New York Times article on CIA activity in Ukraine; Question from 2014 – Why would Ukrainians want to join Russia?
20240226
The New York Times and CIA are founding members of the Deep State. The CIA no doubt helped write this piece to put themselves in a good light. Nevertheless, it should be required reading. I am not sure that a secondhand share is going to work. Write me and I will send you a PDF copy.
It confirms my long-held position that the CIA had little to do with the Revolution of Dignity in 2014. They were caught flat-footed. The simple explanation presented by the New York Times is that there was no trust between the United States and Ukrainian intelligence organizations. This claim makes absolute good sense – under Yanukovych, Ukrainian intelligence was shot through with Russian agents. The CIA could not trust the Ukrainian government and had a hard time establishing its own independent intelligence network.
This gives the lie to Putin's claim that he was responding to CIA provocations in 2014. No. As much as the CIA would've liked to have been involved, they were simply not capable of doing so. Putin lies and says that he had to take over Crimea and the Donbas in 2014 to protect Russian speakers and to squelch a potential Ukrainian threat. This is absolute nonsense.
Per the New York Times, the United States and Ukraine learned to trust one another bit by bit over the years. This makes absolutely good sense. The article claims that the United States had a hard time recruiting spies in Russia, but that Ukraine was much more effective. This claim is totally credible.
The article claims that Ukraine was constantly frustrated by the CIA's timidity, unwillingness to shed blood. Unwillingness to offend Putin. I expect this is a matter of degree.
Аs thіngs turn оut, іt іs а gооd thіng fоr Ukrаіnе thаt thе СІА hаs bееn іnvоlvеd. Іntеllіgеnсе frоm thе Unіtеd Stаtеs hаs bееn іnstrumеntаl іn frustrаtіng Russіа's gоаl оf tаkіng оvеr Ukrаіnе. Тhе СІА ԝаs еstаblіshеd аftеr Ԝоrld Ԝаr ІІ tо орроsе thе Russіаn thrеаt. Іt sееms thаt thіs tіmе thеу hаvе bееn usеful іn dоіng thаt. Dо ԝе fоrgеt thе fасt thаt аlоng thе ԝау thеу gоt us еmbrоіlеd іn а lаrgе numbеr оf роіntlеss ԝаrs іn thе Міddlе Еаst аnd Аsіа аnd аssаssіnаtеd a рrеsіdеnt? Ԝе саnnоt, but іt іs gооd tо bе аblе tо sау thаt аt lеаst оnсе іn thеіr hіstоrу thеу sееm tо hаvе dоnе sоmеthіng rіght.
As usual, the conservative establishment in the United States is putting their own spin on it. Yes, the CIA was there! But only the second time they were needed. If they had been there in the first, we might not have this present war.
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What I wrote in 2014
Why would parts of Ukraine want to join Russia? Sometime in 2014
I Googled "reasons to join Russia" and "why Donbas wants to join Russia" In Russian, "почему донбасс хочет в россию"
There does not seem to be an answer! The best reason I can come up with is "to avoid being killed by the Russians."
The only list I found was in justification of the referendum in Crimea. The five strongest points were:
Everyone basically supports it anyway.
Only “right-wing radicals” are opposed.
The business investment environment in Russia is far superior to Ukraine.
Observers from Hungary, Serbia and Greece are cool with the referendum.
Moscow is extremely generous and already giving humanitarian aid to Crimea.
These would be weak even if they had been true, but they after the referendum it is clear that they are transparently false. Business activity has plummeted, unemployment and prices have risen, and individual liberties have disappeared. The indigenous Tatars have been ruthlessly suppressed.
The reasons not to join Russia have been known for centuries. Custine noted 175 years ago in "Letters from Russia" that "Deceit is built into every stratum of Russian society," and "Russia's lack of creativity dooms them to be perpetual imitators" – if not thieves, and "Russians do not know how to exercise freedom; they seek a strong master." Russians have been trying for centuries, without success, to force Europeans to be like themselves. Europe has always, in the end, prevailed. It is wary.
The Donbass, the borderland dividing Russia and Europe proper, was a curious place even before Maidan. It was the center of Ukrainian economic activity and the homeland of the president and many ruling oligarchs. Yet, it was at the same time a mined-out, deteriorating rust belt of depressed, drug- and alcohol-addicted men with the worst health, life expectancy and attitudes in the country. As in America, such dropouts are easily led to blame "the man." The Kremlin helpfully pointed out, via Russian-controlled television, that "the man" was embodied by Ukrainian-speaking Fascists in Kiev.
The targets of this propaganda could not recognize that Kiev is overwhelmingly Russia-speaking, and that the last Fascists were dispatched in 1945. Some bought it.
Putin is playing a weak hand. There is no advantage (aside from not getting shot by Russians) to abandon Ukraine. Putin does not wrap himself in any ideology such as communism or even religion. He has only the use of force.
Putin began his attack using "little green men," unprincipled Cossack and Chechyan mercinaries. They are, however, few. If he is going to conquer and occupy Ukraine, it must be by a conscript army. The Soviet Union fell when conscript armies and puppet politicians refused to impose Moscow's will through force of arms.
Russia has little industry; the income stream it uses to pay soldiers and placate civilians comes from natural resources. Sanctions, and the direct economic damage done by Putin's wars have eroded that income stream. He will not have the money to impose his political will on unwilling peoples in the long term. Let us hope that not too many die as that fact makes itself apparent.
The Deep State? Isn't that the Establishment that the hippies rejected in the sixties? I get tired of hearing that tripe. The Deep State is just entrenched individuals who disagree with those who are not entrenched. It's like a nymphomaniac, someone whose sexual appetite is greater than the person calling her a nympho. If the Deep State is the wacko woke, then it's time to send them into retirement ASAP.
... "pointless wars in Asia"
A war to save a country from communism (a communism led by another vengeful, revanchist dictator even more murderous than Putin) and supported by the fathers and grandfathers of the present Kremlin crew was pointless? Understand this: if it weren't for the support of old Cold War (and hot war) veterans like myself, Ukraine would not have that crucial small bastion of support from Republicans that may yet save the aid package. We with the long memories and the scars are the last voices against total abandonment of Ukraine by the Republicans.