Biden Slammed as 'Pathetic' for Rejecting Poland's Plan to Give Ukraine Fighter Jets
Decision to reject plan to supply planes to Ukraine blasted as 'utterly insane'
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Democrat Joe Biden has been widely criticized for his "utterly insane" decision to reject Poland's plan to send fighter jets to Ukraine to help fight the Russian invasion.
The Biden administration has been blasted by critics from both sides of the partisan aisle for refusing Poland's plan after calling on other nations to supply Ukraine with jets.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that NATO allies were allowed to send fighter jets to Ukraine.
He also revealed that the Biden admin was in talks with Poland to do exactly that.
On Tuesday, Poland announced that it would deliver a fleet of MIG-29 jets to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, which caught the White House by surprise.
The Polish government said it would allow the U.S. to dispose of them as it saw fit.
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The administration first said the plan was not "tenable" and then on Wednesday, rejected it altogether.
"Our American partners rejected this proposal because they have come to the conclusion that it was too escalatory,” said Poland's ambassador to the U.S.
“We need to be careful about every decision we make so that we aren’t making the potential for escalation worse,” said Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby on Wednesday.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) led a chorus of critics excoriating the administration for the decision.
"Biden's decision to block Poland from sending MiG-29s to Ukraine is pathetic," Cotton blasted.
"It's weakness, and the Administration's rationale makes no sense.
"How are jets 'escalatory' when we are already sending Javelin missiles?"
Biden's decision to block Poland from sending MiG-29s to Ukraine is pathetic.
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) March 9, 2022
It's weakness, and the Administration's rationale makes no sense.
How are jets "escalatory" when we are already sending Javelin missiles?
"Sending jets for Ukrainians to use isn't escalatory—Putin's decision to invade and bomb children's hospitals is escalatory," Cotton added in a second tweet.
"This is an utterly insane and unbelievable response from the Pentagon," tweeted Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois.
"The US Government must reverse course on this.
"We cannot win this war from a position of tepid fear.
"Ukraine fights for us all, we can give them the tools.
"Thank you to #poland."
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Even some Democrats criticized Biden's decision.
"Poland wants to provide its MiG-29 jets to Ukraine via the US," tweeted Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA).
"This isn’t a novel concept," he added.
"US gave Stingers to Lithuania & Latvia and they transferred them to Ukraine.
"I urge the @DeptofDefense to figure out asap how to get air assets to Ukrainians.
"Their survival is at stake."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also demanded that NATO establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine in order to give its citizens a fighting chance against the Russians.
That option has been denied because of the near-certainty of dragging more countries into a war with Russia.
