'So Putin is just misunderstood?'
No he is not misunderstood. He is understood perfectly clearly. The US sees him quite rightly as someone who can't be made to roll over and sell Russian assets off to American bidders as they hoped Yeltsin would. Banging the anti-Russian drum goes down very well with the US electorate, millions of whom think healthcare reform means the advent of 'socialised medicine' and is a portent of the Apocalypse. 'Socialism' = 'Communism' and the Gulag and the end of life as Americans know it.
'It was the US who invaded Crimea dressed as Russians.'
It was the US who toppled the duly elected president of Ukraine. And handpicked his successor.
And invaded Iraq on dubious claims of weapons of mass destruction. And encouraged the toppling of former ally Mubarak in Egypt but did not stick around to see their revolution through so the Muslim Brotherhood stepped into the vacuum, and was then removed by the Egyptian Army -- what a victory for 'democracy' that was. And the US intervened to topple Ghadaffi in Libya but similarly did not see the revolution through, leaving Libya in a state of chaos in its wake, and Libyans struggling with militias and lawlessness but never mind, the oil is in safe hands.....
........
Conversation between Victoria Nuland of the State Dept and Geoffrey Pyatt, US Ambassador to Ukraine where they discuss the setting up of a puppet regime:
'Nuland: Whaddya think?
Pyatt: I think we're in play - the Klitschko piece is obviously the complicated electron here. Especially the announcement of him as deputy prime minister and you've seen my notes on the trouble in the marriage right now so we're trying to get a read really fast where he is on this stuff. But I think your argument to him which you'll need to make, I think that's the next phone call you want to set up is exactly the one you made to (nickname for Yatseniuk). And I'm glad you sort of put him on the spot on where he fits in this scenario. And I'm very glad that he said what he said in response.
Nuland: Good. I don't think Klitsch should go into the government. I don't think it's a good idea.
Pyatt: Yeah. I guess... in terms of him not going into the government let him stay out and do his political homework and stuff i"m just thinking in terms of sort of the process moving ahead we want to keep the moderate democrats together. The problem is going to be Tiahnybok and his guys and I'm sure that's part of what Yanukovych is calculating on all this.
Nuland: (Breaks in) I think Yats is the guy that who's got the economic experience the governing experience he's the... what he needs is Klitsch and Tiahnybok (Oleh, leader of a nationalist party who has been pushing confrontation with the Ukrainian government) on the outside he needs to be talking to them four times a week you know. I just think Klitch going in he's going to be at that level working for Yatsinyuk it's just not going to work.
Pyatt: Yeah, no, I think that's right. Ok. Good. Do you want us to set up a call with him as the next step?
Nuland: My understanding from that call that you tell me was that the big three were going into their own meeting and that Yats was going to offer in that context a... three plus one conversation or three plus two with you. Is that not how you understood it?
Pyatt: No. I mean I think that's what he proposed but I think just knowing the dynamic that's been with them where Klitschko has been the top dog, he's going to take a while to shop up for whatever meetings they've got and he's probably talking to his guys at this point so I think you reaching out directly to him helps with the personality management among the three and it gives you also a chance to move fast on all this stuff and put us behind it before they all sit down and he explains why he doesn't like it.
Nuland: Ok, good. I'm happy. why don't you reach out to him and see if he wants to talk before or after.
Pyatt: Ok, will do. Thanks.
Nuland: Ok... one more wrinkle for you Jeff. I can't remember if I told you this or if I only told Washington this that when I talked to Jeff Feltman this morning he had a new name for the UN guy Robert Serry did I write you that this morning?
Pyatt: Yeah I saw that.
Nuland: Ok. He's now gotten both Serry and Ban ki-Moon to agree that Serry could come in Monday or Tuesday. That would be great I think to help glue this thing and to have the UN help glue it and, you know, F--- the EU.
Pyatt: No, exactly. And I think we've got to do something to make it stick together because you can be pretty sure that if it does start to gain altitude that the Russians will working behind the scenes to try to torpedo it. And again the fact that this is out there right now, I'm still trying to figure out in my mind why Yanukovych (garbled) that. In the meantime there's a Party of Regions faction meeting going on right now and I'm sure there's a lively argument going on in that group at this point. But anyway we could land jelly side up on this one if we move fast. So let me work on Klitschko and if you can just keep... we want to try to get somebody with an international personality to come out here and help to midwife this thing. The other issue is some kind of outreach to Yanukovych but we probably regroup on that tomorrow as we see how things start to fall into place.
Nuland: So on that piece Jeff when I wrote the note Sullivan's come back to me VFR saying you need Biden and I said probably tomorrow for an atta boy and to get the deets (details) to stick. So Biden's willing.
Pyatt: Ok. Great. Thanks.'
