In the Russo-Ukrainian war, US propaganda has exploited a time tested syllogistic sophistry. First you identify the nation at war with the individual who leads the nation. It is not Russia’s war on Ukraine, it is Putin’s war on Ukraine. Then you identify the individual with Hitler. At various times, Hilary Clinton, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio and Zbigniew Brzezinski have all compared Putin to Hitler, as have James Clapper, Kevin McCarthy, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and others. What powerfully follows psychologically, is that, since the war is a war against “a second Hitler,” any method used to stop him is morally and militarily justified.
Four Myths About Putin
Tag: security guarantees
Testimony of Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs: UN Security Council Session on Sustaining Peace through Common Development
Related:
(1) We may recall that the UN Charter article 2(4) prohibits not only the use of force but also the threat thereof.
Chas Freeman: The Many Lessons of the Ukraine War
I want to speak to you tonight about Ukraine – what has happened to it and why, how it is likely to emerge from the ordeal to which great power rivalry has subjected it; and what we can learn from this. I do so with some trepidation and a warning to this audience. My talk, like the conflict in Ukraine, is a long and complicated one. It contradicts propaganda that has been very convincing. My talk will offend anyone committed to the official narrative. The way the American media have dealt with the Ukraine war brings to mind a comment by Mark Twain: “The researches of many commentators have already thrown much darkness on this subject, and it is probable that, if they continue, we shall soon know nothing at all about it.”
Chas Freeman: The Many Lessons of the Ukraine War
The US should be very careful about what it promises to do for Ukraine
The US should be very careful about what it promises to do for Ukraine
- US shouldn’t support or extend a security guarantee — through NATO or bilaterally — to Ukraine.
- Doing so would endanger US national security and increase the odds of a direct clash with Russia.
- Daniel L. Davis is a senior fellow at Defense Priorities and a retired US Army lieutenant colonel.
Related:
Why NATO Won’t Back Automatic Membership For Ukraine
It is understandable that Zelensky passionately desires to join NATO. But the alliance is composed of 31 current members and their individual and collective needs must be considered in equal amounts to the desires of the Ukrainian president. The harsh truth is that there is no viable path to a military victory for Ukraine, now or in the foreseeable future, regardless of how many planes, tanks, and missiles the West may contribute.
Why CIA, Germany, Biden show sudden deep concern with Russia’s “well-being” after Wagner rebellion?
CIA Director William Burns called Russian spy chief Sergei Naryshkin after last week’s aborted mutiny in Russia to assure the Kremlin that the United States had no role in it, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
CIA director called Kremlin to assure US had no role in aborted mutiny, US media reports
Video via Emil Cosman
Related:
Germany doesn’t seek regime change in Moscow – Scholz
The lady doth protest too much, methinks!? 🤷🏼♀️
Victoria Nuland is crying into a tub of her Cookie Dough Ice Cream after Wagner Group packs it up!
Meanwhile, Wikipedia downgraded the Wagner Group mutiny to a rebellion (unfortunately, I didn’t archive or screenshot it).
Evgeny Prigozhin agreed to halt his march on Moscow and avert “a bloodbath,” the Belarusian president said
Wagner agrees to end ‘insurrection’ – Lukashenko
More Details: Putin Shows African Leaders Draft Treaty on Ukrainian Neutrality from March 2022
Putin Shows African Leaders Draft Treaty on Ukrainian Neutrality from March 2022
Putin’s claim reflects an article published in Foreign Affairs last year that cited multiple former senior US officials who said Russia and Ukraine tentatively agreed on a peace deal in April 2022. They said the agreement would have involved a Ukrainian promise not to join NATO in exchange for a Russian withdrawal to the pre-invasion lines, and Ukraine would have received security guarantees from several countries.
Russian and Ukrainian officials met face-to-face in Istanbul on March 29, 2022, which was followed up with virtual consultations. After the meeting, Russia’s lead negotiator described the talks as “constructive,” and the Russian Defense Ministry announced it would “drastically” reduce military activity near the northern cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv, which led to a full Russian withdrawal from the north.
Putin said after the Russian withdrawal, Ukraine abandoned the treaty. “After we pulled our troops away from Kiev — as we had promised to do — the Kiev authorities … tossed [their commitments] into the dustbin of history,” he said. “They abandoned everything.”
Ukraine accused Russian troops of intentionally killing civilians in the northern areas it withdrew from, most notably in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha. But if Putin’s account is true, Western pressure could have also led to Ukraine scuttling the treaty.
Then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Kyiv on April 9, 2022, a few days after Russia completed its withdrawal from the north. According to a report from Ukrainska Pravda, Johnson urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky not to negotiate with Russia and that even if Ukraine was ready to sign a deal with Putin, Kyiv’s Western backers were not.
The Ukrainska Pravda report said at the time, Russia was ready for a Putin-Zelensky meeting, but two factors stopped it from happening: the discovery of dead Ukrainian civilians* and Johnson’s visit.
Then-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet was trying to mediate between Putin and Zelensky in March 2022 and gave a similar account of the West’s position. He said the US and its allies “blocked” his mediation effort and that he thought there was a “legitimate decision by the West to keep striking Putin” and not negotiate.
After peace talks were scuttled in April 2022, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he expected the conflict to end after the Istanbul talks but then realized some countries in NATO wanted to prolong the war to “weaken” Russia. A few days after Cavusoglu’s comments, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin admitted that one of the US’s goals in supporting Ukraine is to see Russia “weakened.”
As the war has dragged on, the Biden administration has come out explicitly against a ceasefire. Secretary of State Antony Blinken outlined the position earlier this month and said the US would continue building up Ukraine’s military rather than push for peace.
Related:
President Putin reveals details of draft treaty on Ukraine’s neutrality
*Bucha, Kramatorsk & Kremenchuk
Bucha was staged to sabotage the peace talks!
President Putin reveals details of draft treaty on Ukraine’s neutrality
The Russian president has shown the documents from the failed peace negotiations with Kiev.
President Putin reveals details of draft treaty on Ukraine’s neutrality
NATO majors float Ukraine negotiations plan – WSJ
UK, France and Germany reportedly offered weapons and security commitments as a way of starting talks with Russia
NATO majors float Ukraine negotiations plan – WSJ
Related:
WSJ: NATO’s Biggest European Members Float Defense Pact With Ukraine
In theory, any NATO member could veto the proposal from the U.K., France and Germany, but the organization operates on consensus and such an initiative wouldn’t even be discussed at a summit without enjoying widespread support in the alliance.
Erich Vad: What are the war aims?
Erich Vad is an ex-brigade general. From 2006 to 2013, he was the military policy advisor to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He is one of the rare voices who spoke out publicly against arms deliveries to Ukraine early on, without political strategy or diplomatic efforts. Even now he speaks an uncomfortable truth.
Erich Vad: What are the war aims?
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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