Trump says US will not make Ukraine security guarantees ‘beyond very much’ and Kyiv can ‘forget about’ joining Nato – live
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Yet Chomsky’s world-view does not leave space for Ukrainian agency. It is the “US and Britain” who have “refused” peace negotiations in Ukraine, Chomsky tells me, in order to further their own national interests, even as the country is being “battered, devastated”
Chomsky is pointing out that the US, who Ukraine is still very dependent on for military weapons, and Russia, who is invading Ukraine, have the power here. That's the reality of imperial hard power, they don't give a shit about Ukrainian Sovereignty. They only care about economic resources. Of course Ukraine should have sovereignty, the issue is that the US and Russia have no interest in respecting their sovereignty. They have robbed Ukraine of it for financial gain. Imperialist powers always rob countries of their sovereignty and natural resources.
On February 24th, Putin invaded, a criminal invasion. These serious provocations provide no justification for it. If Putin had been a statesman, what he would have done is something quite different. He would have gone back to French President Emmanuel Macron, grasped his tentative proposals, and moved to try to reach an accommodation with Europe, to take steps toward a European common home.
The U.S., of course, has always been opposed to that. This goes way back in Cold War history to French President De Gaulle’s initiatives to establish an independent Europe. In his phrase “from the Atlantic to the Urals,” integrating Russia with the West, which was a very natural accommodation for trade reasons and, obviously, security reasons as well. So, had there been any statesmen within Putin’s narrow circle, they would have grasped Macron’s initiatives and experimented to see whether, in fact, they could integrate with Europe and avert the crisis. Instead, what he chose was a policy which, from the Russian point of view, was total imbecility. Apart from the criminality of the invasion, he chose a policy that drove Europe deep into the pocket of the United States. In fact, it is even inducing Sweden and Finland to join NATO — the worst possible outcome from the Russian point of view, quite apart from the criminality of the invasion, and the very serious losses that Russia is suffering because of that.
So, criminality and stupidity on the Kremlin side, severe provocation on the U.S. side. That’s the background that has led to this. Can we try to bring this horror to an end? Or should we try to perpetuate it? Those are the choices.
At least use quotes from a full interview instead of from someone intentionally framing snips that go against statements Chomsky has already said.
https://chomsky.info/20220616/
Most Taiwanese want no change from the current situation. They don't want any escalation whatsoever.
But that image of Lloyd Austin announcing the deployment of U.S. forces to four new bases, in addition to five U.S. bases where U.S. troops are deployed in the Philippines, making a total of nine, potentially, in days and months to come, that’s precisely the wrong image and precisely the wrong direction that the U.S. should be going in. The United States, the Biden administration and a larger foreign policy elite, I’m sad to say, has hijacked our foreign policy and is currently escalating military tensions with China at precisely the moment we need to be moving in the other direction. We need to be drawing down U.S. military bases and forces in the region, while building up our diplomatic presence.
The U.S. Has 750 Overseas Military Bases, and Continues to Build More to Encircle China
Sixty percent of Taiwanese support maintaining the “status quo,” with 34 backing it “indefinitely,” and 26 percent favoring either declaring independence or unifying with China at a later date, depending on the conditions.
https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2024/12/05/2003828000
Reflecting on our conversation, I came across a passage in an essay from Chomsky’s 1970 book At War with Asia. “As long as an American army of occupation remains in Vietnam, the war will continue,” he wrote. “Withdrawal of American troops must be a unilateral act, as the invasion of Vietnam by the American government was a unilateral act in the first place. Those who had been calling for ‘negotiations now’ were deluding themselves and others.” These words seem to me to be more applicable to the war in Ukraine than anything Noam Chomsky said during our conversation 53 years later.
Russia completely withdrawing is still the correct thing for Russia to do. Good luck convincing Putin, many thousands in Russia have already been arrested for protesting the war. See what Chomsky has said on the anti-war movement in the US and it's effects on the US withdrawing, then see if that's applicable to the citizens of Russia protesting the war having an impact on Russia foreign policy. The US does not have the power to force Russia to do a full withdrawal, and that's assuming the US is interested in protecting Ukrainian Sovereignty which it's not. Chomsky is critiquing US foreign policy and how it fails to be in any genuine interests of protecting Ukrainian Sovereignty.
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At this point he's probably just buying time. He knows the US will abandon them, but probably needs to give the EU time to sort out their finances.
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So why should anyone listen to what the US says anyway?
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Did anyone expect anything else from Krasnov?
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Krasnov does what he is TOLD.
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Maybe he was referring to this, though he's Canadian (the son of astronaut Chris Hadfield, though great in his own right).
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Hey France, you wanna dominate europe and soon also the world again? Comon who than to do it better than with your old pal germany. This time we are the good guys. Democracy, security, peace and justice! - germany
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Seems like the US has no leverage if we're not offering anything.
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"Art of the Deal"
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Chomsky is pointing out that the US, who Ukraine is still very dependent on for military weapons, and Russia, who is invading Ukraine, have the power here.
Wait wait wait, you think that the US and Russia have the power here... when Ukraine could make peace at any time?
Like, Chomsky isn't here saying that the US should back Ukraine more. He's literally saying the opposite. What the fuck? Are you really this desperate to play apologist for him that you're posing him as saying the exact opposite of what he is?
Fucking sickening.
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Well, not necessarily encrypted messaging security, https://www.intelligenceonline.com/government-intelligence/2025/01/30/france-makes-new-push-for-backdoors-into-encrypted-messaging-apps,110369896-art
That being said, yes, a stronger EU is better for the whole world. I hate that Trump is becoming the impetus for that.
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As for NATO membership in particular, all NATO members need to accept new members...
But the EU has a similar clause to help with military invasions, so the US support isn't strictly needed for security.
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I though trump was going to pull the US out of Nato?
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Trump and Pooting. Helping the EU grow larger and breaking their chains of Dependance
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The leverage is whatever they expect to happen if they are left to Russian interests
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Made me chuckle, thanks
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Ukraine is going to renuclearize
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The thing confusing me most is why Ukraine would trust any US' "guarantee", when they've been nothing but untrustworthy.
And people's lives are not toys. I get the sentiment behind wanting less people to die. But Trump and Putin do think people's lives are toys, so I can't imagine the outcome of this being beneficial in any way to Ukraine.
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And there is no provision to remove a more member from NATO.
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I guess by staying in they can derail it being useful to anybody else, veto new members, etc.
