Opinion
Featured Image
 Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

(LifeSiteNews) — For months, we have been told that a spring offensive is coming from Ukraine which will smash the Russian army and lead to victory for the U.S. and its allies. Signs continue to appear that the Biden administration is managing expectations downward, suggesting that a move to accept the Russian gains may be on the cards.

Quietly preparing for reality?

Can it be true that the Biden administration may be seeking some reconciliation with reality? The appearance of a Politico report on Monday, April 24 would suggest it is. 

Not only does the White House expect a poor result with “modest gains” on the ground, anything short of a spectacular result for Ukraine will see its allies press for peace. This is the last throw of the dice, it seems. As the President of the council on foreign relations, Richard Haass told Politico:

If Ukraine can’t gain dramatically on the battlefield, the question inevitably arises as to whether it is time for a negotiated stop to the fighting.

In another remarkable shift, this foreign policy specialist admits there are supply problems which have been consistently denied in the media, who have told us for months it is the Russians who are running out of ammunition. 

It’s expensive, we’re running low on munitions, we’ve got other contingencies around the world to prepare for.

It appears that a change is likely to come, in propaganda and in policy over the U.S.-Russian war. 

Significant gains unlikely – Pentagon leak

With the leak in February of Pentagon documents showing a dire forecast for the operation, it would appear that reality may be once more permitted to be in the room with the decision makers. 

As the Washington Post reported on April 10:

Labeled ‘top secret,’ the bleak assessment from early February warns of significant ‘force generation and sustainment shortfalls,’ and the likelihood that such an operation will result in only ‘modest territorial gains.’

It’s a marked departure from the Biden administration’s public statements about the vitality of Ukraine’s military and is likely to embolden critics who feel the United States and NATO should do more to push for a negotiated settlement to the conflict.

Whilst Western populations have been told for a year to believe the hype, moves are being made to manage expectations – especially those of the Volodymyr Zelensky regime. As the Politico piece remarked:

There is belief that Kiev is willing to consider adjusting its goals, according to American officials, and a more modest aim might be easier to be sold as a win.

There has been discussion, per aides, of framing it to the Ukrainians as a ‘ceasefire’ and not as permanent peace talks, leaving the door open for Ukraine to regain more of its territory at a future date.” (Emphasis added)

This is a startling admission, and one which outlines the news management strategy surrounding a potential exit from the war by the U.S. and its allies. 

A plan B for Ukraine

The coverage of the war has been uniformly dishonest since the purported beginning in February 2022. Most people in the West are likely unaware that the war began eight years previously, and ended with a Ukrainian defeat one year later.  

The remaining seven years saw skirmishes and sham negotiations – with the West pretending to seek a settlement to the violence in the Donbass whilst using the time to rearm, train and resupply Ukraine. The aim was to smash the Russian army in the forthcoming escalation to all-out war. 

There was no plan B. For a year we have heard that Russia is losing, its president is dying – or mad – and that Russia itself is going to collapse. None of this is true. With no evidence of this victory in sight, many voices are now suggesting the formerly unthinkable. The New York Times reported on April 24 that whilst some remain optimistic, the likelihood of a major breakthrough is slim. 

‘Everything hinges on this counteroffensive,’ said Alexander Vershbow, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia and senior NATO official.

Everything hinges on this counteroffensive,” said Alexander Vershbow, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia and senior NATO official.

While Ukrainian officials have said their goal is to break through dug-in Russian defenses and create a widespread collapse in Russia’s army, American officials have assessed that it is unlikely the offensive will result in a dramatic shift in momentum in Ukraine’s favor. (Emphasis added)

The ambitious goals of retaking Crimea, and pushing the Russians out of the four regions they now claim as Russian territory seem as unrealistic as the US war aim of collapsing Russia itself. 

Now calls are appearing for an alternative – to a single minded war campaign which promised total victory in the media, and delivered it nowhere else.  

Don’t mention the peace initiative

The Chinese President Xi Jinping finally contacted Zelensky on Wednesday April 26, in a move which had been long awaited. Reported in the Chinese Communist Global Times, the telephone exchange centered on the promotion of a negotiated settlement to end the war.  

Seeking long-term peace and stability for Europe through dialogue is the fundamental way out. What is even more encouraging is that this position is gaining more support, and the forces urging peace ad [sic] talks are constantly growing.

The Chinese appear to be right about a favorable shift towards peace talks. 

Peace through partnership – with China?

China published its 12-point peace program to end the U.S.-Russian war in a diplomatic communique in February 2023. Seldom reported without derision or dismissal, it remains the only realistic blueprint for peace produced by a major power. What is more, the Chinese are openly concerned about the potential for escalation.  

As Chinese news agency Xinhua reported, the Chinese President advised Zelensky that “no one wins a nuclear war”, and stressed that “China will continue to facilitate talks for peace and make its efforts for early ceasefire and restoration of peace.”

The Plan B for the United States manages to reconcile this reality with some clever sleight-of-mind, presenting the failure of U.S. action and diplomacy as a win. The new initiative, floated in an April 18 piece for Foreign Policy is that the U.S. should cooperate with China in forging a negotiated end to the war. 

At a minimum, asking China to work jointly on a peace settlement would force Beijing’s hand: Instead of limiting itself to meaningless ‘peace proposals’ that nobody takes seriously, a U.S. offer to work with China on a joint peace initiative would force Beijing to put up or shut up.

This is a major revision of opinion management which indicates that the Biden administration is indeed preparing to recognize the reality on the ground, rather than concentrate on winning the information war at home.  

It would be a remarkable victory for reality over the ruinous and corrupting ideology of the Forever War faction if peace could finally break out in Ukraine. The prospects for peace seem, for the moment, far more promising than those of the spring offensive. 

0 Comments

    Loading...