TEHRAN- The outgoing administration of President Joe Biden is facing significant criticism for prioritizing military expenditures overseas while neglecting pressing domestic issues, particularly in light of its inadequate response to the devastating wildfires in Southern California.  

Huge wildfires have torn through Los Angeles since Tuesday. They have razed to the ground entire neighborhoods, reducing vast areas of the city to ashes. According to private forecaster Accuweather, the raging fires have covered tens of thousands of acres of land and could potentially have an economic impact of up to $150 billion.  

An outage monitor that tracks blackouts across the United States said on Sunday that tens of thousands of homes and businesses in Los Angeles remain without electricity. 

The blazes in Los Angeles County are believed to be the "most destructive" in modern US history.

The uncontained natural disaster has caused total chaos in the affected areas. 

Reports suggest at least 20 arrests have been made for looting. 

“Looting is an issue, the number of arrests is continuously growing,” Capt Mike Lorenz of the Los Angeles Police Department said on Saturday. 

Firefighters have been engaged in combating the blazes that have resulted in the deaths of over a dozen individuals. However, inadequate funding has been cited as a reason for the inability to control the intense infernos effectively.

Kristin Crowley, LA's fire chief, has publicly criticized the city for budget cuts that she said have made it harder for firefighters to do their jobs. 

Crowley had said in a memo in December that budget cuts were hampering the department's ability to respond to emergencies.

Meanwhile, reports say fire hydrants in Pacific Palisades were broken before the wildfires began in Los Angeles. 

California Governor Gavin Newsom has characterized the insufficient water supply and water pressure to manage the wildfires as "deeply troubling."

Amid the federal government’s failure to allocate sufficient funds to deal with the disaster, it has spent billions of dollars on military adventurism abroad. 

Over the past days, activists have lashed out at the US government for its military interventions overseas. They argue that the funds designated by the White House for supporting Israel's conflict in Gaza ought to have been redirected to address domestic issues, such as equipping the Los Angeles fire department to manage wildfires more efficiently.

The United States has spent a record of $17.9 billion on military assistance to Israel since the start of the regime’s genocidal war on Gaza, on October 7, 2023, according to a report for Brown University’s Costs of War project, released in October last year. 

Earlier this month, the Biden administration informed Congress about a planned arms sale to Israel valued at $8 billion.

Washington's huge military assistance to Ukraine, in the context of domestic challenges, has also drawn significant criticism within the United States.

But the military support for Israel and Ukraine is just the tip of the iceberg.

The United States allocates significant taxpayer funds to counter China's rise, which is anticipated to become the leading global economy in the future. The US is afraid of being dwarfed by China’s growing influence. Hence, it is making desperate attempts to demonize the Yellow Dragon.

In December, China warned the United States of “playing with fire” after Washington announced more military aid and sales to Taiwan.

US politicians have added fuel to the fire through overseas military interventions and turned a blind eye to domestic needs. For now, American people in Los Angeles are paying a huge price for such erroneous policies.