Speaking at the Munich Security Conference today, 92-year-old billionaire hedge fund investor George Soros gave his two cents about the Ukraine War. Soros said a Ukraine victory would end the Russian Empire, something that hasn’t existed since the Soviet Union formed in 1922. Soros refers to the former Soviet Union with all its Eastern European satellites that he thinks would delight in the defeat of 70-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin. Soros hinted that he backed the Ukraine War, hoping to see the end of the Russian Empire, something that makes no sense. “The countries of the former Soviet Union can hardly wait to see the Russians defeated in Ukraine because they want their independence,” Soros told the Munich Security Conference. Soros surely knows that neither the U.S. nor the European Union are prepared to topple the Russian Federation in Ukraine.
Soros showed why no matter how rich or clever, geriatric billionaires should refrain from opining about things they know little about. “This means that a Ukrainian victory would result in dissolution of the Russian Empire. Russia would no longer pose a threat to Europe and the world,” Soros said. “That would be a big change for the better,” encouraging to U.S. and EU to press ahead with the battle against Putin and the Russian Federation. Every day that goes by, Ukraine loses more sovereign land and infrastructure, systematically destroying the country. Ukraine’s 44-year-old President Volodymer Zelensky decided to take on the Russian Federation, gambling with his country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Since the war started Feb. 24, 2022, Zelensky has lost 25% of Ukraine’s land. Soros now encourages the U.S. and NATO to defeat the Kremlin.
With all due respect to the man who broke the Bank of England, shorting the British Pound Sterling Sept. 6, 1992, Soros had a reputation as a ruthless investor, making billions off the British currency. But when it comes to opining about geopolitical events, like other billionaires, Soros finds himself on shaky ground. When Soros talks of a “Ukrainian Victory,” he’s talking about the U.S. and EU continuing to underwrite Kiev’s bankrupt government and war against the Kremlin. What makes Soros think that Putin would surrender to the U.S. or Kiev? Of course former Soviet satellites would be relieved if Putin were removed from office. But Soros doesn’t know who would replace him or whether things would get much worse for the U.S. and Europe. Toppling the Russian Federation is preposterous, something not likely to happen now or in the near or distant future.
Soros thinks Ukraine, even with all the U.S. lethal weapons, would come close to defeating the Kremlin. In one year of war, Russia has bombed Ukraine into the Stone Age, losing some 25% of its sovereign territory and destroying much of its infrastructure. So, why is Soros encouraging the U.S. and EU to press ahead with its war against the Kremlin, when he knows it’s destroying Ukraine? Putin sees the Ukraine War as the West’s battle to destroy the Russian Federation, not simply a war between Russia and Ukraine. “The gamble worked,” Soros said about Putin using the mercenary Wagner Group. “Ukraine faced a strategic choice: Either get bogged down in holding Wagner group at bay or hand Russia a propaganda victory and preserve its limited resources for a counter attack,” Soros said. Soros should be telling the Munich Security Conference to work on a ceasefire at the earliest possible time.
Pivoting from the Ukraine War, Soros gave his views on China, saying 69-year-old Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “Zero Covid Policy” shook faith in the Communist Party. “The current situation fulfills all the preconditions for regime change or revolution,” Soros said, showing just how far out of step he is with world events. “But this is only the beginning of an opaque process, whose repercussions will be felt over a longer period of time,” Soros said, taking out his crystal ball. Soros has no clue that a coup or revolution brews in China because of Xi’s Covid policy. “In the short-term Xi is likely to remain in power because is in firm control of all the instruments of repression,” Soros said, speaking more platitudes. Soros has no opinion on how dangerously close the U.S. is to a war with China. President Joe Biden, 80, has turned decades of cooperative relations with Russia and China into a war-like state.
Why the Munich Security Conference gives Soros a seat at the table is anyone’s guess. It’s clear that his expertise is not geopolitics, but how to manipulate financial markets to make profit for his hedge fund. “But I am convinced that Xi will not remain in office for lie, and while he is in office, Chain will not become the dominant military and political force that Xi is aiming for,” Soros told the Munich Security Conference. More crystal ball forecasts to little to help world events rapidly spiraling out of control due to the warmongers looking battle the Kremlin. Soros did nothing to encourage all warring factions in Ukraine to come to the peace table for an immediate ceasefire and peace talks. Soros and other influencers should put all their energy into convincing Biden and Zelensky that the time for peace is long over due. Only a political settlement can save the world from more carnage and destruction.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
