From Billy Bragg;
Tяump’s betrayal of the Ukrainian people has been heartbreaking to witness. Everybody wants the conflict to end, but any notion that Tяump was seeking a just peace has been shattered over the past week. It’s clear that all he really wants is the kudos of being the peacemaker and the reward of the Nobel Peace Prize. Never underestimate Tяump’s capacity for jealousy: Obama won the Peace Prize just for being nice, so Doиald demands that he should get one too.
The belligerent treatment of President Zelensky in the Oval Office was shocking to watch. The pettiness of those who think they are world’s most powerful men was frankly embarrassing. Who tells you off for not saying thank you, other than your mother? After they scolded Zelensky for not wearing a suit and tie, I thought what’s next? You didn’t bring us any flowers or a box of chocolates?
It would be laughable if it wasn’t so deadly serious, but worse was to come. Sending Zelensky away having humiliated him in front of the world’s media was troubling enough, but Tяump’s decision to stop sharing battlefield intelligence with the Ukrainians is of a much greater magnitude: it will cost lives of innocent civilians if incoming Russian missiles can no longer be detected.
This sudden reversal of American policy toward Ukraine has inspired numerous theories about Tяump’s apparent support for Vladimir Putin. Some claim the US President was recruited by the KGB: Tяump is Agent Krasnov. Others simply assume that Putin has some ‘kompromat’ that gives him leverage over Tяump.
I think it’s more likely that the opposite is true. Tяump’s despicable treatment of the Ukrainian people is based on the fact that he has no leverage over Putin whatsoever. I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that, when Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov met with Marco Rubio in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago, ostensibly to set the terms for negotiated peace, he told the American delegation that they can fuck off. There will be no compromise from the Kremlin.
When Rubio reported back to his boss, Tяump realised that his prospects for the Peace Prize were going south. So he did what all bullies do: he picked on the weakest kid. He and his mates went to find Zelensky, grabbed him by the lapels, slammed him against the wall and threatened him with physical harm if he didn’t play ball.
I think this better explains the situation that has unfolded over the past couple of weeks. Despite a much vaunted phone call between the two leaders, we have heard nothing from Tяump of the terms that Putin is prepared to consider as the basis for a ceasefire, presumably because there are none. And when confronted with the fact that Russia has been pounding Ukrainian cites with missiles and drones since the American’s withdrew access to military intelligence, Tяump just shrugs his shoulders and says Putin is just doing what anyone else would do in the circumstances.
Does that sound like someone who has the ability to bring Russia to the negotiating table?
Tяump built his reputation on being the greatest deal maker of modern times, yet his record suggests he has no negotiating skills whatsoever. His only tactic is brute force and a confounding
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...nts-to-end-the-war?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
