More than 2½ years after Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Moscow’s forces continue to capture territory in the disputed Donetsk region threatening to capture the city of Pokrovsk, severing Ukraine’s main supply line to the area. Ukraine army’s surprise capture of Russian villages in the southern Kursk region last month hasn’t succeeded in redirecting Russian troops away from the battlefields in Donetsk.
During Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent visit to Washington he discussed his so called “Victory Plan” with both President Biden and vice President Harris, insisting that with increased Western military aid his country can win its war with Russia. Among his objectives was to get U.S. authorization to use Western-made long-range missiles to strike military targets deep inside Russia, and to be invited to join the US-led NATO military alliance.
Between The Lines’ Scott Harris spoke with Joe Lauria, editor-in-chief of Consortium News and veteran reporter for the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe and other publications. Here he discusses his recent article, “The Madness of Antony Blinken,” which examines and condemns U.S. Secretary of State Blinken’s advocacy of dangerous actions against Russia in its war in Ukraine, including allowing Kiev to launch British long-range missiles against Russia, to which the Kremlin responded by declaring it would consider any assault on its territory by Western missiles to be an attack by NATO, and a threat to use nuclear weapons.
JOE LAURIA: What we had was Antony Blinken not only advocating for a no-fly zone back in March 2022, just weeks after Russia entered the civil war in Ukraine. But he also said on CBS News from Moldova that the U.S. would give NATO member Poland the green light to send their MiG 29 to Ukraine to enforce this no-fly zone.
This is what Blinken said would happen. And now you fast forward to just a couple of weeks ago. Keir Starmer, the newly-elected British prime minister, was on his way to the White House a couple of weeks ago now. And, he got hints, The Times of London tells, the strong hints from Blinken that Biden would agree to these long-range Storm Shadow British missiles being fired.
They need American approval not only for political reasons, but because they actually need U.S. technology, geolocation technology, or else they can’t do it. So they need the U.S. to say yes. And he went there Starmer, according to The Times of London, that he thought he was going to get it.
Why? Because Blinken told him so. He’s way overstepped his rank. He is the head of the State Department, obviously a very powerful position. He’s not above the president of the United States, but I believe there’s a vacuum in the White House given the mental state of the current occupant. That’s part of it, I think. And here is Blinken, pushing very hard this policy.
Now, why is that dangerous? Well, because Putin, when he got wind of this, said if British or American long-range missiles hit us from Ukraine, they will be operated by British technical soldiers on the ground and they’ll be using American technology. Therefore, Russia would interpret that as NATO entering directly into war with Russia.
And that means anything could happen in terms of Russia’s response, i.e. on the verge of a nuclear exchange, perhaps because Russia has a doctrine that if they are attacked and if their state is threatened, even with conventional weapons, they could resort to nuclear weapons. You don’t play around with that.
And thank God, still, there’s a grownup in the Pentagon, of all places, the House of War. The Pentagon saved us because they know what war is. And Austin twice did this. Now, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin came out back in March 2022 and said, “There’s no way that we’re going to allow this no-fly zone,” because even John Kirby, who now a lot of people make fun of because he deserves it.
A lot of times he had to say back then, as the Pentagon spokesman, that a no-fly zone could result in significant Russian reaction. It might increase the prospects of military escalation with NATO. The Secretary of Defense Austin said that Biden has been clear that U.S. troops won’t fight Russia in Ukraine. And to top it all up, Biden himself came out and said he made it very clear.
He made it very clear. He said, “Listen, guys,” in talking to the press, “We’re not fighting World War III in Ukraine.” So it was all very clear back then that even just sending NATO planes to fire and shoot down a Russian plane, any direct NATO-Russian confrontation could lead down the road towards the most horrific consequences imaginable.
So that’s what happened back in March 22. And this time, Blinken leaked the story to the Guardian. He told the British officials that this was going to happen, that a deal was done. It was just a matter of when it was going to be announced. Everything was all just “crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s.” And then Starmer gets to the White House and finds out “no way,” because Lloyd Austin again stepped in and so did Jake Sullivan. According to a very good report in The Times of London, Jake Sullivan took the side of the Pentagon and opposed Blinken.
And that maybe was a big part of why Biden was convinced. I think Biden is a warmonger, but a traditional warmonger. And on his good days, he realizes American power has its limits. Neoconservatives do not accept that. The U.S. has no limits. They have a megalomaniacal idea of U.S. world domination. Doesn’t matter how many people are killed, how much money is wasted and how many wars they lose.
No one can stand in the way of U.S. world domination. It’s in their Project for a New American Century and other documents, the neoconservatives. Yes, we’re in the Bush administration. When Trump was elected, they fled the Republican party and they migrated to the Democratic party. That’s why we’re seeing Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney, huge neocons supporting Kamala Harris for president.
SCOTT HARRIS: Well, Joe, in the article, you raise the question, why does he still have his job — talking about Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, when he so often in these critical issues has overstepped his bounds? Why do you think he still has a job as secretary of state?
JOE LAURIA: Why is Blinken still in his job? I don’t know. I think that Biden is caught between these two sides. If it was up to Lloyd Austin, I doubt he would have his job, particularly after this is the second time that he very dangerously tried to turn this war as dangerous as it is, into a total catastrophe. Austin is not the guy in charge.
There’s something about Biden, who he won’t fire the guy. I hope he doesn’t find his way into … if there’s a Harris administration, I hope you see the last of this guy Blinken.
Listen to Scott Harris’ in-depth interview with Joe Lauria (16:05) and see more articles and opinion pieces in the Related Links section of this page.
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