Last time I checked, USAID “doled out” about $4 billion last year. This year’s budget is in limbo, pending realignment to Donald’s priorities.
Registration for Ukrainian Week in Washington, DC ends on Friday, January 31.
I won’t be attending. Maybe Rustem will be there, and Pete.
Last year Z and his potent managers at the President’s Office and Defense Ministry did a horrible job supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine: they failed to recruit, motivate and train enough soldiers, organize the construction of fall-back defensive positions and provide the military with enough weapons and ammunition. Political meddling in military affairs throughout 2024 demoralized and demotivated everyone, including the country’s benefactors.
Decisions last week to arrest and prosecute military officers in a civilian court based on trumped up charges and to sack the head of the Defense Ministry’s arms procurement agency are the latest illustrations of civilian-military disfunction. Z has been tightlipped, offering only this terse justification:
“Traitors and various schemes that weakened our state and our Ukrainian society are being countered1.”
Yikes.
Ukrainians trust the AFU the most among state and public institutions, with more than 90% of Ukrainians expressing their trust in the military. They most distrust the executive branch, political parties, courts and the government, including the Defense Ministry, which is part of the government.
Recent shenanigans are obvi part of a deliberate effort to dent support for military leaders in anticipation of as yet unscheduled national elections.
Yes, Keith has received the memo. He has lots of questions.
Project Syndicate published Joseph Stiglitz’s essay, titled “The end of progress?” one day after Donald’s inauguration.
Progress, we recall, is one of the pillars of the enlightenment, along with humanism, science and reason.
Enlightenment thinkers recognized that scientific experimentation and tinkering could help people understand nature and create new, transformative technologies; and that the social sciences could enable closer coordination in efforts to improve conditions for all members of society. Such efforts required the rule of law to displace absolutism, respect for truth to prevail over obscurantism2, and the elevation of expertise in human affairs. Among the most disturbing features of the MAGA revolution is its outright rejection of these values.
Team USA these days is moving backward at warp speed, to the chagrin of dog and goat lovers.
Many speculated that [Kristi Noem’s] chances of being selected as Mr. Trump’s running mate were dimmed by the publication of her memoir, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong With Politics and How We Move America Forward.”
Its rollout did not go well. In the book, Ms. Noem described fatally shooting her family dog, drawing bipartisan outrage. A pre-publication version of the book also included a false story about her meeting with Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, during her tenure in Congress. The section was removed3.
Kristi joins Pete, a fan of past brutal military campaigns (the Crusades) and fanboy of Christian governance, whatever that is. Kash and Tubby are likely to join their ranks after confirmation hearings this week.
Since 2019, Ukraine has also been exceptionally unprogressive, returning last week to the miserable practice of selective justice4.
The SBU State Security Service and State Bureau of Investigations have detained generals responsible for the unsuccessful defense of the Kharkiv region during the racist offensive in 2024
The SBU and SBI, with the assistance of the Minister of Defense and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, documented the crimes of three officials of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who failed to provide proper protection of the Kharkiv region during the enemy offensive in May 2024.
[…]
Based on the evidence collected, they were detained and will be reported on suspicion in accordance with the crimes committed under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
▪ Part 4 of Article 425 (negligent attitude to military service, committed under martial law);
▪ Article 429 (organization of unauthorized abandonment of the battlefield).
The issue of choosing a preventive measure is currently being resolved. The defendants face up to 10 years in prison.
An investigation is underway to bring all those responsible to justice.
Comprehensive measures were carried out by the SBU military counter-intelligence together with the State Bureau of Investigation under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor General's Office. — SBI (January 20, 2025)
The case violates Combat Immunity provided by law, namely:
[…] Exemption of the military command, servicemen, volunteers of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, employees of law enforcement agencies who, in accordance with their powers, participate in the defense of Ukraine, persons defined by the Law of Ukraine "On Ensuring the Participation of Civilians in the Defense of Ukraine," from liability, including criminal, for the loss of personnel, military equipment or other military property, the consequences of the use of armed and other force during the repulsion of armed aggression against Ukraine or the liquidation (neutralization) of an armed conflict, the performance of other tasks for the defense of Ukraine with the use of any types of weapons (weapons), the occurrence of which, taking into account reasonable prudence, could not have been foreseen when planning and performing such actions (tasks) or which are covered by a justified risk, except for cases of violation of the laws and customs of war or the use of armed force defined by international treaties, the consent to which has been given by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
The Museum of the Bible, the venue for several Ukrainian Week events next week, might be the perfect place for Rustem and Pete to chat about Combat Immunity, spear-tip sharpening and lethality.
Or sobriety.
Z’s evening pep talk (January 18, 2025)
Anne, we recall, in January wrote about obscuratism recently in an essay, titled “The New Rasputins,” appearing in The Atlantic. While obscurantism is often viewed as a critique of intellectual engagement and enlightenment, esotericism (a feature of Argentine President Javier Milei’s rule) is rooted in mystical traditions and secretive practices.
Kristi Noem Is Confirmed as Homeland Security Secretary. The former South Dakota governor now leads the agency that runs the nation’s immigration system (The New York Times, January 24, 2025