The Defense Priorities think tank receives funding from the isolationist Koch family and is known for its ties to Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.), a fierce opponent of U.S. foreign aid. Yet a poll released by the group on Friday found Americans broadly support U.S. involvement on the international stage and want to arm Ukraine with the weapons it needs to defeat Russia.
Defense Priorities, like other Koch-funded think tanks such as the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, lobbies the American government to "pursue a more prudent, restrained foreign policy." Its scholars are popular on the "libertarian right," often rallying against the "neocons" they blame for entangling America in endless wars abroad.
But the think tank’s latest public opinion poll indicates Americans, by and large, support a robust defense and want the country to wage military influence abroad.
Sixty-six percent of those polled say they want America’s defense spending to increase or stay at current levels, which is around $860 billion annually. Just 25 percent said American military spending should decrease.
Americans also broadly support military assistance to Ukraine as it battles to beat back Russian aggression on its border, with 65 percent in favor of sending more U.S. aid. Twenty percent of those polled said this assistance should come with no strings attached, while 45 percent advocated for conditional support that avoids dragging American troops into the fight.
A large portion of respondents also have no problem with Ukraine using American weapons to strike Russia. Some 53 percent said they are either neutral or disagree with the notion that the United States "should not allow Ukraine to strike Russia with U.S. weapons."
Defense Priorities nonetheless argued that the poll shows a deep divide "between Washington's policies and the preferences of the American people."
Defense Priorities stood by its reading of the poll's results, touting the fact that 45 percent of respondents expressed support for "certain conditions" on Ukraine aid "to avoid escalation and direct U.S. or NATO involvement."
When the think tank launched in 2016 with headline support from allies of Paul’s isolationist foreign policy beliefs, it was touted as "a fresh effort to steer Washington away from interventions in overseas wars."
The think tank advocates a "significantly greater reluctance to assert military force or even impose sanctions on nations such as North Korea," Politico reported at the time, noting that Paul’s "key backers are joining forces with associates of billionaire Charles Koch" to change the conventional military thinking in Washington.