The State Department and the Pentagon (two factions of the ruling class in the United States) are in opposition when it comes to sending weapons to Ukraine.  Politico has reported that there are disagreements that the outgoing chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, has been forced to contend with.

Milley’s four-year term as America’s most senior military commander ends this week, when he will be replaced by Charles Brown, the chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, according to a report by Politico. The transition “couldn’t come at a more precarious time” considering the state of the Ukraine conflict, Politico claimed on Wednesday.

Friction was also evident between the military and the State Department, an anonymous senior administration official told the outlet. “It’s been frustrating with the administration,” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said.

While Milley was chair, he was criticized harshly for not sending weapons to Ukraine quickly enough. “State is looking at opportunities, DOD [the Defense Department] is looking at threats,” a source explained. “Folks at DOD would say they need to think about the pros and cons of each weapons decision, and that responsibility falls on them.”

As the U.S. consistently looks for ways to prolong the war with Russia and Ukraine (which is an obvious proxy war between the West and Russia) the turning of the tides in the military-industrial complex sector of the U.S. ruling class could mean an advancement of the war. It could also mean a deceleration in rhetoric, although it’s likely because the rulers will seek to continue the destruction. It is not in the interests of the ruling class to not be involved in a war.

Milley has argued that his aim was to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needed at a particular juncture, rather than agreeing to all of Kiev’s requests. He also weighed decisions against Washington’s own needs and contingencies, especially concerning “escalation management” and the need to avoid an all-out war against Russia. -RT

The top general stirred anger amongst his fellow rulers last year when he dared to suggest Kiev use a window of opportunity to resolve the conflict with Russia diplomatically. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government has rejected any peace talks with Russia and has declared a military victory to be its only option.

Russia has long viewed the Ukraine conflict as a Western proxy war against Russia, arguing that Washington will fight “to the last Ukrainian.