LOS ANGELES.–Expressing grave concerns about 47-year-old Russian dissident Alexy Navalny, 61-year-old Secretary of State Antony Blinken continues to antagonize 71-year-old President Vladimir Putin. Unable to locate Navalny’s whereabouts from his last location in a Russian penal colony near Moscow, Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yrmysh confirmed Dec. 15 that court officials told her Navalny was in the process of being transferred to a new more harsh penal colony, at this point only conjecture. What isn’t conjecture is that Navalny was as thorn in Putin’s side, seeking for years to expose corruption and fuel a national rebellion to oust Pun from power. So, when it comes to Navalny, Blinken knows how Putin considers U.S. meddling in Russia’s internal affairs.
President Joe Biden, 81, Blinken and 45-year-old National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan are all tone deaf to provoking Putin.
Biden, Blinken and Sullivan know they are funding a proxy war in Ukraine to topple the Russian Federation or at least degrade the Russian military to the point it can no longer wage war. So, when it comes to Putin, he considers the Kremlin at war with the United States, whether U.S. soldiers are directly involved or not. Putin knows that billions of dollars the Biden White House pours into paying for the Kiev government and war with the Kremlin. Biden’s national security team has lobbied Congress to approve $61 billion in more Ukraine war funding, continuing the war, without any end in sight. Ukraine’s 45-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine needs F-16 fighter jets in the next phase to control the airspace to eventually drive Russia out of Ukraine. Zelensky promised his counteroffensive would accomplish the goal by year’s end.
When it comes to Navalny, he’s considered like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers in the U.S., radical right wing groups seeking to topple the U.S. government. Former President Donald Trump has been charged with “insurrection” by Democrats and now faces federal charges by Special Counsel Jack Smith seeking to convict him of obstructing official U.S. business, the certification of the Electoral College vote Jan. 6, 2021. So when Biden, Blinken and Sullivan defend Navalny, he’s considered the an insurrectionist in Russia. Whatever happened to Navalny, he brought on his own demise, returning to Russia Jan. 17, 2021 after recovering from an alleged Kremlin poisoning incident. Navalny was lucky to recover in Germany, only to return to Moscow for his prompt arrest. He was warned by fellow dissident exiled Mikhail Khordorkovsky to stay out of Russia.
If the State Department really cared about Navalny’s well being or other U.S. citizens held in Russian penal colonies, like 53-tyear-old former Marine Paul Whelan, 61-year-old U.S. teacher Marc Fogel or 32-year-old journalist Even Gershkovich, they would work feverishly toward ending the Ukraine War. Biden and Zelensky have deluded themselves into believing they’re going to topple Putin or the Russian Federation. Another $61 billion in U.S. aid would prolong the inevitable but not result in Ukraine driving Russian forces out of Ukraine. Biden’s failed proxy war in Ukraine has wrecked decades of diplomacy, détente and arms control with Russia, leaving Russia mortal enemies with the U.S. How does that help U.S. foreign policy or national security? If Biden wanted more leverage through better diplomacy with Russia he would end the reckless Ukraine War.
When it comes to Navalny, why has the Biden administration made him into a national hero, when he’s considered an insurrectionist in Russia? What is the White House trying to do? Trying to assure that Navalny is tortured and killed by Russian authorities or that wrongfully detained U.S. prisoners never return from captivity? Western press obsession with Navalny is no different than thinking that Zelensky is anything more that a corrupt Ukrainian politician, looking for as much cash as he can get from the U.S. government. Zelensky has his own interests in mind in Ukraine, certainly not U.S. interests. Zelensky knows that Ukraine War has wrecked U.S.-Russian relations, making it more difficult for the U.S. to conduct normal foreign policy around the world.
Because of the Ukraine War, the U.S. government cannot count on Putin to help out with global crises, like one happening now in the Red Sea, where Iranian-backed Houthi rebels continue to attack tankers in the region, interfering with the safe flow of petroleum to the West an Asia. Biden can’t have it both ways: Going to war against the Kremlin and expecting Putin to cooperate on world affairs. Biden’s antagonism toward Russia and Communist China has left U.S. foreign policy and national security on a limb. If Biden wants to get U.S. detainees back from Russia or solve current global events, he needs to stop the Ukraine War and return to normal diplomacy with the Russian Federation. Collecting untold billions, Zelensky would keep the war going indefinitely. If the U.S. wants to remain a superpower and wield clout around the globe, Biden needs to start acting like a world leader.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma
