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'One Thing Only': For US, Ukraine Conflict is Exclusively About Money, Analyst Says

© AP Photo / Mark LennihanDollar bills are deposited in a tip box, May 24, 2021 in New York.
Dollar bills are deposited in a tip box, May 24, 2021 in New York. - Sputnik International, 1920, 10.12.2022
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On Thursday, top Republicans overseeing foreign affairs urged the Government Accountability Office to provide a detailed audit of Washington’s security aid to Kiev amid Russia’s ongoing special military operation.
“To believe Washington is concerned about Ukraine is extremely short-sighted,” because “they are and always have been interested in one thing and one thing only – money”, Lisa Haven, a libertarian commentator, radio host and alternative media news analyst, told Sputnik.

“Ukraine provides the perfect vehicle for them to funnel money between their special interests to support their own political aspirations,” she argued, describing the Biden administration as “one of the worst 'money managers' that have ever existed in American politics.”

When asked to give her thoughts on what a Ukraine aid-related US financing control system could look like, Haven said that “if it is like everything else in American politics: it will be a big gargantuan ball of nothing.”
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“How are those involved with washing money through the Ukrainian conflict going to be fair and impartial judges against themselves? It's not going to happen unless an outside party gets involved which those in Washington simply won't allow,” the commentator said.
Haven accused Washington of “utilizing the Ukraine conflict to fund their special interest projects,” as she argued that “Americans are once again left holding the bag.”

Retired Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski, a former analyst for the US Department of Defense (DoD), for her part has told Sputnik that “Audits themselves really look only at accounting mechanisms - it's only the initial step toward finding out where things actually are and how they are used.”

Touching upon US aid to Ukraine, she said that “dumping money and weapons on Kiev and into [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky's administration is still popular among hawks and neoconservative elements in both parties.”
“They are under pressure by lobbyists, the President, and military-industrial interests to continue the gravy train, despite valid and pressing questions as to how this serves US security interests,” Kwiatkowski stressed.
The ex-DoD analyst recalled that the US House of Representatives had recently passed “their version of the US Defense spending bill, and despite calls for any kind of audit of aid to Ukraine, no audit requirement or mechanism” was included in the document.

“We just learned that the Pentagon itself just failed it most recent audit -the fifth audit in a row it has failed, after decades of never being audited,” Kwiatkowski said.

Jonathan Chavez, Republican Candidate for Georgia's 4th Congressional District, also remained downbeat about a mechanism to audit the US aid to Ukraine.
He recalled “the lessons from 2008”, when the US “submitted funds to Afghanistan without oversight”, which “led to mass corruption.”

“If we assign an independent Inspector General, we will need to have multiple forms of oversight and checks and balances to make sure that it is not limited to just a few people controlling a large amount of cash distribution,” Chavez told Sputnik.

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Referring to the Ukraine standoff, he said, “To me, it seems that this conflict is replacing the one we just got out of. However how we got out of Afghanistan was very poorly done. I do not trust that the Biden administration, based on their policy for leaving Afghanistan, can help lead Ukraine to a stable environment.”
The comments come after House Foreign Affairs Committee lead Republican Michael McCaul and Senator Jim Risch, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations panel, said in a letter to the Government Accountability Office that they want information on how the Biden administration is monitoring almost $14.9 billion in funds that were allocated for Ukraine and disbursed through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US State Department.
The US and its allies have already delivered more than $40 billion worth of military assistance to Kiev. Russia, which continues its special military operation in Ukraine, has repeatedly warned that providing Kiev with arms will add to further escalating the Ukraine conflict.
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