LOS ANGELES (OC).–Former CIA Director, Commander of International Security forces and Centcom Commander David Petreus, 72, felt inclined to chime in on the state of peace negotiations on the Ukraine War. Petraeus has no security clearance and no real inside information on anything happening behind the scenes in peace talks to end the Ukraine war. Petraeus was fired in 2012 by fomer President Barack Obama as CIA Director for his affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell for breaching classified information. But whatever Petraeus did in the scheme of things it wasn’t that egregious and continues to play national security pundit on the fake news. Speaking on ABC News “This Week” with Jonathan Karl, Petraeus said he’s not optimistic about Ukraine’s 47-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky getting together for direct talks with 72-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Petraeus should should know that Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have been very upfront about there cannot be any meeting between the two leaders until a comprehensive peace deal has been worked out. Petraeus mentions nothing about that to Karl but gets into his Russian-bashing mode, similar to former Defense Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who touts herself as Russian expert. “Out of the last two weeks, really, Jonathan, I think what should be clear to all, and I think it is even clear to President Trump, is that despite all his efforts—again, which we applaud, to end the war, to stop the killing—Vladimir Putin has no intention of doing that unless he’s given additional territory,” Petraeus said, stating the obvious. Putin has been very clear he expects to at least take control of Donetsk and Luhansk in Donbas.
How ironic that Putin offered to take control of Donetsk and Luhansking in March 2022, only weeks after the Feb. 24, 2022 start of the Ukraine War. Putin told Zelensky if he recognizing the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk and Russian sovereignty over Crimea, he remove his troops. Zelensky rejected Putin’s offer and has fought a bloody war for the last three-and-a-half-years causing thousands of deaths and loss of sovereign territory. So, now Petraeus gives Karl some insight stating the obvious of what Putin wants. Petraeus mentions nothing about Putin already making significant concessions, including letting go of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, both territories he now controls. Putin also said he would accept a U.N. Security Council authorized post-war security force, something he opposed. So, when Petraus says Putin wants his territory, he acts like it’s excessive.
Petraeus said if Putin took over Donetsk and Luhansk, he would be fighting there for years because of heavy Ukrainian fortifications. Well, if there’s a peace deal that cedes Donetsk and Luhansk to Putin, why would Ukrainians keep fighting? American fake news, like ABC, wants to blame Putin for everything, when, in fact, Zelensky has resisted trading land-for-peace, a key part of Trump’s work on a realistic peace deal. If you listen to the fake news, Trump should return to the Biden policy of proxy war with the Kremlin, something that cost the U.S. Treasury $300 billion. More importantly than costs, Trump wants to normalize U.S. Russian relations, something wrecked under Biden. Biden ended decades of diplomacy, détente, arms control and global cooperation funding proxy war with the Kremlin. Putin saw the U.S. as an existential threat to the Russian Federation.
Petreus feeds right into the fake news that wants to continue the Ukraine War. “He [Putin] wants to displace President Zelensky, replace him with a pro-Russian figure, and frankly, to demilitarize Ukraine,” Petraeus told Karl. “None of which can be acceptable to Ukraine nor to the European countries and the United States,” Petraeus said, playing fast-and-loose with the facts. No one has said that Putin wants Zelensky out as Ukrainian president. Lavrov made clear yesterday on NBC that Putin accepts Ukraine’s right to exist, including picking whoever president they want. So, where does Petraeus get his information? He has none because he was stripped of his security clearance in 2012 for violating classified information. Making up things as he goes is OK with ABC News as long as Petraeus repeats left-wing talking points that discredits Trump.
Petreus looks for any media attention, just like former National Security Advisor John Bolton, often appearing on anti-Trump news broadcasts because of his willingness to slam Trump at any opportunity. Petraeus looks like he sticks to the facts but only ones he makes up since he has no national security clearance. Fake news doesn’t mention how Petraeus lost his security clearance, violating national security secrets with his mistress Paula Broadwell. How he has the audacity to get on national TV and blow smoke is anyone’s guess. Whatever integrity he once had, it’s certainly not there now. “I think it should be clear: The obstacle to peace at this peoin in time in President Putin,” Petraeus told Karl, telling him exactly what he wants to hear. If Petraeus got his way, Trump would return to Biden’s proxy war strategy with Kremlin keeping the U.S. on a war footing.
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.
