A group funded by Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, is running a campaign calling on the US to end military support to Ukraine in its war with Russia.
The Eisenhower Media Network has advertised outlets with claims that the United States is spending too much money to help Ukraine against Vladimir Putin.
The EMN is run by a group called the People’s Power Initiative, of which Cohen is president and a major funder.
The longtime progressive Democrat and Bernie Sanders supporter has donated more than $1 million to the initiative through the Ben Charitable Trust, according to a Daily Beast report.
Ben Cohen (left) and Jerry Greenfield (right) – the original founders of the now Unilever-owned ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s. Cohen was recently spotted as the single largest financier of the left-leaning foreign policy group Eisenhower Media Network
Ukraine has been fighting Russia since its invasion more than a year ago. Although support for the conflict has fallen out of favor with some factions of US politicians, the US continues to send billions of dollars across the ocean in aid
Cohen told the outlet he thinks “the US should use its power to negotiate an end to the war, not prolong the death and destruction by supplying more weapons.”
The project promotes the deployment of a group of military veterans as experts and experts willing to speak out about the ongoing war overseas.
Some have said that continued US military support to Ukraine is spreading and intensifying fighting between Russia and Ukraine, pointing out that NATO expansion was one of the causes of the war.
The position is shared by members of the far right, including MPs Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz, who believe the fighting in Ukraine is not America’s problem.
They also argue that the government is spending too much US taxpayer money to pay billions in aid in a sluggish economy and amid a soaring deficit.
Several candidates and potential Republican presidential candidates recently claimed that the war in Ukraine is not a “vital national interest” for the US, in a poll circulated by Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
According to The Beast, during the recent debt ceiling crisis, EMN claimed that spending on the Ukrainian cause was so high that the US government may have to meet its duty to pay military personnel and cut their Social Security and pension checks.
Matthew Hoh, former State Department staffer, Marine Corps Captain and current Deputy Director of the EMN, said: “The outrageous federal spending on the Ukraine war is missing from the public debt discussion… It is time to consider suspending funding for Ukraine ‘ if we can’t afford them .’
Last month, Hoh was quoted in Newsweek as saying that US agreement to supply tanks to President Volodymyr Zelensky would escalate the war with Russia.
“We should expect mutual escalation by Russia, cementing the deadlock and threatening an escalation of the war. Only de-escalation, ceasefires and negotiations will end the war,” he said.
The EMN’s somewhat isolationist foreign policy philosophy mirrors that of some sections of the conservative right wing, including views shared by MPs Gaetz and Taylor Greene on the war in Ukraine
Matthew Hoh, former State Department staffer, Marine Corps Captain and current Deputy Director of the EMN, said: “The outrageous federal spending on the Ukraine war is missing from the public debt discussion… It is time to consider suspending funding for Ukraine ‘if we can’t afford them’
Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy has been the beneficiary of billions and billions of US aid and military dollars since the outbreak of war with Russia
In an interview with the outlet, EMN director Dennis Fritz — a former Air Force Command Chief Master Sergeant — spoke about Cohen’s leadership in the organization.
“I’ve never talked about it, but it’s Ben Cohen, remember him – Ben & Jerry’s – he’s our biggest financier. He’s the reason we came into being,” he said.
“We feel like our military budget is in some ways too big, and he thinks that if we just budget our budget around what we actually do, we’re buying more social programs for the United States of America, more social programs than the people.” need need in Ukraine too.”
“Ukraine cannot win this war. Conclusion: It’s done. You are against a madman and his ego – he will not lose. Whether we like it or not, we have to give something to Putin,” he continued.
EMN opposed massive US military spending long before the war in Ukraine began.
In an email, Cohen wrote: “The Pentagon budget is insane. Example: The atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima killed over 100,000 people. Today’s nuclear arsenal is equivalent to 120,000 bombs the size of Hiroshima.
“I think we’d be a lot safer spending money wasted on the Pentagon overkill for Medicare for all and lead poisoning prevention.”
Although Ben & Jerry’s is wholly owned by consumer giant Unilever at this point, its independent board of directors has special clearance to further the socially progressive causes for which its original owners were known.
Last year, just before war broke out in Ukraine, the company was slammed for a tweet: “You can’t prevent and prepare for war at the same time. We call on President Biden to ease tensions and work for peace instead of preparing for war.
“Sending thousands more US troops to Europe in response to Russia’s threats against Ukraine only fuels the flames of war.”
You cannot prevent and prepare for war at the same time. ⁰⁰We urge President Biden to ease tensions and work for peace instead of preparing for war. ⁰⁰The sending of thousands more US troops to Europe in response to Russia’s threats against Ukraine only fuels the flames of war.
— Ben & Jerry’s (@benandjerrys) February 4, 2022
In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s also tried unsuccessfully to stop Unilever from selling its ice cream in parts of Israel
In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s also tried unsuccessfully to stop Unilever from selling its ice cream in parts of Israel.
The company first announced it would no longer sell its ice cream in “occupied Palestinian territories,” areas of land that have been considered part of the modern state of Israel for decades.
But the founders and their company were ultimately prevented from realizing their goal by Israeli licensee Avi Zinger, who continues to produce the ice cream at his factory in the Tel Aviv suburbs and distributes it to Israeli settlements.
At the time, the company was criticized by some for its anti-Zionist stance, which critics said reflected anti-Semitic values.