The Verity Courier
Condemnation of Putin
By Ron Estes
5 December 2023
On 24 February, Russia invaded Ukraine. The invasion caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II, with more than 8.2 million Ukrainians fleeing the country and a third of the population displaced. The invasion also caused global food shortages.
World leaders, President Biden among them, immediately presented a determined front against Russia, and were virtually united letting the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, know they will not waver in their support for Ukraine, and will make Russia pay for its actions. Biden said if we don’t stop Putin’s appetite for power and control in Ukraine, he won’t limit himself to just Ukraine. Putin has already threatened to remind Poland that its western land was a gift from Russia. 143 nations joined the condemnation.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, “Our worst fears have now come true and all our warnings have proved tragically accurate. President Putin of Russia has unleashed war on our European continent. He's attacked a friendly country without any provocation and without any credible excuse,"
These events are a turning point in the history of Europe and our country," said French President Emmanuel Macron in a speech, adding that "to this act of war, we will respond without weakness.”
The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said,“This 24th of February is a terrible day for Ukraine and a very dark day for Europe. In attacking Ukraine, President Putin is infringing on international law.
Canada called on Russia to immediately cease all hostile and provocative actions against Ukraine, and withdraw all military and proxy forces from the country. “Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected.”
“President Putin, in the name of humanity, bring your troops back to Russia," United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres tweeted. "This conflict must stop now.”
And the list goes on and on. There is, however, one exception. And that exception has a long tail. It starts in Moscow where the SVR, the current name for the Cold War KGB, filmed and recorded former President Trump cavorting with prostitutes in a hotel room in 2013. The incident was reported in the Steele Dossier, but according to the BBC, the same information about Trump’s compromise was also reported by "multiple intelligence sources" and "at least one East European intelligence service". They report that "compromising material on Mr. Trump" included "more than one tape, not just video, but audio as well, on more than one date, in more than one place, in both Moscow and St. Petersburg.”
That same Trump, as President, subsequently had 5 meetings with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, who is also a former KGB colonel. Trump insisted that all translator notes of the meetings be destroyed. Thus, there is no written record of any of the meetings. It is unprecedented for a President of the United States to meet with a leader of a foreign nation, and have no record of the meeting.The U.S intelligence community believes there must be a reason. It has been said that during his tenure, Trump pursued a foreign policy that could be described as serving Russian national security interests, rather than those of the United States.
With that background, Donald Trump joined the international chorus on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But his contribution was a little different. Former President Donald Trump described Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as “genius” and “savvy,”
Trump said, “Putin’s smart. I mean, he’s taking over a country for two dollars’ worth of sanctions,” Trump told a crowd at a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago, “I’d say that’s pretty smart. He’s taking over a country – really a vast, vast location, a great piece of land with a lot of people, and just walking right in.”
Trump's praise did not go unnoticed. At the recent Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, Putin announced that he had heard, “that Mr. Trump says he will resolve all burning issues within several days, including the Ukrainian crisis. We cannot help but feel happy about it.”
Trump said he was pleased by Putin's comments. Not many would be.
Ron Estes served 25 years as an Operations Officer in the CIA Clandestine Service.
Salon mailing list
Salon@listserve.com
https://mlm2.listserve.net/mailman/listinfo/salon