In an interview with NBC News, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attacked former President Donald Trump’s pledge to end the war. He argued that if Kiev does not defeat Moscow, Russia will attack a NATO member state and force the US into a direct conflict.
Zelensky was asked about Trump’s claim he would immediately engage the Kremlin in talks and bring the war to a negotiated settlement. "Are they ready to start a war to send their children? Are they ready to die?" he said in the interview that was published on Thursday. "If Russia occupies Ukraine, they will move on to the Baltic countries, to Poland, to any NATO country, and in that particular case the U.S. will have to choose between dismantling NATO or fighting."
Kiev and hawks in Washington have asserted that Ukraine is a bulwark, protecting members of NATO from Moscow’s expansionist ambitions. However, there is no evidence that the Kremlin eyes attacking another country. Russian President Vladimir Putin views Ukraine as a unique security threat to his county and says seizing territory protects Moscow against the expanding NATO alliance.
Ukraine hopes to be added as a member of the alliance once the war is over. “We need an invitation, and it needs to be clear that after this war, if we are ready, and if the Ukraine army is ready to NATO standards, then after the war we will be invited to join.” Zelensky continued, “It’s very important to hear the truth and not tell us lies.”
In 2008, Ukraine was told it would one day receive full NATO membership. At the time, Moscow denounced the proposal, saying it violated red lines and, from the Russian perspective, would create a significant security threat.
Despite the Russian objections, NATO maintains its doors are open to new members, but Ukraine does not currently meet the requirements. As Kiev is currently at war with Moscow, admitting Ukraine into the alliance will put NATO in direct confrontation with Russia.
At times, Kiev appears to be frustrated with NATO refusing to make a formal commitment to Ukraine. Zelensky is threatening to sit out a coming meeting of the North Atlantic alliance in July because Ukraine will not receive a pledge to become a member at the end of the war.
Zelensky went on to slam Trump, claiming he was unable to end the war in Ukraine while he was in office. "Why didn’t he do that earlier? He was president when the war was going on here," he explained. "I think he couldn’t do that. I think there are no people today in the world who could just have a word with Putin and end the war."
The statement appears to be an admission from Zelensky that the war in Ukraine began before the Russian invasion in 2022. Prior to the Russian invasion, Ukraine was embroiled in an eight-year-long civil war. Washington and NATO justify their support for Kiev by saying the Russian invasion was "unprovoked."
The Minsk Accords were agreed to by Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France with the intention of ending the civil war. However, Zelensky was unable to get neo-nazi paramilitaries fighting for Ukraine to comply with the agreement. In the days before the Russian invasion, there was a surge in fighting between Ukrainian forces and rebels in the Donbas region.
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com, news editor of the Libertarian Institute, and co-host of Conflicts of Interest.
The old domino theory. Zelenski’s fanciful style and rich imagination is a match to Trump’s fanciful swagger.
But Trump’s exaggerated comment contains element of truth — Ukraine woukd not last without US support. Thus, where exactly lies his penchant for lecturing US?
Zelensky is right, Trump never tried to stop the war in Ukraine. He did absolutely nothing to force Kiev regime to respect Minsk Agreements. Also, as Putin mentioned recently, the economic war against Russia escalated while Trump was the president.
Good points.
Trump was boxed in by the deep state during his entire 1st term. Anytime he tried to pursue a rational policy he was threatened with impeachment and eventually impeached, accused to be every horrible ism under the sun, a traitor etc. Yeah Trump made a plethra of errors that I’ve myself pointed out. But the Russophobia and economic sanctions war was all driven by Congress and deep state permanent bureaucracy.
“”Trump was boxed in by the deep state during his entire 1st term. Anytime he tried to pursue a rational policy he was threatened with impeachment””
yes, so Trump said repeatedly. i remind everyone that Trump was a grifter/con-man LONG before he ever switched his political party from democrat to republican and eventually ran for office.
i submit that before he ever ran for POTUS, NONE of yalls would have allowed him into your house or anywhere near your daughters. or your bank-accounts.
JoBye is so much better for the USA……:(
fun fact = 6 times as many new jobs have been created under Biden admin than the previous 3 republican admins put together. that being said, i didn’t vote for Biden nor will i vote for him next time.
Yes, but keep in mind that a huge percentage of those added jobs were the result of recovering from COVID. Also recognize that his primary tool has been to spend, spend, spend… most of it borrowed money.
I think of Biden every time I pay for groceries these days.
Keep in mind that a huge percentage of those added jobs were the result of recovering from COVID. Also recognize that his primary tool has been to spend, spend, spend… most of it borrowed money.
I think of Biden every time I pay for groceries these days.
COVID recovery that Trump tried to ignore. If Trump had gotten re-elected you wouldn’t have had to worry about grocery bills. You’d be on a soup line!
My biggest gripe with Trump during COVID is that he declined to impose controls at the border to keep it out. He had playbooks for 2 different administrations and, after saying that Obama should step down if Ebola entered the country, he didn’t hold himself to the same standard.
He also actively disrupted efforts to mitigate the virus after he let it in. That was unforgivable.
But Trump did sign 2 stimulus packages, and Biden’s additional stimulus probably added more than the country needed.
I don’t think the facts-on-the-ground support your theory…
First, no one was ever going to keep it out of the country. It was coming no matter what. Obama didn’t add ENOUGH stimulus in 2009 to counter the recession and Uncle Joe learned from that.
Yep. It was in the country before we knew it existed.
Once we knew it was here people started getting concerned and talking about trying to prevent community spread, I asked my wife “don’t they understand it’s already IN community spread?” She works in the department of epidemiology at a major university, with faculty staff who travel (or rather, back then, traveled) to and from China, and I told her “it’s in your department right now.” Sure enough, last year some scientists went back through samples taken in January 2020 from door handles at the university for a study on the spread of the flu and found COVID-19 on at least one. From the entrance door to the epidemiology department.
door handles
Well, at least The Donald sent each of us a grand.
Ten grand wouldn’t make up for ByeDone’s inflation. The average Amerikkan household is spending $300 a MONTH more for basic necessities than they did a year ago. That’s huge for people who are struggling.
you might be on to something right there
Biden is not actually responsible for inflation or the price of gasoline
I disagree. Although supply chain issues were not something Biden could control, his last stimulus package was unnecessary and inflationary. His support for sanctions on Russian energy caused energy prices to rise for “unfriendly nations”, and I’m convinced he did not cooperate with the agreement to allow Ukraine and Russian grain, and Russian fertilizer to be moved without harassment through the Black Sea. This caused the cost of wheat and corn to rise everywhere. It also caused farmers to switch to crops that require less fertilizer.
i can’t argue with that
here is what an actual republican had to say about trump =
https://youtu.be/oG6quBj-158
like i said, trump was a con-man long before he ever entered politics
I consider both Trump and Biden to be unfit for office. But the reasons are different for each of them.
Yeah, Spy, all minimum wage though…
We don’t need either of those clowns as POTUS. Hey, Murkins, let’s try something new and kick these fools to the curb by voting third party!
Yeah no grifter has ever lost money in politics and constantly being threatened with jail time.
Trump lost money and filed for and received bankruptcy half a dozen times before he ever entered politics. how many cons did he run before he ever entered politics? here’s just 2 = his football team and his Trump University.
He claims that he himself has never filed for bankruptcy, let alone receive it. And that is, technically, true. But it doesn’t really make him look any better. He was cagey enough to ensure that whenever one of his scams went bad, it was people/entities other than himself which got left holding the bankruptcy bag.
He even managed to bankrupt a business with, effectively, a license to print money (a casino).
And it’s not like his cons produced that much of a financial return. His net worth would likely be far higher now if he’d just put his inheritance into an indexed mutual fund.
“Trump was boxed in by the deep state” – you may say this about any US president. US is an oligarchy state.
“Trump was boxed in by the deep state during his entire 1st term. ”
Where have I heard that before?
Trump is simultaneously GOD ALMIGHTY and a simpering weakling being bullied by the deep state. Sorry folks, he can’t be both. If he had the power to fight the corruption in DC, and didn’t, he is no better than Biden or any other president. And if he didn’t have the power to do anything, again, he is no better than Biden or any other president.
Please can it with the Trump worship. Couldn’t it be possible that Trump, like every man who has sat in that office my entire adult lifetime, had no more purpose in being president than simply to pad his bottom line.
I’m not worshipful of Trump. I view him as the best possible option available.
Lesser of evil shouldn’t be called the best option. And on my ballot, Trump and Biden were the worst options.
Yep, Wars. I’m already being told I’m “wasting my vote” for my intention to cast mine for Dr. Cornel West.
my favorite guy was Gary Johnson but he didn’t show up last time so i wrote-in my little brother’s name.
You yourself wouldn’t be bad a-tall, Spy 😉
hot damn G thanx!
but i would make sure to be assassinated just to prove a point
Remember when he said to an interviewer that he didn’t know what “Allepo” was ? Or was it he “forgot” ?
It was neither.
The previous question was about some other subject, and suddenly the interviewer said “What would you do if you were elected about Aleppo.”
Johnson answered “what is a leppo?”
He just didn’t understand that the topic had suddenly changed to the fighting in Syria, so he didn’t understand that the interviewer was referring to the city in Syria. Once he understood what question was actually being asked, he answered.
Oddly, though, until he just flat-out admitted that was what had happened, I wasn’t sure it wasn’t one of his weird jokes, like faking a heart attack (he did that on a news show).
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/52305ada518444925e559edc1f8bf88cbcd9284ee13c26b43bfb0929f0641204.jpg
“And on my ballot, Trump and Biden were the worst options.”
Yes, even third party candidates who may have many policies I oppose at least had functioning brains, a thousand times more integrity than Biden or Trump, and weren’t bought. They were also at least open to learning and changing based on what they learned. If it weren’t the case that they had those characteristics, they never would have broken from the Ds and Rs.
But the others from the 2 entrenched political parties were neocons, communists, and left wing extremists!
The 2 entrenched parties were covered by Trump and Biden. Jo Jorgensen was on my ballot also, and she was hands down better than Trump or Biden. I didn’t really know any of the others on my ballot but it was easy to assume they couldn’t be worse than Trump or Biden. And I’m not a Libertarian.
I agree, except for the possibility of a Jack Kennedy Jr. presidency. I did not vote for Trump, nor did I like him, but he was and is a far better choice than Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, or Joe Biden!!!! That is a regrettable and sad fact!!! Trumps biggest f up was that he trusted certain swamp creatures to be loyal to him for the privilege of filling a slot for him. He probably learned his lesson. I actually hope presently that Kennedy Jr will win even though I disagree with some of his positions. He is not like Ted Kennedy thank God!
It really sucks that we have such terrible candidates to choose from!!!
As an anarchist I wish we would wise up and abolish forceful government!!!
How did Trump pad his bottom line? Pray tell?
Shut up. Zelensky is a little turd, a corrupt mass murderer. Hopefully scum like him will be hung from Kiev lampposts, soon.
As I recall, Trump hasn’t been POTUS since Jan 2021. Despite the best efforts of neocons, he refused to inflame tensions with Russia.
President Putin would parlay with a POTUS Trump any day. Putin respected Trump. Biden? Er,.not so much.
Why are you so hysterical? I just mentioned the facts.
The other point is: Trump is anti-Chinese. I think, everyone remember how Trump persistently referred to Covid as “Chinese virus”. Why he did it? Only to escalate hostility between US and China? What for? The military budget in four years of Trump’s presidency also was increasing every year. And that idiotic Tomahawk attack against Syria, what for did it served? He tried to please MIC oligarchy as much as he could. Without support of MIC he would be impeached in the first year of his presidency. That also was the reason why Trump, while president, continued the persecution of Assange. Assange exposed too many war crimes and MIC hated him because of that. Trump is just a servant of MIC oligarchy, nothing else. He has no backbone.
You are right on some points and wrong on others. Like fair trade. 🙂
Trump would negotiate two new Trump hotels and several golf courses in Russia and the Ukrainians would be faced with a withdrawal of US support for their pogrom against their own.
maybe he would have even started a campaign to “build the wall!” between Russia and Ukraine
With his transactional approach Trump could have made peace with NK, the Russians and even the Chinese. All his chest thumping was just for show. When the Iranians hit a US base in response to the killing of Soleimani, Trump quietly walked away with his tail between the legs.
But there is no way he could have beat the deep state. Is there anybody in the US who could beat the deep state? I doubt it.
Trump inflamed tensions with Russia. He even bragged/brags about it. And Putin respects Trump? Highly doubtful. Putin knew, just like so many others, that you can lead Trump around by his nose if you feign admiration. That’s all Trump cares about.
Trump is a POS, JoBye FAR worse, just look at the results. Look at the war, look at the economy, look at the dividing of the races and sexes, look at your citizenship being shi# upon. USA under JoBye on an E.E.T.H.!
Maybe Biden is worse but Trump is not much better.
No one is FAR worse than Trump. And I don’t see anything different going on with Biden at the helm. Same old shit.
Economy is doing fine. Right-wingers are waging a culture war and “dividing” the races and sexes. The war was started by Russia. (Which, by the way, was FREAKING IDIOTIC for Putin to do AFTER Trump left office.) Trump would’ve given him Ukraine!
Putin has lost his edge. Maybe COVID isolation took its toll on him.
And my citizenship has never been better.
LOL!! You would make a good stand up comedian! )
Don’t forget that Trump summarily rescinded the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty. That was incredibly hostile, and may explain why Putin is convinced that Russia could be facing an existential threat.
I always thought that Trump’s number one objective was to promote his own interests. But I think that if he said he would try to end the war in Ukraine if elected, he would. I also think that if anybody other than Biden had been elected, the provocations and escalations that led to war with Russia would not have occurred.
To promote one’s own interests is normal, also for the politicians. I think, the main indicator of the democracy is when the interests of the elected politicians coincide with the interests of the people.
Actually, everywhere the politicians are claiming that they are working for the interests of their nations. So, the most important thing in the democracy is not to allow politicians to lie. The lies of the top level politicians should be considered as the high treason. Unfortunately, in US and in other NATO countries, the lies and the cheating on the top level is normal. When the state is persecuting those who are exposing the lies and the crimes of the politicians, it means, the democracy in this particular state is failed.
Trump got into trouble during the impeachment because he wanted to stop an arms package for Ukraine. To demonstrate that it wasn’t a Russian puppet Trump had to send weapons to Ukraine. No matter how much one may despise the personality of Trump, with him as president, the Ukraine war would not have happened. Wars don’t just happen like that. The Ukraine war happened because the Biden administration promised Zelensky all the help he needed to beat the Russians. The Neocons in their hubris believed the Russian economy would crumble under the biggest sanction package of all time. These people miscalculated because they have no experience of the real world. We are ruled by idiotic psychopaths.
“Wars don’t happen like that” – the civil war in Ukraine started in the spring 2014 when Kiev regime used the military forces, including the air forces, against the civil population of Donbass. All efforts to stop the war and return Donbass into Ukraine were sabotaged by NATO. In the end, the leaders of Ukraine, France and Germany openly denounced Minsk Agreements and Kiev began the massive artillery attacks against Donetsk. In that situation Russia had no choice but recognize the independence of Donbass republics and sign a military pact with them.
US leadership wasn’t interested in the reconciliation between Donbass and Kiev because the goal was the regime change in Russia. The war in Ukraine was used as a tool for destabilizing the political and economic situation in Russia. That’s why this war was unavoidable. As we see it now, it doesn’t work as planned .
The point is that the escalation to war could have stopped at any moment. It did not because the Biden administration was hell-bent on war. Trump would have avoided war simply by not going up the escalation escalator.
Since Biden came to power:
– there were several Nato maneuvers involving Ukraine during 2021
– US/Ukraine security agreement in 2021
– Selensky’s decree 117 for the reconquest of Crimea and the Donbas in March 2021
– Ukrainian buildup of Nato-trained troops in the Donbas in the Summer
– increased shelling on Luhansk and Donetsk
– Selensky introduces racial law making Russians 2nd class citizens in Ukraine to prepare ethnic cleansing
– US refusal to negotiate about security with Russia
– Biden predicts start of war for Feb. 16th 2022
– Russians do not intervene on Feb. 16th, but Ukraine intensifies shelling of Luhansk and Donetsk
Without the above escalation driven by the Biden administration the war would not have happened. Ukraine would never have gone up the escalation escalator if it hadn’t had the full support of the US administration. Thus, it is clear that Trump could easily have stopped the war. He could easily stop it now by cutting support for Ukraine.
I do agree with what you say but Biden is only a member of the team. Majority of US politicians both Democrats and Republicans are supporting Biden in what does concern his anti-Russian policy. The presidents before Biden acted the same. They systematically prepared Ukraine for the war with Russia. After the coup 2014 the war became unavoidable. By the way, in 2014 Obama was the president. So, it doesn’t much matter who is the president.
2014 was the year that Victoria Nuland orchestrated the coup that led to the US appointing the president of Ukraine and the start of the Biden corruption.
So, Zelensky launches a word attack on Trump. Well, it takes a grifter to know a grifter. And there’s only so much grift to be had — it’s a zero-sum game — more for one means less for the other.
Put them both in a cage and let them duke it out, barefoot and bareknuckle.
It would be a money-maker on pay-per-view.
Remember it was the Ukrainians with their front man Alexander Vindman who nearly brought Trump down in the impeachment.
Nobody nearly brought Trump down in the impeachment. There was never any chance that the Senate would get to the 67 votes required to convict, and in fact there wasn’t even a 51-vote majority for conviction on either count. The only thing the impeachment accomplished was to energize his re-election campaign.
One minute Russia is the scourge of the world and has plans to conquer all of Europe. The next minute they’re an overrated military power that couldn’t subdue tiny Ukraine and are no more than a gas station with nukes. It just depends on which propaganda fits whatever narrative is being discussed.
An element of fascism is to say the enemy is strong and weak at the same time.
It’s magic thinking.
ZelBoy acts like a petulant child, throwing temper tantrums when he doesn’t get what he wants.
And what he wants he’ll never, ever receive: Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk. So he’ll settle for more and more weaponry and vast amounts of Amerikkkan capital that are putting actual Americans in the poorhouse.
His insistence that more and more instruments of death be poured into his pathetic country could well be a precursor to WWLast. Yet he appears not to give a tinker’s damn.
YOU are responsible for this sh*tshow, ZelBoy. If you had abided by the Minsk Accords, Putin wouldn’t have been forced to invade to protect the Russian ethnics. But the Minsk accords were a lie, and you knew they were a lie, and you, like the silly child you are, reject all attempts at mediation. You have a ring in your nose, and you’re allowing ByeDone, Cookies Nuland and Co. to lead you around by it.
“Zelensky is threatening to sit out a coming meeting of the North Atlantic alliance in July because Ukraine
will not receive a pledge to become a member at the end of the war.”
And this is a threat? What is the downside for NATO with Zelensky staying in his bunker in Kiev? If the US/NATO want to show him who is pulling the strings, perhaps they should cut his weapons shipments by, say, half for a month or two and see how that works out for him. He’ll find that while some yappy dogs get attention, others get kicked out- or put down.
There is a reason why the establishment was so scared of the phrase “drain the swamp” since ’16 and have been using the power of the state to destroy him.
Yes, the establishment was in fear of being replaced. The man who wants to execute drug dealers and have the power to fire anyone, would replace them with those whose noses would be up his, and only his, ass.
Lol Orange man bad…
He asked “why”? about too many things.
Why NATO?
Why does it take forever to build something?
Why do we need these regulations about (fill in the blank)?
The very act of asking why and then prove it is worthwhile is a very scary thing to DC.
Those that ask the question must be destroyed…..
Btw….
I’m posting from the 2nd festival of the season.
I have Snotty Nose Rez Kids blasting from the speaker as I
spin some leaves up…..lol.
Snotty Nose Rez Kids what? macosos!
You gave a perfect example. Why NATO?
Trump:
“There would be no NATO if I didn’t act strongly and swiftly,” Trump said in a statement, noting it “was me, as President of the United States, that got delinquent NATO members to start paying their dues.”
Orange Man talks out of both sides of his mouth. Depends on who is in the room with him.
That is the problem when ever you speak about Trump.
Making NATO members to pay their share is a seperate issue from the question if it should exist today.
Everytime someone mentions Trump the left brings up a different topic from the point being made
Getting someone to pay is not the same as him asking if the organization needs to exist and in what form.
Sure, a separate issue. That means there is no contradiction between him saying we should get out of NATO to him saying he saved NATO. None. Just leftist talk because it’s a different topic. Seriously?
It is two different topics. One topic is making Europe pay their share.
The second one is if the organization continues.
Those are two seperate issues that he has brought up repeatedly even if you can’t grasp that they are and find a quote that kind of makes your point even though it really doesn’t.
I honestly get tired of nonsence like this whenever Trump is mentioned because of the cartoonish way most lefties view him and the repetitious cable news talking points that are used about him.
C’mon. The topic WAS NATO. Trump was against NATO before he was for it. And he was for it after he convinced himself that he saved it. And I honestly tire of people who have convinced themselves that the lesser of evils is actually something good. Poor Donald is just soooo misunderstood. Trump is a cartoon. I can throw quotes at you all day. They’re his words.
So you want to argue cartoons is all I read there.
I am totally tired of comment board discussions where you try to have a serious conversation and it dissolves into this cartoonish nonsence.
Orange man bad is all you want and I’m sure you can find someone to give you that but this is a waste of time.
And when I point out what Trump actually says, it’s back to “Orange man bad is all you want”. Actually my point was that Trump talks out of both sides of his mouth. I guess that offended you.
Anyway, here’s another:
Good Trump: “I think NATO may be obsolete. NATO was set up a long time ago — many, many years ago when things were different.”
Bad Trump: “So NATO is something that at the time was excellent. Today, it has to be changed. It has to be changed to include terror.”
That is a more nuanced conversation.
In fact that last sentence recognizes the original mission is no more and if it continues the mission needs to change.
What is wrong with that observation?
In the real world you do not decide to disband something like NATO in a week like comment sections and writer of columns want.
So we have 2 choices in 24 unless things change.
Biden wants to continues NATO ‘s proxy war and Trump who has said he believes the war will be at a point where it can be ended quickly by the time he takes office or Biden who wants an expansion with NATO at the lead.
“So we have 2 choices in 24 unless things change.”
Depending on what state you live in, that’s just barely possible (there are a few states that don’t count write-ins and a few where it’s insanely difficult for a third party or independent candidate to get on the ballot — not sure if those states overlap).
Personally, I had six choices on the ballot in my state in 2020, not including write-in candidates.
“What is wrong with that observation?”
I was giddy when Trump said that NATO may be obsolete. We don’t need to change the “mission”.
“Orange man bad is all you want” is the only reply you seem to have whenever someone posits that Trump might be anything less than Jesus Christ returned to rule in justice and splendor.
No, I do not take the opposite as you just shared.
I do not idolize. You can not find anything like what you just shared.
I just find the usual Orange man bad stuff boring.
It’s like my throw away taunts about Joe’s diapers; I’m not exactly trying to have a conversation trying to outdo others with poop jokes.
In fact he shared something in a reply later about how Trump recognizes NATO’s original purpose is no more and if it continues the mission needs to be changed to address “terror”.
Of couse that isn’t the “let’s end it in a week” nonsence some writers create a career with because those things write themselves but it is a trend towards it ending something the DC permenent uniparty would never broach even in impolite company.
“No, I do not take the opposite as you just shared.”
I’d be overjoyed to learn I’m wrong. Care to link to so much as a single comment at Antiwar.com where someone has said anything negative about Trump and your reply has been “yes, that’s fair” rather than “YOU JUST HATE TRUMP” (even when the person you’re responding to has at least occasionally said positive things about Trump)?
To me, Trump’s approach to NATO, as to pretty much everything else, seems very similar to his decades of business practice, in both good respects and bad (and, in fairness, very similar to most politicians, albeit with more theatrics). He goes big and grand with his claims and hard with his demands, before delivering whatever he happens to deliver instead, then claims that his demands produced great results even though they weren’t the results he advertised at the beginning. And if things go south, he has pre-planned escape routes to leave others holding the bag and looking bad.
Sometimes it works for him. “Trump Tower” is still a name to conjure with, even though after advertising his “luxury apartments,” he built them with material that he got on the cheap because it had been rejected by the NYC housing authority as too substandard for use in public housing projects. He knew that the kind of buyer he was after would want to remodel anyway, so why bother spending up to the level implied by the image he was creating?
He came into office on trial balloons of the US exiting NATO, then delivered tentative commitments on the part of other NATO regimes to fork over a bigger share of the costs and declared “victory.” Nothing wrong with that, particularly. But it’s naive to think that he came into the matter with anything on his mind other than how whatever happened would make him look.
Yes Trump has done more for European defense than most US presidents – simply by putting conditions on US commitments and thereby putting the participation of the US in NATO in doubt.
That has accelerated the European powers focus on upping their own defense capabilities and made it possible for EU to pass the PESCO program, basically preparing (or at least trying to) for the eventuality that they will have to cope without the US in NATO.
“”if Kiev does not defeat Moscow, Russia will attack a NATO member state and force the US into a direct conflict… if Russia occupies Ukraine, they will move on to the Baltic countries, to Poland, to any NATO country, and in that particular case the U.S. will have to choose between dismantling NATO or fighting.””
….. Zelensky
i don’t believe that Russia would “move on to the Baltic countries, to Poland, to any NATO country”. what would they possibly do with all of that territory? if they controlled it then they would be obliged to supply them with oil/natural gas etc instead of selling it to them.
Apparently they haven’t done so well in Ukraine, so why should any neighbor country fear they will attempt to go after themselves? Their army is a mess, in no shape to even continue with ‘the special operation” without, as usual, telling the population lies about how it’s going. Of course Ukraine lies too, and US media prints anything their state-approved news service pumps out. A divided army can’t conquer anything, if they first can’t conquer themselves well enough to unite against the foe. but in their case, none too many of the Russians going into it even had a clue where they where going, what to do there, or why.
Col Doug Macgregor = “the Russians have brand new weapons now”
https://youtu.be/ru25-34UBto
Oh, magic weapons? Phasers and photon torpedoes?!?
sure. did you watch it? i have no doubt that Col Macgregor’s take on the war is closer to the facts than yours is.
You mean this stooge?
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/watch-fox-reporter-scolds-col-macgregor-for-sounding-like-a-putin-apologist
right then. “Fox reporter scolds Col. Douglas Macgregor for sounding like a ‘Putin apologist'”
really, is he really a Putin apologist? or are some people around here just wishful thinkers
Watch CNN much?
Agree Russia doesn’t want any country as broken down as any of those. Russia is on it’s way up.
The Russians still remember the trouble they had keeping the peace in the former Warsaw Pact countries. They certainly don’t want to repeat that experience. Subsidizing all those pesky people nearly bankrupted Russia despite its huge natural resources. In fact, they never wanted to occupy the East of Europe after driving the N@zis out. They just wanted a buffer zone to protect against the Anglo-Saxons, who would never have missed an opportunity for destroying Russia. The Russians pulled out of Austria on condition the country remain neutral. They offered German reunification on condition of neutrality. Obviously the Empire wouldn’t let the Germans go. Rather destroy Germany than let it become neutral.
“Zelensky continued, “It’s very important to hear the truth and not tell us lies.”
Oh swee.. er, bitter irony!
What a load of crap.
Why would Russia attack the Baltic States knowing full well that this would start a war with NATO?
Russia could not even conquer 1/2 of Ukraine before NATO support arrived.
How the ‘f’ would they expect to defeat ALL of NATO directly?
Go back to making dance videos Zelenskyy.
Trump is full of excrement, though.
He said he would pull out of Afghanistan, pull all US troops out of Syria (twice) and make peace with NK.
And he pathetically failed on all counts.
He even put more troops in Afghanistan…the fat loser.
I am quite sure he could reason with Putin more than Biden can. But unless he stops giving military equipment to Ukraine? There is little he can do to end the war that I can see. Let alone in a week.
It’s just more boasting from Trump to desperately try and get back in the WH so he can pardon himself.
I agree with you on the actual threat to NATO of Russia – but I cannot blame Zelenskyy for promoting this narrative any more than I can blame the Russians for threatening nukes. It is simply the narrative that they likely believe is the most likely to yield the best response from the west in weapons – it’s also a bit like the Russians claiming to de-nazify Ukraine.
Agreed.
But – imo – he is not doing his country any favors by passing off ridiculous scenarios like: ‘Russia will attack NATO if they are not stopped’.
Support for his country is waning – somewhat.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/support-for-ukraine-aid-softens-in-u-s-public-poll-says
And the longer the stalemate lasts? The further this support will fall (I assume).
He needs to try and take the high road and not jump up and down spewing forth doomsday narratives. Or people will stop taking him seriously.
He would be much better off – imo – simply by stating: ‘Russia attacked our nation. We are eternally grateful for the continuing support from America/NATO that has saved our nation from being conquered. If former President Trump can end this awful war – whilst gaining back stolen Ukrainian territory? I am all for it.’
Also, what if Trump (somehow) wins in 2024? The last thing Zelenskyy should do is piss him off as we know Trump takes insults EXTREMELY personally.
I would easily agree, but my Lithuanian in-laws not so much – it is to me an easily transparent propaganda narrative, only I’m not sure that the majority of the electorates of the western coalition supporting Ukraine realizes as much.
Yes as the war grinds on this was always inevitable – the cost of applying sanctions etc. are also a factor – but as long as few palatable politicians can find a viable alternative I’m far from sure that the support in actual weapons deliveries will end.
I think that the Ukrainians think this is the best way to secure support, I’m nearly certain that they have ‘spin doctors’ working the numbers – but they are laboring under the handicap that ‘soviet era propaganda’ was so often over the top.
I 100% agree with that sentiment.
Some of us haven’t taken him seriously since he was “elected” to bring peace to the east.
I tend to agree. Zelensky is between a rock and a hard place. There is very little room for him to make any move that does not conform to the wishes of US/NATO on the one side and the Azov/Bandera nationalists on the other.
He got elected on his promise to de-escalate the Ukraine civil war, but was quickly co-opted by the US which had its own plan to make Ukraine its proxy in a war against Russia.
It would be suicidal for him to oppose either the US or the nationalists. And so far he is not behaving like he wants his life to end. Which is rational and understandable.
How do you square Zelenskyy agreeing to meet with the Chinese (and Africans) on their peace proposal, with Zelenskyy being beholden to either US (they had dismissed the Chinese proposal out of hand) or any Azov or Bandera acolytes in any position to ‘threaten’ him?
At what point is this supposed to have happened, only asking because
– the conflict in the Donbas was taking fewer and fewer lives every year up until 2022
– the Russian build up which ended up in the SMO started when the US was facing a debacle in Afghanistan
Yet he has defied the US on meeting with the Chinese!? And one would assume that any ultra nationalists would also consider this potential treason.
If that was his top priority he ought to have accepted the US offer of rescue early in 2022 or have accepted the offers the Russians must have extended to him on security against laying down the arms.
“How do you square Zelenskyy agreeing to meet with the Chinese (and Africans) on their peace proposal, with Zelenskyy being beholden to either US (they had dismissed the Chinese proposal out of hand) or any Azov or Bandera acolytes in any position to ‘threaten’ him?”
When he sits with the Chinese and seriously discusses a peace deal, let us know.
The mere act of agreeing to talks is would be very dangerous if he was afraid of the nationalists – they would have to kill him to prevent a deal, as they cannot staff the negotiation team. As for the US the mere fact that he wants to be in talks again defies their rejection of the proposal.
You are essentially moving the goal posts – by implying that Zelenskyy is not afraid of defying the nationalists or the US if he does the exact opposite of what they would have him do, until he actually compromises and concedes territory for peace.
The notion that he is scared for his own life requires that he not even start talks – as many nationalists would see the mere fact of having talks as betraying their agenda, and the US could easily see this as a demonstration that they could not control him and do with him as they did ‘to’ President Ngo Dinh Diem.
So if the claim is that Zelenskyy is afraid and under threat from nationalist forces in Ukraine – you have to explain why it is that he acts in ways to make it more likely that he would be ‘replaced’.
Sure, if you were to pretend that no one else knows that Zelensky was/is just being diplomatic and saying the right things, including the US and the Ukrainian nationalists. They know, as well as he does, there is no way he will sit with ANYONE and seriously discuss a peace deal. That was proven in March and April of 2022.
Just to get things clear what would convince you that the talks with the Chinese are serious?
Put it this way, if he walked out of a meeting with the Chinese, or anyone else for that matter, and held up a draft of a tentatively agreed upon peace deal, at that point I’d think he was serious. And at that point we would see what the reaction would be from the US and the Ukrainian nationalists. I think it might be different than how they reacted to him agreeing to just talk. They have to sell this war and I don’t believe they felt Zelensky would talk serious about peace. It made for good PR.
Yes so serious means willing to submit, and if he is not then he has to be beholden to US or nationalist interests in Ukraine – that is just as I thought – you simply cannot allow for the possibility that the Ukrainians (and Zelenskyy) too might not want peace against territorial concessions and if that is the case then they have to be following the dictate of ultra nationalists or the US.
So really no need to debate the issue nothing short of a Ukrainian surrender will convince you that Zelenskyy is not in the pocket of the US/nationalists.
I didn’t say anything about “serious means willing to submit”. That’s just you thinking any kind of concessions Ukraine might make means they are surrendering. Just like how the US and the Ukrainian nationalists think. And just like how the US/UK stopped the possibility of a peace deal in late March and early April of 2022 which I’m sure included some concessions.
It’s funny cause Putin even said that Russia can’t beat NATO and said any war would become nuclear.
” so he (Trump) can pardon himself.”
and attack environmental regulations and enact tax-cuts for corporations and the uber-rich.
Dear, dear me.
History is littered with the likes of Zelensky. An extremely corrupt, amoral man who will scurry off to his mansions with bags of cash like the diseased rat he is – if he survives.
I don’t know if President Trump could end this war in a day. Probably not – the useless trash in Washington DC that supposedly was ‘elected’ in 2020 have destroyed US legitimacy so completely, it would be hard for Trump to negotiate a way back in.
And that’s the point isn’t it. America is a laughing stock these days. A joke nation, weak, illegitimate and disrespected.
Uncle Sam is the fentanyl addicted loser on the sidewalk, the zombie on crank, deluded with past glories as the world moves on.
It’s all over for America.
He could end it in a day. Just tell Zelensky it’s over and cut off the money. Then he would be threatened with impeachment round 3. He should take a page out of the Joe Biden playbook and choose a VP nobody wants to see as President. His big mistake that put him at risk was choosing Mike Pence who is a deep state devotee (plenty of examples that demonstrate that from the very start throwing Mike Flynn under the bus then refusing to fulfill his constitutional duty as Vice-President to contest the electors from states where Joe Biden’s victory was in doubt). Trump should choose Kari Lake or Douglas McGregor. They instill more fear from the deep state than Trump himself and make very effective impeachment insurance.
Trump was tried for impeachment when he cut off funding to Ukraine without Congressional consent. But, if he had remained President, I’m virtually certain that Zelensky would not have signed decree 117/2021 to take back Crimea. It’s obvious to me that one of the first things Biden did when he assumed office was to greenlight that decree.
Still, I have no doubt that Trump could and would pull the rug out from Zelensky if reelected.
Trump did not cut off funding to Ukraine, with or without congressional consent.
Yet that was why he was impeached.
Withholding and cut off are two different things. He wanted info.
He might have gotten it were it not for Judas Vindman.
Acting like a half-assed mob boss!
he is still acting like a half-assed mob boss.
he tried to run the country like he was a real Don
Not according to the articles of impeachment.
According to the articles of impeachment he attempted to use the threat of withholding the aid (which was in fact delivered) to extort Zelenskyy into announcing an investigation of Joe Biden.
And that’s something Trump cheerfully confessed to doing in a “perfect phone call” which, according to the transcript he himself released, included no fewer than three violations of the Treaty With Ukraine on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.
Trump = traitor
Flynn = traitor
Pense = milquetoast
Kari Lake = kook
Your heros are weak and corrupt.
Trump and Flynn were both born after the last time it was possible to commit treason as defined in the US Constitution.
Not every bad thing is treason.
That’s why I said traitors…
Traitors are people who commit treason.
In the US, it’s been legally impossible to be a traitor since late 1945.
“In the US, it’s been legally impossible to be a traitor since late 1945.”
Thomas, forgive my historical ignorance.
I thought that treason was one of three or four federal crimes actually enumerated in the Constitution. If that is not true, please elaborate. If there was an Amendment regarding this crime, please explain. I am not being snarky, I am literally ignorant and actually am a little embarrassed by my ignorance.
Here’s the constitutional definition of treason:
“Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.”
It is, in other words, a crime that’s only applicable in time of war.
How do we know when we’re in a time of war? When Congress has so declared. Which it has not done since World War 2.
To the best of my knowledge, there have been a grand total of two sets of treason charges filed since World War 2 that weren’t for actions taken during World War 2.
One of those sets of charges (against Julius and Ethel Rosenberg) was dropped before their case went to trial. The other never went to trial either (it was versus an alleged American al Qaeda operative; the charge became moot when he was killed on the battlefield).
“It is, in other words, a crime that’s only applicable in time of war.”
Your explanation makes sense. I guess what you are saying is that there could be a charge of treason again if we were ever in a declared war again.
The interpretation of treason has really gotten out of hand though. I shudder when I see many prominent people calling for Matt Taibbi, for instance, to be prosecuted for treason on the grounds that he opposes US involvement in the Russia/Ukraine conflict and therefore is “adhering to [our] enemies (Russia), giving them aid and comfort.”
Well, in theory, if Congress declared war on Russia, Taibbi (and me, and you) could easily be charged on such accusations. But even during actual wartime, the charge seems to be used pretty sparingly. They usually come up with other bullshit charges for antiwar activists and reserve treason for e.g. handing over the secret battle plan to the opposing general.
“and reserve treason for e.g. handing over the secret battle plan to the opposing general.”
Yes, you are probably correct that in the past cooler heads have prevailed. What scares me though is the strident manner people in power state that antiwar activists are guilty of treason just for opposing government policy. The stridency with which they state it leads me to believe that they really mean it!
I think they’d certainly jump at the opportunity to imprison antiwar activists along the lines of many (including Eugene Debs) imprisoned during World War One. But they didn’t use the treason provision to do that. They certainly wouldn’t want to unleash treason charges versus fellow members of the establishment/ruling class like Trump. It might be contagious and get turned in their direction.
“They certainly wouldn’t want to unleash treason charges versus fellow members of the establishment/ruling class like Trump. It might be contagious and get turned in their direction.”
I am not sure they are all rational or sophisticated enough to understand the “tit for tat” argument here. If they were, you would think they might exhibit more wisdom in regard to promoting aggressive warfare.
By the way, could you explain exactly how Eugene Debs and other antiwar activists during WWI were prosecuted and successfully convicted? If it were not for treason, was it simply for a violation of statutory law, and how the hell did they so successfully secure convictions?
Debs was charged under “the Espionage Act of June 15, 1917, c. 30, § 3, 40 Stat. 217, as amended by the Act of May 16, 1918, c. 75, § 1, 40 Stat. 553. P. 249 U. S. 212.”
“”and reserve treason for e.g. handing over the secret battle plan to the opposing general””
while US is not at war and have no opposing general right now, some of the charges Trump is facing right now fall under the espionage act and stem from his “showing off classified documents to yet unnamed persons”. whether or not his daughter and her Kushner returning from Saudi with a good $2 billion has anything to do with that remains to be seen.
You are incorrect. A traitor CAN be treasonous but treason is not required.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/traitor
It is required for any meaning of greater import than “I don’t like that guy or what he did.”
Trump and Flynn have plenty to answer for without any need for hyperbole.
It’s not hyperbole if they sold out their country. Flynn was working for the Turks during the campaign and was seen at a dinner in Russia with Putin. We still don’t know what Trump told Putin in Helsinki and what he was planning to do with the defense secrets included in the classified documents he stole. I think I’m safe.
That’s way too short a list of “leaders” and also shows a blind spot of naivity or lack of awareness if you think some others don’t belong there as well. Both Clinton and Obama sold out the people as well for their own profit. NAFTA? Clinton’s welfare reform didn’t end welfare but lowered wages by increasing competition for bottom rung jobs. Obama’s justice department prosecuted less white collar crime than Bush Jr. Holder made it a habit for the feds to take over local investigations, shut them down and get a quick settlement, million dollar slaps on the wrist but main thing was to halt the deeper look into books.
“Clinton’s welfare reform didn’t end welfare but lowered wages”
So when’s that lowering of wages going to come to fruition? Real wages went up every year during the Clinton administration and while there have been a couple of dips since he left office, they’ve never since been as low as when he entered office.
And don’t forget Warren G Harding and the Teapot Dome scandal!
Yes. We know. ALL presidents are corrupt. The point was who is TRAITOROUS. That would be Trump.
“Trump = traitor”
Let me preface my comments by first stating that I am not even a mild Trump fan, and have leveled heavy criticism of the Trump worship I have seen on this site.
That being said, how would Trump be any more of a traitor than any other president of the last 100+ years? If you define treason as many define it, “Exhibiting opposition to the policies of the existing state, with the goal of altering or abolishing those policies,” virtually every contributor and commenter on this site is a traitor. If, by treason, you mean, “Violating the Constitution while acting in the official capacity of the office of president,” then every president in my adult lifetime has been an egregious traitor, and Trump is neither much better nor worse than any of them.
Again, I am not really defending Trump in any way. I actually have quite an animus to both his policies and his ways of interacting with people. I think the most apt descriptive phrase I have seen in these pages over the years is “orange shit stain.” I just don’t see how he is any more of a traitor than any other president.
“Your heros are weak and corrupt”
huh we are on the same page here
Doug Macgregor should be the next President. He’s light years ahead of Trump on IQ and an ability to speak clearly and debate. Trump can’t debate. He only makes ad hominem attacks.
well i would vote for him but it is possible that he would just say one thing and then do another like all the rest of them do/have
So true! So sad.
Scipio:
Hi, if you haven’t yet read it, please run don’t walk to get yourself a copy of Chris Hedges’ “America: the Farewell Tour”.
A must-read for anyone who frequents this website.
Bet Thomas has read it! 🙂
Anyone who would prefer war to peace has more screws missing than the main ones and really aren’t much worth listening to.
That would be nearly all of the legislative and all of the executive branches in the U.S. along with their oligarchical bosses and the MSM, and the rulers of the European countries.
Guess what: nearly all if not all of them are college-educated, and that makes them smart in their own feeble minds! They are so smart that they lack common sense, reason, diplomacy skills, and intuition! Meanwhile, a truck driver with only a high school education + a few college credits and an above average IQ along with the above traits could outperform them easily. I would never be allowed to run for politics though, and I as an anarchist wouldn’t want the job anyway.
BTW, I am well aware of the fact that there are a great many brilliant college grads who possess the above traits. Perhaps they/you can figure out why only the worst people rise to the top in politics and do something about it!?!? If the problem is the corporate oligarchy whom finance the corrupt politicians: might there be a way to start a national ballot for a constitutional amendment to somehow remove their financial power over us? Money possession should not be the ruler over a free nation! Perhaps you could word the ballot properly? The citizens from both the left and the right hate being ruled by the wealthy oligarchy, so such a ballot would be quite popular.
If that CNN interviewer wasn’t totally occupied with the circular “democratic moral outrage against Trump,” she could have actually asked some good f*cking questions: What exactly are you going to say on the phone call to end the Ukraine war in 24 hours? Are you going to threaten Russia with the US military and nuclear weapons? Do you think Russia doesn’t feel threatened enough?
She could have actually exposed his empty logic very easily if she used her logic–not emotional propaganda. Why didn’t she? …Is it because she didn’t want us to use our own logic? (Sarcasm alert)
Yes indeed.
“The fake news said my personality is going to get us into a war…but actually my personality is what kept us out of war,” he said, adding, that the invasion of Ukraine could lead to World War III. “I see what’s happening, because if you think Putin’s going to stop, it’s going to get worse and worse. He’s not going to accept it, and we don’t have anybody to talk to him. You had somebody to talk to him with me.”
The former president noted that he was able to deal with Russia when he was in office as “nobody was ever tougher on Russia” than him.
Trump was an azzhole, JoBye is an ABOMINATION.
They are both quite ridiculous enough.
What’s your point? We’d rather have an azzhole than an abomination? Do you think I’m advocating for Biden?
Chill Bro’,,we are in a world of shi# no matter what.
I agree. That’s my point. I don’t want an azzhole or an abomination.
Diggin it! 🙂
Trump was great! According to….. well, Trump.
Fact is he was out maneuvered by the DC establishment. He surrounded himself with back stabbing swamp creatures again and again. His successes were mostly ridiculing and exposing the media.
Exactly.
“Zelensky Slams Trump for Saying He Would End the War in Ukraine The Ukrainian leader admitted that there was an ongoing civil war prior to the Russian invasion”
Soon Zelensky will be dust!
What an idiot.
Kyle Anzalone hit the nail on the head when he mentioned that “The statement appears to be an admission from Zelensky that the war in Ukraine began before the Russian invasion in 2022.”
Biden’s message is that Russia invaded without provocation. But, when we did the same thing in Syria, the message was that we were supporting the rebels who sought regime change there.
I suspect that the vast majority of Americans don’t realize that a civil war was being fought in Ukraine before Russia invaded, or that the goals of the Special Military Operation are similar to the goals of the Minsk 2 agreement that Ukraine had already signed.
Most of the American people are too lazy to seek other media then MSNBC,CNN or Fox and the result is ignorance.
It works the same in other countries. That’s why it is important that the elected politicians have under their control, at least, one main TV channel which can explain what they are doing and promote their course. Otherwise, the reputation of any politician can be easily destroyed by the owners of the main stream media. One of the reasons why the democracy in US failed is the ownership of the main stream media by unelected people. The corporate media can lie anything and no one ever is punished for that. They are punishing only those who are exposing the lies of the corporate media. It creates the situation where those who own the media can manipulate the nation as much as they wish.
At least your are controlled by your own oligarchs in the US. In Europe we are controlled by the oligarchs from across the big pond.
Oligarchs lack human decency and fairness no matter where they live.
The way he tries to instill fear and tug at the heart strings is sickening. Glad to see he wants us to continue funding him. He could care less about the American people. All this is is a child throwing a tantrum because he wants to get his way.
ahh domino effect …
The US sends money and arms to these petty dictators then after a decade or so kills them. Think on that you sawed off psychopath.
If Zelensky believes that Russia wouldn’t think twice about attacking a Nato country, it’s not clear why he wants Ukraine to enter Nato since it wouldn’t protect against Russian attack.
This guy is a psychopathic liar like all Ukrainian nationalists. They are the first to admit that. Dmytro Dontsov said that lying, stealing and killing were moral acts if they served the interest of Ukrainian nationalism. One needs to understand the mentality of Ukrainian nationalists to understand what happens in Ukraine today. Even Arestovych said recently that the national idea of Ukrainians is “to lie to themselves and to others as long as possible.” The guy clearly know what he’s talking about.
Zelenskyy is a lucky man, until he isn’t.
Yes, yes, Z, we’ve all heard the propaganda. Give til it hurts, ignore history, ignore the Nazi regalia on the units we’re handing heavy weapons to. The USA of course NEVER goes to war without food reason. Unlike last time. And the time before. And the time before. And… We’ll just ignore anyone who is more sophisticated to call Putin the new Hitler.
Trump is full poop. How would he end the war in Ukraine?
It’s even dumber then his claim that he’d build a wall and Mexico will pay for it.
Are people really that stupid that they think Trump COULD stop the war?