Zelenskyy’s Pop-In: Why?

Photo by The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

What was Zelensky[y] trying to do?

He’s asking for more money. He’s always asking for more money, and I sympathize, but he’s running out of plausible ways to spend it. His forces are depleted to the point that he’s got press gangs snatching up and enslaving members of a widening male demographic to fill out his ranks at this point.

Yeah, yeah, but we shuffle words around until a digestible vocabulary presents itself. “Conscription” makes us feel better, but it’s taking people who didn’t catch on that your rallying cry’s persuasion was window dressing. The conscript’s error was in hearing a call to cause and making their own evaluation of whether that cause was a) theirs as well, b) worth any, much less the, sacrifice, and c) not realizing that when someone threatens someone else’s freedom, the threatened don’t mind taking yours to protect their own and that of those they love. Call it necessary, say there’s context, but don’t say it isn’t slavery. Here’s a recruitment video.

At least when we were forcing my dad’s generation to sacrifice, prison was an option. That doesn’t make it right, but a claim to a few years is somewhat more justifiable than a claim over life and death. In [The] Ukraine, those beaten sufficiently might choose more beatings, or cut to the chase and decide there’s a better shot making it out alive by “joining” up with an army whose track record is such that it requires beatings and worse to maintain the fodder rotation. A cagey Ukrainian who found himself suddenly of the ever-expanding military age should volunteer for the press gangs.

The gist is, Zelensky’s running out of people not to be able to afford to arm. I suppose mercenaries are an option, but Russia’s hiring too. Ukraine needs the shooting to stop. Why didn’t he shut the hell up? I keep reading that Trump and Vance belittled him, disrespected him. Almost every one of their exasperations was a variant of “What the hell is wrong with you? Shut up and take the win!”

Zelensky’s oblivious insistence that there needs to be a security guarantee isn’t going to be met, at least not as he’d like it to be: an announcement shouted in solidarity by a Yankee tank commander with thumbs flicked eastward. We are not going to draw red lines with regards to Russia. As I write, he’s trying to convince Europe to give him some $200 billion in frozen Russian assets. I be amazed if they agree to do that, though interest from those accounts is apparently used as security and part of what Trump referred to when he said European countries’ money sent to Ukraine is guaranteed.

Europe can’t go to war against Russia without the U.S. They let us cast a very expensive shadow sheltering them while they euphemized death panels and told us how enlightened their health and welfare systems are. “Why don’t you do what we do?” They don’t have the guns.

And what would happen if European banks gave away $200 billion in Russian assets? Would many nations bank with them again? There are non-Russian oligarchs who wouldn’t be thrilled at the idea their home dictator, or even benevolent parliament, might do something offensive to EU elites and jeopardize their hard earned poppy proceeds. Would there be a run? Dictators and war lords the world over scrambling to transfer funds to the Caymans? It’s rumored Zelensky himself has a sudden fortune. I don’t know about that, but if he did, would he consider moving his money to the tropics? Too gauche given the circumstances?

It looks like what transpired in the Oval Office was a set up. By “looks like,” I’m not saying things are unfolding to show. I mean, watching it, you felt like something was up. People are speculating that Vance laid a trap for him. That makes no sense. Both Trump and Vance were trying to shut the guy up and keep him from, rather than urge him toward, blundering. I do think Zelensky went in with a mischievous plan, but what or why escapes me. That look he gave around the seven-minute mark and again at fourteen, like he was about to pounce but pulled back for a better moment. He tried to negotiate in front of the world and show Trump up. He just bungled it.

The UPI reports that as of Saturday morning, Zelensky is open to signing the mineral deal. He’s tried to leverage them with others in the recent past. Nobody was willing to inflate (I hate the common use of “over-inflate” as it seems like a redundancy though it isn’t, but it’s apt here so I mention it) their value the way Trump did. Coming back to Trump, Zelensky may find they aren’t worth as much to us anymore and that 50/50 split may look more like 60/40.

Several things are clear. Zelensky wants someone to fight. He’s running low on soldiers and slaves rebel, He’s playing with WWIII. And Trump is right; he doesn’t have the cards.

This is one of the odder veins of commentary I’ve seen:

I don’t mean to single Ken Gardner out or belittle him. He seems to honestly think we should expect Putin to give something up. He’s not alone in that, but he’s the one who’s caused the biggest stir on my Twitter timeline, so there he is.

Putin is being asked to give up future gains. Sorry to put it so bluntly. It’s ugly and not fair, but he can quit at any time. He’s chosen not to. Putin is doing what he prefers to do – I’ll allow for the argument that he may be set upon by malevolent domestic forces if he shows weakness but that compels him further not to deviate from his chosen path. It’s pretty unlikely that without enticement we’ll convince him to act according to our wishes much less take a punch for the privilege.

We aren’t going to war with Russia on Ukraine’s behalf. We tried funding Ukraine’s effort to liberate occupied territory. We tried for three years, but tens if not more likely hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent and roughly one million killed.

I can’t believe he didn’t grab the mineral deal like a life preserver. A cop on the corner is a boon for a nervous shopkeeper, but if you never want to be robbed, let it be known that the mob has a piece. Nobody robs a mob shop. I suspect a U.S. security guarantee was and is forever off the table. It should be, but certainly while Zelensky is in a position of power. He can’t avoid an outburst in the Oval Office with salvation in his grasp. You can’t pledge American lives to protect a guy who wants – and I can’t blame him – revenge.

It’s still hard to figure out what Zelensky was trying to accomplish. He kept saying he needed security guarantees. That wouldn’t sit well at a negotiation table but, and this was a hammer over the head BUT!, Trump kept talking about the importance of “raw earth” to the US. You don’t want to say there will be security guarantees, but Trump overstressed (again, seems redundant though apt) that our prospective new holdings in the Ukraine were of huge interest. He built them up, beyond what they are, made them sound vital. He telegraphed without “speaking loudly” that by holding mineral rights, the US had a protectable interest. Vlad was basically insisting that any agreement had to have “Putin is a poop” in the language and “the US will beat up the poop bully Putin if he cheats.” Trump was screaming that we were taking on a defendable asset. Zelensky had to know that. I don’t think he’s stupid, so why did he act as he did? He called for the meeting. It wasn’t necessary. Why?

And he does need to ditch the costume.

[This post was originally published at Might Stain Your Shirt]