Friends, in a very intriguing development, the West's favorite wind-up doll, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, made a non-collect call to none other than Donald J. Trump, to congratulate him on winning the GOP nomination and to express his outrage about the "heinous" attempt on his life. Well well! Trump said he appreciated the gesture, and both men referenced the possibility of peace talks with Russia. Why is this interesting? You would think that establishment leaders in the West would want their man in Kyiv to play along and help them ward off the threat posed by the wild-eyed populist/quasi-isolationist, Trump. By speaking respectfully with and about Trump, Zelensky undercuts the Biden Administration's claims that electing Trump would lead, ipso facto, to the appeasement of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In any case, Zelensky is being realistic, in the sense that Trump is now likely to win the election, and Ukraine will need to build a working relationship with him if it hopes to, well, survive as a country. This is just one more sign, therefore, that the powers-that-be are coming to terms with the possibility, and even the probability, of a second term for Trump.
And, just for fun, you might want to check out what the talking heads at MSNBC have been saying about Trump, Vance, and the Republican National Convention. It's pretty unhinged stuff, which just goes to show you that these people are reaching very deep into their bag of tricks for a way to scare the Democratic base into ponying up more cash for Biden's failing candidacy. You gotta feel for these shills, no?
https://nypost.com/2024/07/19/opinion/msnbc-has-gone-completely-crackpot-this-summer/
Dr. Waddy from Jack: Zelensky is a poignant figure. He has led his country courageously in its unexpectedly effective resistance to the onslaught of understandably hated Great Russia. They may be able to keep the Rus from occupying them but if they seek Nato membership their cause is hopeless, I think. Russia will never stand for it!
ReplyDeleteIt is understandable that he wishes to get to know DJT as well as he can and perhaps even surmise what DJT's intentions are. The indispensable factor, one I think DJT will address decisively, is that Russia be convinced that we will not vote for Ukrainian membership in Nato. For we who have , perhaps willfully, declined to consider the hard realities of Russian/Ukrainian history and geography, to have ever advanced the idea of Ukrainian inclusion in Nato was terribly reckless; no doubt it raised forlorn hope in Ukraine that their ages old fear of Russian brutality and misrule could be put to final rest.
Cessation of hostilities may well require purchase at the price of humiliation and painful concession for us, Ukraine and probably Russia too. Once it is accomplished we must hasten to use our wealth to offer Ukraine some recompense for our folly by helping them rebuild. Can Zelensky remain their leader through this process? His relationship with a probably soon to be redeemed DJT might well be key. Maybe a Nobel Peace Prize (for what its worth) is in the offing for DJT. How that would miff his by then shattered haters.
For centuries Russia's neighbors have resigned themselves to the onerous reality to them of Russia and we must learn from this. We are fortunate in having distance and power sufficient to garner Russia's "respect" but we must get along with them and to do that we must learn to know them thoroughly and realistically. We cannot ignore their history , location and climate. These factors have made them a hard, hard people. Zelensky and Trump are both tough, tough guys and may together be able to make this terrible current situation right.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: I have always loathed MSNBC. Any network which would give voice to Al Sharpton is beneath contempt. I watched it for a few days after the assassination attempt just to see if they knew how to be decent; they were a bit chastened for a moment but it didn't take them long to return to form. The comments you quoted were those of nasty juveniles in the throes of a vindictive snit for having been set at any disadvantage.They are characteristic of the criminals I worked with and which the MSNBC crowd exalts. Of course, should they achieve full power they would grow up and treat everyone with civilized regard, why sure they would.
ReplyDeleteTheir verbal viciousness is of a kind with the objective material onslaught on DJT and America by antiamerica . Some processes are said to show diminishing returns; with its unrelenting resolve to personally ruin all who, like DJT and Mayor Guiliani, dare to stand up to them , antiamerica may have reached a point of precipitately REVERSED returns. Their haughty presumption of their unimpeachable justice, which for them justifies any means necessary , may well have become obvious and repulsive even for those who heretofore gave it little thought. So BRING IT ON by all means, MSNBC and your antiamerican minions! You are helping to empower your unendurable antithesis.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: A man in Zelensky's fearsome position (imagine how he would fare in Russian hands) must of necessity be a canny and stark realist. So I agree with you that his overture to DJT is an encouraging sign in our domestic politics. He may well have misgivings about some of what a DJT restoration would mean for his cause but he is very probably determined to make the best of it. That a leader who manifests the acuity and guts to lead a nation in such immediate terrible danger seeks to make common cause with formidable DJT is a compliment to DJT. They are both heavily engaged with harrowing forces which intend to subjugate their country.
ReplyDeleteHa! A Nobel Peace Prize for Trump? Oh my! That'll be the day. Ending the Russia-Ukraine war, though, would be a huge accomplishment. The formula is fairly obvious: no Ukrainian NATO membership, and some kind of process whereby the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine can ultimately choose their own fate (probably not freely, but we'll need to be pragmatic about that). A population transfer could ensue between Russian-aligned and European-aligned regions of Ukraine, with rump Ukraine possibly joining the EU eventually as a consolation prize. Anyway, these details can be worked out, but it all starts with a ceasefire, and it would be fascinating to see if Trump could engineer that in short order...
ReplyDeleteHas America turned against Trump's tormentors? Well... I haven't seen much evidence of that, but the voters do seem to see lawfare and the endless blather about "saving democracy" as self-serving and political, and that's a start.
Is Zelensky a realist? I dunno. If he was, he never would have pursued Ukrainian membership in NATO in the first place. Realistically, that was never going to happen. Realistically, pursuing it, even as an unattainable goal, was inevitably going to incense Russia, with the horrific consequences that we all know by now. So, in short, Zelensky may be growing into realism, but hey -- we'll take what we can get.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: You support your misgivings about Zelensky's realism or lack thereof well. Perhaps he reasoned that the apparent willingness of a world powerful US and its highly successful Nato, which had already wrung astonishing strategic lenity from Russia, gave him a bargaining position in which he could gain some protection from Russia by eventually backing down from the prospective alliance. Maybe he thought he could play chicken with the Rus for awhile and thus gain for Ukraine substantial deliverance from the age old threat of brutal Russian imposition. Maybe he perceived the Russian advance into Crimea and Eastern Ukraine as a terrible affront and threat making it worth the risk of making Russia think he might welcome Nato in any form. Among its many miscalculations Nato may not have thought Ukraine would take such initiative in the first place.
ReplyDeleteBut Russia could not bear even a plausible hint of such an unbearable humiliation, affront and strategic hazard. I've always thought Russia would invade Ukraine at any point in which it perceived a plausible hint of the astounding possibility of Ukrainian inclusion in Nato. Russia may well have thought the West understood the unique relationship they have with Ukraine and that we recognized that Russia had made stupendous concessions in allowing a Nato having Germany as its European nexus to advance to Russia's very border with that flat Polish tank country. If they did they may well have resolved not to be flim flammed again.
Churchill made the dreaded decision to fight the Nazis after the fall of France because he held it was worth the mortal risk . Was it practical? Zelensky may have thought that it manifested the possibility of success which can justify a terrible gamble, to play Nato with Russia. Freedom from Russian oppression is for much Russian savaged Ukraine perhaps worth risking all.
Jack, I have no doubt that, for Zelensky, moving steadily closer to Europe and NATO was politically expedient, and that, for a politician, is usually enough. Plus, he was being actively enticed by the West, and indeed it's unlikely he would have survived as the country's leader (or even as a living being) had he backtracked and cozied up to Russia. The basic calculation of Ukraine and the West -- the only paradigm that could make "rational" their actions pre-invasion -- is that Russia was a paper tiger and would ultimately be unwilling to provoke a major war, crippling sanctions, etc. That calculation was wrong, but it wasn't completely ridiculous.
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