Defense Secretary nominee Ashton Carter says the US is committed to Ukraine’s independence. By that, of course, he means to start throwing large quantities of weapons at them for the sake of their ongoing civil war.

Carter says he is inclined to support plans to start arming Ukraine’s rebels, something which will likely speed his confirmation in the Senate, where a number of hawks hold powerful positions, and have been pushing for the US to get more involved in that nation’s civil war, and indeed all wars.

The Pentagon is already where most of the administration calls for such arms shipments are coming at any rate, with NATO commander Gen. Breedlove leading the charge on the grounds that Ukraine isn’t doing well in the civil war.

The Pentagon is arguing that giving Ukraine anti-tank weapons would shift the balance of the civil war, and would intimidate the eastern rebels into surrendering outright. Others have warned its more likely to coax Russia into arming the rebels and escalating the war.

Carter is trying to present himself as a “independent voice” on foreign policy in the administration, and selling that to the Senate means being more hawkish, as the president has tried to portray his wars as the bare minimum number possible.