Our more highminded (hochnaesig, the Germans call it) readers will most certainly regard Ukrainian leaders as being, next to their American colleagues (if they make even that exception), the most feckless people in the universe.
Let me therefore break it gently by expatiating for a while on the subject of idiotarianism and militarism generally, and on the history of the propaganda of war between Russia and Ukraine which has been going on openly for, er, at least one millenium, or about as long as the monastery pictured below has been standing.
I beg the patience of my readers during this painful operation. If it becomes unbearable, they can always switch to TikTok and relieve themselves by calling their political leaders traitors twenty times or so. Then they will feel, I hope, refreshed enough to resume. For, after all, abusing the masters of the universe based in Washington and Kyiv will not hurt the Russians, whereas a clearer view of history in this part of the world will certainly benefit us all. Besides, I do not believe trueborn post-Cold War babies in their secret souls relish the pose of Injured Innocence any more than I do myself. Many put it on only because they have been told it is respectable.
On the Team USA jacket, The Wasington Post pretends Trump’s plan for Ukraine to surrender is news.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who in December proposed forging a “peace treaty with Russia,” instead of supporting Ukraine, has vowed to remove Speaker Mike Johnson should he move forward with a vote on an aid package.
When Z dropped in on US lawmakers in Washington to get additional U.S. military aid, Greene said she was opposed.
“Why doesn’t anyone in Washington talk about a peace treaty with Russia?? A deal with Putin promising he will not continue any further invasions. Answer: Washington wants war, not peace,” Greene wrote on X.
This is the same lawmaker who theorized on X over the weekend that earthquakes and solar eclipses are messages from god telling us to repent.
Looking on the bright side, the heads of Republican-controlled committees for intelligence and foreign affairs, two men with the first name Mike, said over the weekend that pro-Russia narratives have “infected a good chunk of [their] party’s base.1”
Really? Who would have thought?
In Ukraine, meanwhile, Team Russia has for months been creating what they call “sanitary zones,” in and around Donbas, Kharkiv, Sumy and Zaporizhia, in preparation for more offensive operations later in the spring.
“Sanitary zones” are easy to understand: these are large areas where human habitation is made impossible by dropping thousands of bombs packed with high explosives. Think of the firebombing of Dresden during WWII, add lots of drones, and multiply by 10.
Ending on a positive note, this video of a thwarted attack on the zero line near Berdychi.
When a top Republican says Russian propaganda has infected the GOP. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul is the latest to point out such a problem in his party (The Washington Post, April 6, 2024)