US Senate passes record $858bn military spending bill, sends to Biden's desk

The United States Senate has passed a bill authorizing a record $858 billion in annual military spending, more than what had been requested by President Joe Biden, signaling more intensified US interventionism abroad.

The proposed budget is $45 billion more than what was proposed by Biden, with 83 lawmakers approving it and 11 voting against it.

The bill, known as National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), now heads to the White House for Biden’s signature.

The fiscal 2023 NDAA authorizes $858 billion in military spending and includes a 4.6 percent pay increase for the troops, funding for purchases of weapons, ships and aircraft, and billions of dollars in military assistance and fast-tracked weapons procurement for Taiwan.

"This is the most important bill we do every year," Senator James Inhofe, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement.

Since 2017, the US has approved more than $20 billion in weapons sales to Chinese Taipei, much to the chagrin of Beijing. 

China has sovereignty over Taipei, and under the internationally-recognized “one-China” policy, nearly all countries recognize that sovereignty, meaning that they would not establish diplomatic contact with its secessionist government.

The US professes adherence to the principle, but in violation of its own stated policy and in an attempt to irritate Beijing, Washington courts the secessionist government in Taipei and supplies it with armaments.

The bill also gives the green light to more funds to develop hypersonic weapons, close the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Hawaii and purchase weapons systems including Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 fighter jets and ships made by General Dynamics.

US Patriot systems in Ukraine would be ‘legitimate target’, warns Russia

In a stern warning, Russia on Wednesday said US Patriot missile defense systems would be a legitimate target for its strikes if Washington authorizes them to be delivered to support Kiev.

In addition, the fiscal 2023 NDAA provides Ukraine with at least $800 million in additional military assistance next year.

Ever since the beginning of the Ukraine war, Kiev’s Western allies, led by the US, have been supplying the former Soviet Republic with advanced weapons while slapping Russia with a slew of sanctions, despite Moscow's warning that it will only prolong the conflict.

The US alone has supplied Ukraine with more than $19 billion worth of military aid since Russia launched its military campaign in Ukraine on February 24.

The colossal military bill comes as no surprise, since America's foreign policy is based on interventionism, as it remains unable to influence or control other minor or major powers without the use of force.

According to a new study on US military interventions in August, the Military Intervention Project said the US has undertaken almost 400 military interventions since its founding in 1776 until 2019, of which more than 200 happened after WWII.

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