel and Hamas began last Saturday, when the Palestinian militant group launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, breaching the border with Gaza Strip at multiple points. Israel responded with massive air strikes on Gaza, with hundreds of civilians dead and thousands injured on both sides.
