As President Biden's Department of Defense announces its "potential deployment of 8,500 troops" on behalf of Ukraine, rumor has it Biden's phone call this week with Ukrainian President Zelensky appears to have gone poorly. Apparently, the call was "disastrous," with Biden allegedly insisting a Russian invasion is imminent and Zelensky allegedly telling him to "calm down the messaging."
The White House and its "trusted media partners" have moved into code red level, damage control mode. And in Ukraine, President Zelensky rushed to quell fears of military conflict. During Friday's 75-minute press conference, Zelensky repeatedly pushed back on both the White House and the media, seeming to confirm his rumored disagreement with Biden's take on Russia's aggression. Zelensky explained there is no imminent build-up at the border:
"I am the President of Ukraine. I am based here. I think I know the details better."
Zenlensky's Press Conference On Friday
President Zelensky pled with journalists to report truthfully and begged leaders to exhibit diplomacy in the following excerpt from the press conference:
"We've talked to the President. We think that it has to be this approach. I'm not saying the President is influencing American media. They are independent. But the media policy there has to be well-balanced. If they want to know what the situation is, they can come to Kyiv! Do we have tanks on the street now? No. But the feeling is if you're not here feeling is when you listen to them in Germany, in France and Lithuania. I'm talking to the president of Lithuania and other leaders."
The image that mass media creates is that we have troops on the roads, that we have mobilization, that people are leaving for places. That's not the case! We don't need this panic. We need to stabilize the economy. They're not even using diplomatic language! They're saying tomorrow is the war! This means panic in the market, panic in the financial sector."
I want you to understand these things. We need unity of our people. Our people have to be certain and sure in their army, in their president. The people should trust their government and their special services. We are grateful for any support, but there's varying information from varied sources, and we cannot mislead our country because this raises economic panic."
Oddly, some of the out-of-the-gate reporting on the matter was apparently rapidly memory-holed. CNN's Natasha Bertrand deleted her tweet for unknown reasons.
No one really knows the details of the conversation between Biden and Zelensky. The call and its transcript continue to be top secret. House Republicans' call to release the transcript goes unanswered.
Meanwhile, Trump was impeached mainly along party lines for the first time in December of 2019, in part, for his "perfect call" with Zelensky in July of the same year. He was later acquitted.
The Dangers Of Wagging The Dog
General Michael Flynn wrote an exclusive for the Western Journal on Jan. 24, articulating the perils of blithely stepping into war with Russia. Flynn was Trump's former National Security Advisor who resigned just months after his hire because of the Russia investigation and was later acquitted of wrong-doing. He speaks both to the "failure of imagination" from those in the Biden administration and the media's "remarkable failure of meaningful reporting." Flynn's well-considered analysis is indicative of his appreciation for the lessons of history and his many decades of service both in the military and the intelligence community. Flynn wrote:
"The entire Biden administration, along with the neocon defense and foreign policy thinks tanks in Washington, are failing to imagine the consequences of the dangers lurking in Eastern Europe currently.
The rhetoric about the Ukraine conflict is out of control. President Joe Biden threatens that Russia would 'pay a heavy price' for any incursion into Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warns of 'massive consequences' for Russia. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi told Fox News Neil Cavuto, 'We don't rule out first-use nuclear action.' First-use nuclear action rhetoric is not only extremely dangerous, but these types of nonsensical remarks also threaten the stability of the entire world.
War is not fair and is not meant to be. In fact, harking back to the failures in Afghanistan, during a recent State Department call, the following was stated: 'Given that the President has said military action by Russia could come at any time. The U.S. Government will not be in a position to evacuate U.S. Citizens. So U.S. citizens currently present in Ukraine 'should plan accordingly.' A stunning statement of failure!
We are again living out the maxim that 'truth is the first casualty of war.' If the people are to have a chance to stop a conflagration, the first step is to resist the propaganda barrage from the establishment media and learn the truth. Only then we can demand our government stop beating the drums of war."
