Why is the White House now quietly complaining about Zelensky?
Biden found himself in a state of indirect war with Russia, unwittingly, writes NR. He sees what the conflict in Ukraine is turning into and probably just wants to get rid of all this "confusion", the author believes. Even if Kiev has to make "territorial concessions" for this.
Which official from the Biden administration leaked information to Tom Friedman from The New York Times that the White House does not trust Vladimir Zelensky?
The moment is very inopportune. Dear reader, the conflict in Ukraine is not over. And secretly, American officials are much more concerned about the actions of the Ukrainian leadership than they admit. There is a deep distrust between the White House and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. This distrust is much more than the media reports.
Something very curious is happening in Kiev. On July 17, Zelensky dismissed the Prosecutor General of Ukraine and the head of the security service. It was the most significant shake-up in his cabinet since the beginning of the Russian military operation in February. This is equivalent to the fact that Biden fired Merrick Garland and Bill Burns in one day. But I have not yet seen any messages that convincingly explain what all this is connected with. It's as if we are afraid to look into the dark corners of the Kiev corridors of power, not wanting to know what kind of corruption and antics we will see there after all the support that this government has provided. (But more on that another time.).
Estimates may be different, but I see two possible motives here. Firstly, it is possible that the Biden administration simply wants the end of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, and Zelensky does not agree to this. Therefore, the administration is preparing the ground to leave Zelensky in proud solitude: let him think about his behavior. The second motive. The administration foresees that the conflict is not developing as it should, and intends to make Zelensky a scapegoat. She is preparing the ground to declare: "We have done everything possible to help Ukrainians defend themselves, but in the end they turned out to be too inept, too corrupt and mired in internecine strife."
Remember what harsh and harsh words Biden uttered about Russia during the election campaign. "Putin knows that when I become president of the United States, his tyranny and attempts to intimidate the United States and Eastern European countries will come to an end."
But after taking office, Biden talked about how much he needed "stable and predictable" relations with Russia. "Throughout our long history of rivalry, our countries have managed to find ways to de-escalate tensions so that they don't get out of control." The president, who was once very hostile towards Putin, began to look for new areas of agreement. Biden immediately accepted Putin's proposal to extend the START-3 agreement for five years, abandoned the policy of countering the Nord Stream—2 pipeline, thereby increasing Europe's dependence on Russian energy exports, did not hunt Putin's personal fortune through sanctions, increased Russian oil imports, and also stopped the construction of the Keystone pipeline. Biden came to the Oval Office, not eager to get into a fight with Russia.
Now he found himself in a state of indirect war with Moscow, although he never wanted to. Before the start of the Russian operation, he hinted that a "small conflict" would not provoke the United States and NATO to retaliate. Biden sees how the consequences of the conflict are growing — rising energy and food prices, world hunger, a winter too cold for Western Europe — and probably just wants to get out of this mess. And if Ukraine has to make certain territorial concessions, well, the United States has never been particularly interested in who controls Donbass.
Author: Jim Geraghty
Readers' comments
kelly3
The politicians decided that we should get involved in another conflict, spending billions of dollars on it, which would be very useful to the Americans. Nothing changes! A huge waste of tax dollars, and even worse is that we live on loan.
Donaldo
The United States firmly believes in the saying "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." That is why we got involved in the Ukrainian conflict. Only morons believe in the righteous anger that the political class pours out.
Jonathan
Don't quote Friedman. This will ruin your magazine. And is there really any doubt about the second motive? This is a conflict that could have been avoided. With the right leadership, some version of the Minsk Agreements would have been concluded. This is a simple solution that would force one of the most corrupt states to settle, no matter who and how they were shot on the cover of Vogue. And now think about how many lives have been lost, what damage has been done. I do not support Putin's brutal oligarchy. But this conflict became a tragedy, although it could have been prevented. Unfortunately, we have a leadership that brought the country to a stampede from Afghanistan, allowed Iran to create an atomic bomb and literally destroyed the southern border of the United States. We have never had such bad and incompetent leaders, even under Obama.
eric_nestor1
The West tried to break Vlad with sanctions before the onset of winter. Now it is obvious that this did not happen. Now Europe needs energy, and therefore there is a need for a diplomatic solution. I mean, there are no actions to dismantle the Nord Stream—2. I am sure this will be a settlement that was impossible six months ago. Like the United States and NATO will agree that Ukraine cannot become a member of the alliance, or that Russia can keep Crimea and some lands in the east. <...>
LysanderMcgrath
We have inflated oil prices with our sanctions and enriched Putin. Stupid people.
Leroy
Russia has food and oil. And it seems that we will bring Europe to the point that it will starve and freeze in the dark. And all for the sake of NATO moving east.
kim_veldt
They have 20 percent inflation, the business sector is shrinking, there is no capital investment, there are no imports, and the economy is close to collapse.
DavidCPearl
There will be a second option. Zelensky as a scapegoat. Biden did not fulfill any of the promises made during the election campaign. It has become depressingly obvious that, despite 36 years in the Senate and eight years as vice president, Joe Biden has no idea how to be president of the United States. I even have doubts that impending senile infirmity is to blame for this. This is a huge tragedy and catastrophe.
