The Narrative Shifts on Zelensky
Ukraine is simply not our fight, and Zelensky sure as hell is not our fighter.
This article was published by Newsweek:
https://www.newsweek.com/zelensky-narrative-shifting-opinion-1731875
Volodymyr Zelensky increasingly reveals his true nature. For months, the Ukrainian president has enjoyed nonstop adulation from the American press and audiences with celebrity glitterati. But now, the reality of his rule in Ukraine is becoming undeniable, even to his most ardent enablers in America, many of whom happen to be Republicans.
In just the last few days, the narrative has palpably shifted. First, Thomas Friedman of the New York Times sent up a trial balloon, a clear signal straight from one of the White House's most dependable stenographers:
Dear reader: The Ukraine war is not over. And privately, U.S. officials are a lot more concerned about Ukraine's leadership than they are letting on. There is deep mistrust between the White House and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky—considerably more than has been reported.
The Biden administration had previously been as deeply committed to escalation in Ukraine as Senator Lindsey Graham or actor Ben Stiller were, but suddenly even the West Wing is beginning to acknowledge the futility of unreservedly backing Zelensky. Apparently, there are limits, even for the Washington War Machine.
What are those limits regarding Ukraine? Well, for starters, Zelensky rules much like his adversary, the universally denounced Putin, does. Zelensky shut down all opposition media in Ukraine, then banned opposition political parties. He declared that Russia would have to kill every single citizen of Kyiv to get to him, but also found time to pose for a melodramatic Annie Leibovitz portrait spread for American fashion magazine Vogue. Zelensky also fired the Ukrainian equivalent of the U.S. Attorney General and the head of the CIA, on the very same day, perhaps during breaks from his grandiose photo shoot.
Like Freidman, CBS News apparently got the memo to start tarnishing Zelensky's halo. That network explored the folly of sending a mountain of U.S. taxpayer money into one of the most corrupt countries on Earth, though later deleted its tweet on the topic. CBS admitted that vast amounts of American largesse has been pilfered, conceding that "much of the billions of dollars of military aid that the U.S. is sending to Ukraine doesn't make it to the front lines." CBS also quoted an on-the-ground operative who disclosed the reality of America's generosity: "like 30 percent of it reaches its final destination."
So, American taxpayers borrow tens of billions of dollars their country does not have, to send fortunes to the unaccountable leader of a corrupt country, all to escalate a war in which America has no vital national interest. Oh, and during a recession with runaway inflation at home. Gotcha. That reality would be damning enough, but Zelensky just upped the ante, making American escalation even more wrongheaded.
So, perhaps fearing that the Kyiv cabal will soon need a new sugar daddy, Zelensky openly solicits the most dangerous adversary of the United States, the Chinese Communist Party. With this pathetic hat-in-hand appeal to the tyrannical and abusive Beijing politburo, Zelensky firmly forfeits any pretense of standing as an exemplar for human rights, no matter how many Ukraine flags adorn the social media accounts of high-minded wealthy Americans.
Moreover, in reaching out to Beijing, Zelensky appeals for charity from a country that directly funds the war in Ukraine via massive oil purchases from Putin. In this regard, Zelensky unwittingly unveils the insanity of the world's most powerful nations simultaneously funding both sides of the war. For example, as America sends more than $54 billion from our citizens to Ukraine, our supposed allies in NATO have been sending up to $1 billion per day to Putin for Russian energy.
Putin is a thug and Zelensky is a corrupt autocrat. Their battle involves no vital U.S. national interest. Biden's intervention harms America and worsens the plight of the Ukrainian people, who have become pawns in a battle of Black Sea oligarchs. America should insist on dialogue, negotiation, and de-escalation. If the parties refuse, then it's time for an American approach of realism and restraint, because this is simply not our fight, and Zelensky sure as hell is not our fighter.
Let’s not forget that the Obama regime overthrew the Ukrainian president in 2014 with Neo Nazis as allies.
My grandpappy used to tell me the story of the post World War Two fight for Trieste. Hungarian, Russian, and American troops assembled in and around Trieste ---all with different ideas on how to carve up that important port city. Fortunately generals on all three sides were exhausted from fighting and an agreement was hammered out ---dividing Trieste into zones. Like all compromise border situations intermittent killing when on for years ---but tens of thousand of lives were spared as a result of the negotiations. Putin has been asking for a negotiated settlement of his border dispute w/Ukraine for years, even submitting plans to the United Nations for a federated Ukraine. The United States never engaged. It's time. Inevitably, the results of such negotiations will be far from perfect..... but they'll represent heaven on earth compared to what's going on right now. The tens of millions of UNMONITORED dollars being delivered to Zelensky is nothing more than a shrewdly sloppy money laundering operation ---being conducted by a thoroughly corrupt regime ---without a twinge of conscience over the lives it's costing.