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talkpoliticsWe've all talked and heard tons about the impeachment procedure against Donnie-boy, so I'm not gonna bore you with this stuff.
My focus here is on the Ukraine, and the consequences for that country. Because the West, mostly inspired by the EU and US, essentially pushed the Ukrainians towards their current predicament when they vowed support for the Orange Revolution, attempting to drag the Ukaine out of Russia's sphere of influence. They promised a EU and NATO path for the Ukraine - and right now, the country is nowhere near that goal. Feeling betrayed much? You do know what happens when a nation starts to feel alone and betrayed, and desperate. Disaster.
Hence, the victory of the new president Volodymyr Zelensky, a Mr Nobody in Ukrainian politics, former comedian and TV person, who was anything but serious until now. Hell, he pretended to play the piano with his dick at some point! He's a guy with exactly zero political experience, and still a lot of support at home (maybe that's exactly why he's got so much support). But now he's in the centre of all this kerfuffle with Biden, Trump, etc. And these are deep waters he's wading into.
After all, the US provides the bulk of the financial support for Kiev (and Kiev does need all the money, lest it collapses economically). Not to mention the military support, and of course the political support. One could say the Ukraine is only able to survive as a whole country thanks to that support. Now that the shit has hit the fan in DC, Zelensky has to navigate treacherous waters, and keep the support of both US parties without appearing to have budged under Trump's pressure (which he probably hasn't). If he had granted Donnie his whim to dig for dirt on Biden's son, Volodya would've instantly appeared as a weak leader to his people. But if he refused, he'd be risking to lose the funding under a shitload of programs (the US has given the Ukraine about 2.5 billion dollars worth of loan guarantees and aid since 2014). And this would be perfect for Putin. Furthermore, Trump has already put in question NATO's and America's support for the Ukraine, because, you know, he doesn't want to anger his buddy in the Kremlin.
Whichever way you read this, it looks like a diplomatic disaster for Ukraine. And the bad thing is, there's no easy way out of it. Until his subsequent meeting with Trump at the UN summit, Zelensky was desperately trying to avoid giving any comments on the scandal, and his team were vehemently denying any pressure from the White House. But Zelensky's former advisor Serhyi Leshchenko then told Reuters that in May, Zelensky had refused to meet Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, because he didn't want to get involved in US politics, fearing he could be used in ways that he couldn't control. Back then, Giuliani concaled his visit to Kiev with the explanation that the Ukrainian president was surrounded by Trump's foes. Because, you know, anyone who doesn't agree to do Donnie's bidding is automatically an enemy. Makes perfect sense in his black-and-white universe.
The allegations that in 2016 Biden had pressured for the removal of Ukraine's attorney general Victor Shokhin in order to stop an ongoing investigation of the gas company Burisma, whose board featured Biden's son Hunter at the time, remain unproven and unconformed. As of now, there's an official statement by a Kiev court that there's no proof of criminal activity by the company's owner, Mykola Zlochevsky, and all investigations into the company have been discontinued. And that's it (for now).
Now, what the Trump/Zelensky conversation included, we've all heard and read at this point. Questions naturally remain about Biden's son, etc. The focus is of course mostly on Trump's abuse of power, and rightly so. There's no guarantee that Biden would even be the Democratic nominee (increasingly likely that he won't be). It's another question if Donnie was stupid to disclose the conversation, or he just doesn't care. Years ago, a US court ruled that the POTUS has the right to keep his conversations with foreign leaders private when those concern national security and foreign policy (on the other hand, later that same court also ruled that this privilege cannot be used to conceal any illegal actions by the POTUS).
As unlikely as the impeachment drama is to end with a success for the Dems, or paradoxically, as probable as it seems that Donnie actually does desire and enjoy being investigated and impeached (thus entrapping his opponents into a No Man's Land rather than giving them an open field to defeat him through focusing on the issues and demonstrating his incompetence as a leader), the problem is elsewhere. A country that relied on America's help and support, has been put in the middle of all this political crossfire that doesn't even have anything to do with the Ukrainians. It's a country marred by corruption no doubt, but that's exactly why the new Ukrainian president got so much support among his own people - he promised to fight corruption, and raise his country back to its feet. And now it's being threatened with being fucked back into the dirt by powerful external factors that the Ukrainians have no way of controlling. The domestic political bickering in the US will certainly result in Ukraine being dragged out of the US focus - and remaining without this vital support, that country is doomed to soon start feeling the pressure from mighty Russia again.
If Ukraine is lost, it could start a geopolitical domino effect, ultimately Making America Lesser Again. But Donnie neither sees this, nor does he care, does he? He never did in the first place.
My focus here is on the Ukraine, and the consequences for that country. Because the West, mostly inspired by the EU and US, essentially pushed the Ukrainians towards their current predicament when they vowed support for the Orange Revolution, attempting to drag the Ukaine out of Russia's sphere of influence. They promised a EU and NATO path for the Ukraine - and right now, the country is nowhere near that goal. Feeling betrayed much? You do know what happens when a nation starts to feel alone and betrayed, and desperate. Disaster.
Hence, the victory of the new president Volodymyr Zelensky, a Mr Nobody in Ukrainian politics, former comedian and TV person, who was anything but serious until now. Hell, he pretended to play the piano with his dick at some point! He's a guy with exactly zero political experience, and still a lot of support at home (maybe that's exactly why he's got so much support). But now he's in the centre of all this kerfuffle with Biden, Trump, etc. And these are deep waters he's wading into.
After all, the US provides the bulk of the financial support for Kiev (and Kiev does need all the money, lest it collapses economically). Not to mention the military support, and of course the political support. One could say the Ukraine is only able to survive as a whole country thanks to that support. Now that the shit has hit the fan in DC, Zelensky has to navigate treacherous waters, and keep the support of both US parties without appearing to have budged under Trump's pressure (which he probably hasn't). If he had granted Donnie his whim to dig for dirt on Biden's son, Volodya would've instantly appeared as a weak leader to his people. But if he refused, he'd be risking to lose the funding under a shitload of programs (the US has given the Ukraine about 2.5 billion dollars worth of loan guarantees and aid since 2014). And this would be perfect for Putin. Furthermore, Trump has already put in question NATO's and America's support for the Ukraine, because, you know, he doesn't want to anger his buddy in the Kremlin.
Whichever way you read this, it looks like a diplomatic disaster for Ukraine. And the bad thing is, there's no easy way out of it. Until his subsequent meeting with Trump at the UN summit, Zelensky was desperately trying to avoid giving any comments on the scandal, and his team were vehemently denying any pressure from the White House. But Zelensky's former advisor Serhyi Leshchenko then told Reuters that in May, Zelensky had refused to meet Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, because he didn't want to get involved in US politics, fearing he could be used in ways that he couldn't control. Back then, Giuliani concaled his visit to Kiev with the explanation that the Ukrainian president was surrounded by Trump's foes. Because, you know, anyone who doesn't agree to do Donnie's bidding is automatically an enemy. Makes perfect sense in his black-and-white universe.
The allegations that in 2016 Biden had pressured for the removal of Ukraine's attorney general Victor Shokhin in order to stop an ongoing investigation of the gas company Burisma, whose board featured Biden's son Hunter at the time, remain unproven and unconformed. As of now, there's an official statement by a Kiev court that there's no proof of criminal activity by the company's owner, Mykola Zlochevsky, and all investigations into the company have been discontinued. And that's it (for now).
Now, what the Trump/Zelensky conversation included, we've all heard and read at this point. Questions naturally remain about Biden's son, etc. The focus is of course mostly on Trump's abuse of power, and rightly so. There's no guarantee that Biden would even be the Democratic nominee (increasingly likely that he won't be). It's another question if Donnie was stupid to disclose the conversation, or he just doesn't care. Years ago, a US court ruled that the POTUS has the right to keep his conversations with foreign leaders private when those concern national security and foreign policy (on the other hand, later that same court also ruled that this privilege cannot be used to conceal any illegal actions by the POTUS).
As unlikely as the impeachment drama is to end with a success for the Dems, or paradoxically, as probable as it seems that Donnie actually does desire and enjoy being investigated and impeached (thus entrapping his opponents into a No Man's Land rather than giving them an open field to defeat him through focusing on the issues and demonstrating his incompetence as a leader), the problem is elsewhere. A country that relied on America's help and support, has been put in the middle of all this political crossfire that doesn't even have anything to do with the Ukrainians. It's a country marred by corruption no doubt, but that's exactly why the new Ukrainian president got so much support among his own people - he promised to fight corruption, and raise his country back to its feet. And now it's being threatened with being fucked back into the dirt by powerful external factors that the Ukrainians have no way of controlling. The domestic political bickering in the US will certainly result in Ukraine being dragged out of the US focus - and remaining without this vital support, that country is doomed to soon start feeling the pressure from mighty Russia again.
If Ukraine is lost, it could start a geopolitical domino effect, ultimately Making America Lesser Again. But Donnie neither sees this, nor does he care, does he? He never did in the first place.
