AS the conflict in Ukraine the need for talks is ever present and yet the US does not want them to happen…why is that?
Most conflicts as the war rages on the talks become more and more important…..how many Ukrainians must suffer and die before some sort of talks begin?
More news on talks came out yesterday….
According to a report from POLITICO, the Biden administration has been reassuring Ukraine that peace talks with Russia don’t need to happen anytime soon after Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said this winter will provide an opportunity for diplomacy.
Milley said last week that Russia and Ukraine might recognize that victory “is maybe not achievable through military means, and therefore you need to turn to other means.” He expects fighting will slow down this winter, and the moment for peace talks could be “seized.”
Citing unnamed US and Ukrainian officials, the POLITICO report said that US officials have conveyed to Ukraine that Washington was not trying to undercut Kyiv’s stated war goals of driving Russia out of all the territory it has captured. The US also said that just because there may be a pause in fighting this winter, that doesn’t mean peace talks need to happen.
While Milley is calling for peace talks, other high-level US officials are against the idea, including National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The POLITICO report said that Sullivan’s Nationa Security Council is most resistant to the idea of talks, although there are a few aides on the NSC pushing for diplomacy.
The report said that there is a “broad sense” within the Pentagon that the winter will provide a chance to reach a political settlement and that senior US military officials don’t believe Ukraine can achieve its war aims, which include expelling Russia from Crimea. But so far, these views have not had an impact on President Biden or his most senior staff.
While many elements of the Biden administration are resisting the idea of pushing for talks between Ukraine and Russia, there has been an increase in dialogue between Washington and Moscow. On Monday, CIA Director William Burns met with his Russian counterpart, although the White House stressed the meeting was focused on warnings over the use of nuclear weapons, not a negotiation over Ukraine.
(antiwar.com)
I disagree I still think that talks should be the priority….not more and more lethal weapons.
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
In Saner Thought 
I realize you are anti-war, old buddy.. and I respect your service too much to impugn that one bit. But if we got invaded wouldn’t you wanna kick the bad guys out of here for laying waste to the countryside and killing, torturing, and raping Americans like Russia is doing to Ukraine? In fact, it’s typical military strategy to strike inside your enemy’s territory in an attempt to reduce your enemy’s effectiveness in fighting you… yet Ukraine has shown some level of restraint in order for fear of forcing the Russians into a nuclear response. The other reason would also be that Ukraine striking inside targets in Russia would shift public opinion inside Russia from being against Putin to a nationalistic fervor against Ukraine. So, negotiation seems a bit out of place. What would you negotiate… giving up a state or two? Would we do that? The Ukrainians have a military advantage on the field. Just because the allies giving the military assistance are getting “tired” of the war means that it’s on the Ukrainians to stop the fighting? Doesn’t make sense.
Yes I would and how many of our friends would jeopardize their economy to help? If the Ukrainians did not have open ended cash and weapons they would be thinking differently. Why is it when I have a criticism people cannot look past the chest thumping and analyze what is happening? Just asking? chuq
If the Ukrainians did not have “open ended cash and weapons” they would likely have been conquered by now, forced into a surrender to stop the wholesale murder and torture, and a loss of their democratic freedom… and the rest of the world could care less, and their economies would be intact. Russia.. Putin.. would feel emboldened. I suppose it all amounts to a moral compromise.. life under oppression is still life. I’m not sure all this equates to a chest-thumping for anyone else other than Putin himself. Zelensky is trying to lead Ukraine in a fight for their existence as a free democracy.
Now, for certain one can argue the lack of oversight in the logistics in distribution of the military aid once it got inside Ukraine as to where this stuff is ending up… or one may argue the idea that munition makers world wide are somehow “feeding” the war behind the scenes for profit… or we can even argue why we should give a tinker’s damn about what happens on the other side of the world.
Obviously some of the aid is getting through because it’s making a difference on the battlefield. Munition makers are making money.. but they are also paying taxes and are major employers, hence contribute to the economy. We likely should give a damn what happens on the other side of the world because it sends repercussions around the world.. ie. chaos theory.
Here’s to the greater point here, chuq… we wouldn’t even be having this discussion if Putin didn’t have a desire to play bully and oppress Ukraine to begin with. It’s akin to the computer in the movie “War Games” when it realizes the futility in winning at Tic-Tac-Toe…. if killing people is the thing to avoid then don’t start a damn war.
Maybe so but I still say the threat is to Europe not the US…let them foot the bill. chuq
As we speak the Russians daily rocket barrage of Ukraine ended up sending missiles into Poland.. and things are getting a bit dicey for sure now.
I will touch on that inc incident soon chuq
It appears that Zelensky is the one firmly against talks at this time. Mainly because he feels that he would have to cede the Donbas and Crimea to Russia permanently, to secure peace. Protracted talks might also give the Russians time to re-equip and increase their avaialble manpower.
I can see why Zelensky thinks this, but feel we should seriously think about withdrawing all that ‘unaccounted-for’ financial aid. As long as the west is paying for his country to defend against Russia, he will never get round a negotiating table.
Best wishes, Pete.
I heard a funny today that made me guffaw a bit in real life. Likely you’awl have heard it before as I am usually not up on current terms.
“When the president is a Republican the media acts like Bob Woodward. When the president is a Democrat the media acts like Monica Lewinsky.”
I like it….sounds accurate to me…LOL chuq